Chapter 31 Intimidating Inlaws

"So, tell me what all you've found out," Bob said that evening as everyone was settling down around the fireplace.

They had locked up the kitchens and had a couple of the adventurers watching over the others who had paid to sleep in the dining hall. Bob had them paying a silver piece to stay in out of the weather, since they were just sleeping on the floor. Sam said he would have his people working overtime to get all the furniture he needed over the next couple of days.

"The orphanage is indeed Lord Winston's doing, but he didn't have the men to accomplish it, and it was originally Lord Richmond's idea. Clark's men are running the operation, and collecting the 'orphans' off the streets. They aren't releasing any of them, unless a parent comes to fetch them, and often there's a price involved for 'tending' to the child in the meantime."

It was obvious Trudy wasn't impressed with it at all.

"The kids are thrown into two large rooms, that have no heat and only a row of beds. They are separated by sex, with the boys going in one side and the girls in another. The center room is the dining area, where they get to see each other twice a day, and the rest of the time there is nothing for them to do. They've placed bars over the windows, to keep the kids locked inside."

"How do they know if the kids are a boy or a girl?" asked Bob, remembering how Max had tried to hide that she was a girl. "Often the girls try to hide what they are by cutting their hair and wearing the same clothes as the boys."

"They strip them down, as soon as they arrive, and make them wash themselves in cold water, before giving them new clean clothes to put on. They aren't given any privacy, and many of the men in charge try to get that job. It's disgusting, if you ask me," she growled.

"That's not right. Something has to be done about this!" fumed Liam.

"No one's going to care," said Leo, not looking up as he wiped his blade down with an oiled rag. "No one but those nobles have enough money to even bother with an orphanage, and the people's kids that get snatched up aren't going to get out, because no one's got any money after that sickness that came through."

"Not to mention the taxes that they've imposed recently," added Liam.

"But why do they care about a bunch of kids on the streets?" asked Vivian. "No one's cared about them before."

"The king hasn't come to this city before. Clark is trying to make an impression, and doesn't want dirty street kids making a poor impression," grumbled Bob.

"Is there anything you can do?" asked Will, looking up at Bob. "You gave all of us jobs. Can't you help the other kids?"

"If there's no kids for them to snatch, then there won't be a need for an orphanage!" cried Max.

"I can't help every kid in the city, guys. Even if I had the money, what would they do? You guys already handle all of the running that I need done every day. Some of you don't even have to work that hard, because there's so many of you. I know that there's going to be a few more jobs soon, but they aren't things you guys can do. I need strong adults to work in the stables, and keep up the rooms in the inn. I need large adults to work the animals and tend to the customers."

They all hung their heads at his words, knowing they were true, but Bob couldn't help feeling bad for them. They were just trying to help.

"What else did you learn?" he asked, deciding to move on for the moment. He couldn't think of a solution to the orphanage just yet.

"Your aunt owes quite a bit of money, and Lord Richmond has agreed to pay all her debts if she can get you to leave the shop. He's trying to hurt your father, and believes that you are the reason your father is doing so well. Since you lost your mother just a short while ago, Lord Richmond believes that if he loses you, your father will falter and lose everything."

Bob frowned in thought. "Find out what her debts are. I might be able to deal with them, cutting Clark's influence on her. What about Martha? Did you get a chance to talk with her?"

"She said a lot of people have skills in the poor section, but she wasn't sure about someone who knew how to milk a goat. She would check around. As far as the other jobs that you have, there were plenty of people willing to come work for you. I told them to stop by tomorrow and you could check them out. I mentioned to her that you needed a lot of linen made for your new inn, and she said she would come by tomorrow as well."

Bob nodded. He would have to take her by the fabric merchant again. He would be happy to see him.

"The locksmith said he could stop by after lunch, to get started on your doors. I wasn't sure how many locks you would want, so you'll have to talk to him about that."

"It would be nice if you could get some of the other merchants to move out this way," said Zach.

"Which one's?" asked Bob.

"We need a good armor and weapon smith, or at least someone to sell them here. It would be nice to be able to get our things fixed or replaced when we break them."

Bob nodded. He could check on that. If he was going to cater to the adventurers, he needed to have what they needed here.

"I should probably see about a blacksmith, too. It would be nice if people could get their horses reshod when they need it," he said, thinking out loud.

"Bob, I heard something today, that I can't seem to forget. It just seemed so odd, I want to tell you about it," said Trudy with a frown.

"What is it?" he asked, stretching his arms. It had been a long day, and tomorrow was looking to be longer.

"Are there any chimneysweeps in this city?"

"Chimneysweeps? What are those?" asked Bob. He figured they had something to do with chimney's but sweeping them? With a broom, maybe?

"A chimneysweep goes around, making money by cleaning people's chimneys so they don't catch on fire," explained Liam with a yawn.

"I've never heard of that before, but it sounds dangerous. How would you clean something so small?" asked Bob. His chimney was barely big enough for his head to fit into, much less his body. How small did someone have to be, to clean a chimney?

"It's normally done by one of the small folk, like a gnome or halfling, but it can also be done by children, if need be," said Liam.

"Then, if I overheard some people talking about hoping a fire didn't start in one of your father's chimney's it might be worth paying attention to," said Trudy, looking troubled.

Bob perked up, as her words sunk in. "Who said that? When?"

"I only heard them this evening, and they were talking about one of the other stores having caught on fire last year. I didn't see who it was exactly, but I think it was a couple of the trash men."

"There was a nasty fire at one of father's stores last year, that burnt to the ground. The manager only barely made it out alive, but one of the workers died. His body was found when they started clearing up the rubble. It didn't look like he even made it out of bed. I don't like that they were talking about my father's stores. Do you think you could check on them? I know it's late."

She jumped up, giving Liam a quick peck on the forehead before disappearing out the door.

"She loves snooping. If her mother knew that you had her doing that, she would find it horribly funny."

"Oh? Why would she find it funny?"

"Her mother, Sarah, always wanted her to be a cook, like her father, but she insisted on sneaking around like her grandmother. She even went so far as to complain to Trudy's grandmother about it, but she thought it was funny, too. Sarah eventually gave up on the cook idea, because she kept finding Trudy's burnt disasters hidden all over the house. She would hide them, hoping her grandmother didn't find out. Apparently, her grandmother, Stella, was an excellent cook, but I wouldn't know. I never met her myself. I honestly hope never to meet either of her grandparents on her mother's side. They terrify me."

"Wouldn't you become family to them, if you marry Trudy? Why do they terrify you?" asked Bob, glad for something to distract him from the horrible idea of arson.

"They're legendary where I'm from. If you ever did anything that annoyed them, you could be swatted like a fly, without them even batting an eye." Liam gave a shudder. "They're good people, and all, I suppose, but I've always been scared of them. I think I saw her grandfather once, when I was very small, but he was far away. That was good enough for me. Even at that distance I felt like he was judging me."