Conversation during the meal flowed from Saina and Garic’s adventures in the old days to city politics to imperial politics to the preparations for the summer festival. At no point did Garic or Saina allude again to the fact that Saina had once been a man. How long ago? She seemed feminine enough, though more muscular than most women. Though Toamic’s training ensured that he played a good part in the conversation, never letting it flag (though between these friends, he doubted that would be an issue even without his help), he could not stop thinking about Saina’s question. What would he do with such an idol?
Toward the end of the meal, he thought instead about how he could discreetly hint that he wanted to speak with Saina alone, and did his best, but Garic didn’t take the hint. He ushered Toamic toward the door, saying, “We’re meeting again on Eighthday evening, right? Come an hour before supper for the lesson, and stay as long afterward as you like. Orram will come, and Saina will still be here, and I may have one or two other guests to round out the party.”
“I would be delighted to stay and visit after supper.” And hopefully find a quiet corner in which to speak with Saina.
They performed their farewells at the door, and Toamic set out down the street, ambling along in a brown study. He had not gone far when he heard Saina’s voice calling out, “Your grace, wait up.”
He turned and saw her jogging toward him. “It’s a pleasant day for a stroll,” she said. “I thought I might join you on your walk to your next destination.”
“I’m going home, but I need not hurry. It is a pleasant day.”
“Have you thought about my question?”
“A great deal.”
“And your answer?”
Toamic took a shuddering breath. “If I were unencumbered and unconstrained, I would do as you did, but with full knowledge of the consequences. But my house is under entail, and if I were not the son of my father, it would go to a distant cousin, his nearest relative in the male line. It is not what it used to be, but it is the house I grew up in, the house my mother has lived in for more than half her life. And however drafty and impossible to keep clean, it has its material advantages; I need pay no rent, and the taxes are a pittance, due to a service one of my ancestors did for the emperor of the time. These are serious considerations for one in my position, with my father’s debts still to pay and food to provide for myself and my mother. Even so, were the idol here in front of me, I would… seriously consider giving up everything. But all this is of no moment, as I have no prospect of ever exploring the jungles of Tesh. Wherever that is.”
“It’s a large island south of the equator,” Saina said. “But the idol is no long in the temple we found it in. It would have been a necessary component in the spell to break the curse, so I hauled it around in my pack all during that quest for the spell components. And when I realized I liked being a woman and didn’t want to break the curse, that for me it was a blessing, I kept it. I took it with me when I went home to visit my mother, and left it in my room at home when I went to meet Garic and the others at Westport to begin our next adventure; now it is in my home in Three Towers. Speaking of which, if you ever happen to be in Three Towers I would be happy to have you drop in.”
A wild surge of hope crashed through Toamic’s mind, washing him off his feet and leaving him adrift. Could he really…? But the consequences… “I would be glad to do so. But alas, I scarcely travel out of the capital these days.” A polite way of hinting that he had no carriage or horses, and could not easily afford post coach fare.
“If transport is an issue, perhaps you would be so good as to accept a ride in my carriage when I return to Three Towers on Firstday. Could you arrange your affairs by then so as to take a journey of a few days?”
It was a tempting offer. Why was she being so generous to someone she had just met? “Perhaps. Shall I let you know when we meet on Eighthday evening?”
“That will do. Think, between now and then, which you value more: an uncomfortable house, or a comfortable body.”
There was no question, when she put it that way. Still.
They walked on in silence for another couple of minutes, and then Toamic said, “This is my house. I would like to invite you in, but I am afraid I cannot presently offer you any hospitality.”
“No need, when I just ate at Garic’s house. Do you want to talk more?”
“I need to think on what you’ve said before we speak again. Let us plan to find a private corner for a conversation on Eighthday evening, shall we?”
“Until then, your grace.”
“Until then, madam,” he said, and made a gesture as if to kiss her hand, but she seemed not to understand and turned to go.
So he thought a great deal about it for the rest of the day, as he worked in the garden, read to his mother as she sewed, and prepared their evening meal, and as he got ready for bed and lay awake for more than two hours before sleep finally took him.
The next day was Seventhday, and he had two clients, one less than a mile from his house, but the other a good bit farther, and with a gap of a couple of hours between them. On Seventhdays, he usually took his lunch at the Griffon Club not far from the second client’s house; his great-grandfather, when flush with money, had made a large donation for the renovation of the clubhouse, and by consequence his descendants had perpetual membership with no need to pay dues or pay for meals. It was too far out of his way to walk except on Seventhday, however, so its free meals did not impact his budget much. At breakfast, he told his mother that he would follow the usual routine and be back at the usual time; however, instead of going to the club for lunch, he dropped in on his Uncle Pondarr, his mother’s brother. And most importantly for his current purposes, an open-minded man and a lawyer.
He sent up a note by the footman, saying that he had two hours free between appointments and would like to speak with his uncle if he were free at any time in that period. The footman returned momentarily and said, “Master will see you now,” and escorted him to his uncle’s office.
“Good noontide, Uncle, mighty pen of the line of Suticarr,” Toamic began, but his uncle waved formality away with a gesture of his hand.
“No need for that when it’s just us, my boy. How have you been? How is your mother?”
“She is doing pretty well,” Toamic said, feeling a little uneasy at his uncle’s appellation and not needing to think long to realize why. “She still insists on the usual formalities at the usual times, which I suppose helps me keep in practice for my clients.”
“That’s Isita, all right. Well, is this just a social visit, or did you have a legal question?”
“Two questions, I think. First, if my father had had an only daughter, instead of an only son, and she were unmarried at the time of his death, my cousin Sorres would undoubtedly inherit the entailed houses and the title, but would my father’s debts be inherited by this hypothetical daughter, or her cousin?”
“What a curious question! The debts would attach to the estate, so they would be inherited in the male line. If that had happened, of course Pandiac or I would have taken in your mother and your hypothetical sister.” (Pandiac was Toamic’s other uncle, the Earl of Suticarr.) “We offered to do so as it was, if you recall, but your mother wouldn’t think of leaving her husband’s house, despite the difficulties of keeping it maintained.”
“Yes, I recall, young though I was at the time.” Not that much younger than he was now; it was just four years ago, when he was sixteen. “Now my other question. If –” He hesitated, feeling suddenly frightened. Uncle Pondarr was more open-minded than most noblemen, but Toamic still couldn’t be sure how he would react to hearing of Toamic’s tentative plan. “If, having already inherited the title, houses, and debts, I were to –” Again he paused, and forced himself to go on. “– to suddenly become a woman – which of the title, houses, and debts would then go to Sorres?” And, he did not ask but implied just as clearly, would she have a place in her uncle’s house?
Uncle Pondarr stared at him in astonishment for a few moments, and for those moments Toamic feared the worst. But then he said, “Well, that would depend on a judge, and on the skill of the respective lawyers. I think it could go either way. On the one hand, the daughter of a duke does not inherit his title or entailed property, but on the other hand, you have already inherited, and changing into a woman is not the same as dying, which would cause your cousin to inherit. But whichever way it went, I’m pretty sure the debts would go with the houses and title. Either you would end up with all that you have now, or have nothing, but be free of debt.”
“Would I be able to keep the furniture from my bedroom and a few books from the house if I lost the house and moved into rented rooms somewhere?”
“That would depend on the grace of your cousin. It’s pretty likely, since most of the remaining furniture and books in the house are old-fashioned and of little commercial value. You and your mother only kept what the appraiser said would not bring much at auction. So your cousin would want to refurnish the house in any case, since it’s been so denuded, and furnishing one more room, or two in the case of your mother’s, would not make much of a difference. But tell me, what is this about becoming a woman? Some years back, I heard that the younger son of Baron Sarambic had paid a wizard to change him into a woman; the family denied it, and said he had gone away to become a monk in some remote monastery, but it couldn’t be denied that he was gone. But wouldn’t a wizard charge far more than you can afford? And why?”
“It’s hard to explain why,” Toamic said, but struggled to explain anyway. “I’ve wanted it for a long time, though I knew it was beyond my means even if magic existed that could make it happen. And then yesterday, at the house of one of my clients, I met a woman who had been transformed…” He went on to briefly summarize Saina’s story of peeing on the idol, at which his uncle laughed heartily, and how she had decided to remain a woman, and of her offer to Toamic.
“Well, good for her,” he said finally. “Live and let live is what I say. And if you want this that strongly, go do it. I’ll represent you at no charge when Sorres gets wind of it and sues for what he thinks should be his inheritance, as I did in the litigation after your father’s death, and if we lose, you and mother will be taken care of. We might have to pretend that you died and your new girl self is some distant cousin we’ve adopted after her parents died, if we want you to have any chance of a good marriage, but we can discuss that later.”
Toamic was doubtful that such a ruse would be possible after the publicity of a court case. “If we want to maintain such a ruse, perhaps we had better let my cousin have the estate quietly in exchange for a promise to keep his mouth shut. But my mother would never accept that. No, I think we’ll have to fight for it, and live with the consequences of the publicity.”
“Damn, you’re right. Oh, well. I’m sure we can find someone who is open-minded enough to marry you.”
Toamic privately doubted it, and doubted, too, whether he wanted it. But that was a matter for later. “I must meet my next client soon,” he said. “Thank you so much for your help, Uncle.”
“It was no problem. Or rather a fascinating problem that I’ll be researching for days to come. Feel free to drop by any time in the evenings, and I’ll check in on your mother while you’re in Three Towers.”
I *adore* this uncle, no questions just going directly to "well, here's the legal angle we could take. Enjoy!"
Given the vibes of the rest of this society he must be popular with a niche but widespread clientele.
The uncle is a really great fellow it seems.
Fuuuun snfntng
This story is incredible. You've made something very very special here; well paced and with believable, natural charecters.
I found myself whispering "that rogue is going to steal Toamic's heart" more then once. Absolutely delightful.