to talk business without offering something edible.
A little gingerly, he picked up one of the smaller strawberries and dipped it into the chocolate before taking a tentative bite. Then his eyes went wide behind those thick glasses and his mouth turned up into a smile. “Mmm! It’s good like this.”
“Have another,” she offered. “Wait, Sylvie, not you.”
Too late. Sylvie already had the berry firmly in her mouth, dark eyes sparkling with laughter. “Escorting charges,” the other woman defended herself, licking traces of chocolate from her lips.
Siobhan rolled her eyes and shook her head in resigned amusement. She couldn’t help but notice that as Sylvie left, Hammon’s eyes strayed to watch her go for a moment. But she didn’t blame him. The man would have to be dead and six feet under to not be attracted to their resident trader. Sylvie had been blessed with gorgeous dark hair, a voluptuous body, and an exotic-looking face—all of which she used ruthlessly to her advantage. No one got better deals than she when it came to trading.
“So, what brings you to Deepwoods?” Siobhan brought his attention gently back to her without embarrassing him.
“Ah, hmm.” Hammon swallowed the mouthful he had and gave her a game smile. “Well, let me explain. I’m a scholar by profession, you see.”
Actually, she didn’t. Scholars were not a profession as no one paid them for their information. In fact, to call it a profession was the greatest oxymoron in the known world. But she had heard of families that were so wealthy that their children took on that title and studied whatever suited their fancies. Waste of time, education, and money in her opinion. Still and all, she didn’t make a habit of judging paying clients, so she made an encouraging sound and let him continue.
“I want to study specifically the cultures of this world and the interactions each nation has with each other,” he expanded, warming up to his subject. “I think if we all understood how the other cultures worked, we could have better relationships with them, especially where trade is concerned.”
Oh? Well, what a surprise. At least he wanted to study something sensible instead of how air was formed or some such nonsense. “How do we come in?”
“I’ve come to you for two reasons.” He held up two fingers in illustration. “One is that I’m informed that out of all the guilds, yours tends to travel the most because of your specialties in pathfinding and escorting.”
Thereby meaning…what exactly? “So you want us to escort you all over the four continents?”
“Well, yes and no. I actually hoped to just stay with your guild for a time and whenever you take a job, I travel with you. It’s less cumbersome for you that way.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. He wanted to live with the guild? “What’s the second reason?”
“Of the guilds in this city, yours is the most ethnically diverse. I understand you have people from five different nationalities here.” He waited for her confirming nod before continuing. “I didn’t hear wrong, then. Good. So you see, you actually have the perfect place for me to observe right in this Hall. Your people, despite their different cultures, get along peacefully and work well together. I can learn a great deal by watching them interact and asking questions.”
‘Get along peacefully’ was it? That might be stretching things a tad. “So you wish to live with us.”
“An unorthodox idea, I know,” he admitted with a wry shrug, expression bashful yet somewhat charming. “I would of course be willing to pay you for the expense of having me.”
Ohhh? So this study of his had funding to it? Siobhan sat back in her chair and regarded him frankly, the wheels in her mind spinning. She saw something in his eyes that made her pause before giving him an immediate answer. She’d seen it before—and it made all the difference to her. Logical reasons aside, she had a feeling why he had really come.
She could charge him some exorbitant price for the privilege of staying here, but she had a gut feeling it wouldn’t work. Her people didn’t esteem wealth. They would be polite to a paying guest but not welcoming. It would add tension in the guild, and she avoided tension like the plague.
She had half a mind to let him stay just because she rather liked what she saw. But she wouldn’t be a guildmaster if she couldn’t somehow turn this to her advantage. Right now she didn’t need money