Sensing that the governor wasn’t buying Astra’s cover as a Calif, Fred
decided that he needed to act quickly before things went from bad to
worse. Even though he had agreed to let Astra do the talking, so far his
revelation that he was in fact from Suffex seemed to be working.
”I confess, I confess! Astra here is not a Calif. Indeed, she is my serving wench.” Astra noticeably rolled her eyes, but there wasn’t much she could do…she had to go along with this. “I didn’t say anything earlier because I knew slavery had been outlawed in Hespan.” This was true…Hespan was much more progressive than Allaria in this regard. Miraculously, the Governor believed his story. “Harrumph. Even though you are breaking Hespan law I am prepared to let you go. On one condition.” ”What’s that?” ”That you release your slave so that she may stay with me as a guest of the court. In exchange, I will pay you the fair market value and offer you free transport to the port of your choosing on one of my most luxurious ships.” This really should have been a no-brainer, but the tiny little gears in Fred’s mind started to turn. The Governor’s deal was quite good, but on the other hand he could use a new serving wench. His old one had died of malnutrition recently, and besides Astra was rather easy on the eyes.
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11/7/2002 6:23:31 AM
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