Risk & Reward

I returned the silver tarsks sent by the Lady down the street. What she wanted for them, in my estimation, was not equitable to the price she paid. I have not considered just how much is equitable, but I know that four silver tarsks, while a tidy sum, was not worth the risk she proposed. Her note was a little presumptuous, but that is to be expected. Everything about the woman is presumptuous, and a little too audacious for her own good. She assumed that I would send Portia to her dressed in a black robe that covered her from head to toe and the whole affair would last no longer than half an ahn. There are two problems with that, both are maxims to live by. The first is simple. If it sounds too good to be true, likely it is. The second states: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. If she is willing to lay out four silver tarsks for half an ahn to procure the services of a three copper an ahn whore, there is a presumed risk to said whore. The mathematics alone bear that out. At her standard rate, it would take Portia close to thirty five ahn to earn a single silver tarsk, let alone four of them. No, I do not rent out my whores like that. In the short term, it is a sound investment. For the long term, there were insufficient assurances to justify taking the money.


Unless...





I have heard people say that my Portia bears a resemblance to the Vinquient girl, spawn of Kreeandra. I don't see it, but apparently I am in the minority on that assessment. Noemi prefaced her offer with just that notion, that Portia 'bears a resemblance...' to Miss Vinquient. People in the alley talk. Those two do not like one another, despite the suggestive nature of their relationship. ...but all of this leads me back to risk and reward. What would prompt a free woman to enter a whore house? That is a great risk. What protection does she have should the proprietor throw her to the tiles, stripping and binding her in preparation for the collar and the brand? Could she file a complaint with the local Magistrate? Of course. What if the proprietor himself is a local Magistrate? She is not a stupid woman. She knew the risks involved with walking through the red doors a few days past, when I still had the silver coins in my possession. Therefore, one would rightly assume she expected a commensurate reward. And what did she seek? Information, at first. I let her read the note. That much I was willing to provide free of charge. She was not surprised by the contents. I kept the slaves present, Portia and Elise, stepping and fetching.
"Bring me wine."
"Press a plum and a few ta-grapes for my guest."
It is better to keep them ignorant with respect to the business of the free. They are slaves. Let them know what they need to know. And while I know they heard more than they needed to, it was only bits and threads of the larger tapestry. I am certain, Elise in particular, wishes she did not hear what little she did. When they were slow in retrieving the items I sent them off for, I did not urge them to greater expedience.
When Miss Vinquient asked me to indulge Noemi by allowing Portia to keep the rendevous, I was a little surprised. She even offered to stake the cost of replacing the girl. She was willing to risk a lot, indeed. How great the reward then? Did she not already have all the information she needed? Apparently not. I nodded. I decided that I might decrease my risk aversion and sent the slaves off to fetch a piece of parchment, as well as a pen and ink. I wrote the Writ of Intent & Consequence in plain and simple terms. To assure the safety of my investment, Portia, Miss Vnquient would be required to stake something dear to herself. When she read just what I required of her, she claimed to be insulted. She charged that I would manuever a way around the contract to put her in violation of it, forcing her to surrender to the terms which were, admittedly, expensive for her.
"Forgive me for being fond of my bitches," I asked of her. Did she think I would put one of my most valuable investment properties in her hands without some sort of insurance? I thought what I asked was fair, but she was entitled to her opinion. Further, I had no intention of trying to undermine my own Writ. If she met its demands, I would have burned it in her presence. She tried to negotiate further, but I found her proposals a bit out of line, unrealistic even. She had a limit to what she would risk, the same as any sane person.