Marri's Approach (Brackish Bay) Read Free Page A

not since Jessica died.”
    Fortuna? Who is Jessica? Not the queen William told me about? Oh, Fortuna, what did you do? William always waxed rhapsodic about the powerful bond of love between Roy and Jessica.
    “Oh?”
    “Yes. There used to be more when Lord Roy was more active, but he delegates a lot of our governing to the mayors of each outpost now. Slavery is one of the main punishments for lawbreaking here.”
    “What are the others?”
    “Corporal punishment for small crimes or rule breaking, slavery for serious infractions. Slavery and being sold in a different city for serious infractions are a severe enough threat when keeping the criminal here would not be best. Death for the worst of infractions.”
    My skin prickled, and I felt a touch of cold wiggle along my spine. “The worst infractions? What are those?”
    “Murder. Violent rape. Sometimes violence against the community. Certainly our lord has put to death a great many warriors and soldiers who attacked our House.”
    I swallowed hard and wondered whether what I was playing at was still such a good idea. Still, my pride goaded me on. I am not attacking his house; I am doing it a service, right, Fortuna?
    “He holds trials?”
    “Hearings. Usually there are just the mayor and the soldiers, someone to record the events, and a representative from the offender’s house, and any witnesses.”
    “What if he's wrong?”
    She shrugged, uncomfortable with the idea that her lord could be wrong about anything. “He would rather err on the side of protecting his people than on the side of letting somebody go free to harm one of his own.”
    “What if it's one of his own who has committed the crime?”
    “That's why slavery and corporal punishment are options, also. He does not leap lightly to a death sentence.”
    I nodded, chewing slowly on the deliciously fluffy biscuit. “He sounds strict.”
    She laughed. “Strict is an understatement. But surely you know all this from the information they give you when you become a citizen or come into our territory.”
    Oh, Fortuna. “I've heard it, but it is always good to hear from one who's lived under his rule for a long time, to understand the perspective from one close to him.”
    She blushed. “Oh, I'm not close to him, but I have been here for a long time, since before he built the main house. This is one of the oldest houses on the island.”
    She gestured with pride, and then nothing would do but the children had to show me around the place, the upper floor with their beds, the lower with their bathing room, the kitchen where we were, and the room with all the shelves where she kept her supplies and finished items and everything in between. It was vast and beautiful, and when she offered me a tiny bit of crocheted lace, explaining how she had made it, I knew I had my bit of proof. Surely there was no one else in the whole of Brackish Bay with her skill.
    I thanked her profusely, and had just turned towards the door when a great big man blocked it. I stopped short while the children ran around me and launched themselves at what had to be their father. He laughed and scooped them up and raised his brow at his wife while hugging and playing with the little ones. She came next to me.
    “Marri is new to the island. I was just talking to her about Roy's rules and showing her my work.”
    “New?” He frowned at me. “Who do you belong to?”
    “No one, sir. I am unclaimed.”
    “A free woman? What is your trade?”
    “I am a soldier, sir.”
    His gaze narrowed on me, and I felt more than saw Sarafina shift, remembering my story.
    “A soldier? Why are you not with Gerard?”
    That was name of the man William told me was head of all the soldiers and guards in Brackish Bay.
    “I was given leave to get my bearings before reporting for duty, sir.”
    This was dangerous ground. I wondered how much they knew about how Gerard conducted his army's business.
    “That is not how he usually deals with new