Any man who’d cook that… eel had surely earned eternal celibacy.
Outside the restaurant, Bugg paused to check the contents of his shirt’s many hidden pockets. Flask, eel, cat bones. A successful meeting, after all. Moreover, he was appreciative of her performance. Tehol might well and truly like this one, I think . It was worth considering.
He stood for a moment longer, then allowed himself a soft laugh.
In any case, time to head home.
Tehol Beddict studied the three sad, pathetic women positioned variously in the chamber before him: Shand slumped behind the desk, her shaved pate looking dull and smudged; Rissarh lying down on a hard bench as if meditating on discomfort, her red hair spilled out and hanging almost to the floor; and Hejun, sprawled in a padded chair, refilling her pipe’s bowl, her face looking sickly and wan. ‘My,’ Tehol said with a sigh, his hands on his hips, ‘this is a tragic scene indeed.’
Shand looked up, bleary-eyed. ‘Oh, it’s you.’
‘Hardly the greeting I was anticipating.’ He strode into the room.
‘He’s gone,’ Hejun said, face twisting as she jabbed a taper into the coals of the three-legged brazier at her side. ‘And it’s Shand’s fault.’
‘As much yours as mine,’ Shand retorted. ‘And don’t forget Rissarh! “Oh, Ublala! Carry me around! Carry me around!” Talk about excess!’
‘Ublala’s departure is the cause for all this despond?’ Tehol shook his head. ‘My dears, you did indeed drive him away.’ He paused, then added with great pleasure, ‘Because none of you was willing to make a commitment . A disgusting display of self-serving objectification. Atrocious behaviour by each and every one of you.’
‘All right all right, Tehol,’ Shand muttered. ‘We could have been more… compassionate.’
‘Respectful,’ Rissarh said.
‘Yes,’ Hejun said. ‘How could one not respect Ublala’s-’
‘See?’ Tehol demanded, then flung up his hands. ‘I am led to despair!’
‘You’ll have company here,’ Shand said.
‘He was to have been your bodyguard. That was the intent. Instead, you abused him-’
‘No we didn’t!’ Hejun snapped. ‘Well, only a little. All in good fun, anyway.’