Emerita Boxing Day, page 10
“I’d be quite pleased if they did,” Tarbo said. “I doubt they’d need financial backing, but I’d be willing to assist with that for a small percentage of profits.”
August touched Tarbo’s knee. “Husband, we were talking about the community project.”
“Yes. Of course, dear,” Tarbo coughed. “My wife has been wanting to get involved in this endeavor. Are your wives taking an active part in it?”
“We’ve set people in place to handle it,” Ayla replied. “Once we have things building up, we might take a more active role.”
“Oh…” August deflated slightly. “I thought you were all more involved.”
“We could start soliciting for others to join the project,” Sophia suggested. “That would allow us to make social calls.”
August leaned forward, fully invested again. “That sounds wonderful!”
Tarbo was about to interject, but seeing the hopeful smile on August’s face, he stayed quiet. His wife had long been a wallflower because of her shy nature and severe features. If she could use this as a way to feel more confident, then he wasn’t going to squash her momentum.
“Have the manager get in touch,” Tarbo said. “I’ll make at least one sizable donation for a school. We’ve long neglected the youth.”
“Agreed,” Doc nodded. “I’d like to see them attend at least three times a week. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are skills needed for a better life.”
“Which is why we have a tutor on staff,” Sonya smiled. “The children take lessons three times a week, and the staff who want to learn get at least one of those days, too.”
“Oh, what a lovely idea,” August said. “We have a few younger staff who could benefit from the same.”
Tarbo chuckled. “We will find a tutor, then, my dear.”
A knock came on the door before the chef opened it. “Dinner is ready,” Charles announced, “if you are ready, sirs and madams?”
“Excellent timing, Charles,” Doc said, standing up. “I guarantee he’s made something to remember.”
~*~*~
Dinner went amazingly well— Charles had gone with southern food, as many had never had them before, and Lia, Doc, and Fiala explained each dish when asked. After dinner, they’d retired to the parlor again for after-dinner drinks. They exchanged small talk until the Tarbos took their leave. Harrid had stayed with the staff for the night, as it had been a social meal, so Doc made sure to thank him and promised to arrange another day off soon.
With everything done for the day, the family retired to the master bedroom. When the door closed behind Doc, Rosa asked, “Are we going to empower Doc’s ring?”
“We are,” Lia said, the others agreeing with her.
Doc took a seat on the bed. “It won’t hurt them, will it?”
“No, Doc,” Rosa murmured. “There will be no pain. I promise.”
“Rosa told us about it earlier,” Sophia said. She stripped, and the others did the same. “We just need to think of and hold to a moment we’ve felt jealousy before. She’ll pluck that emotion from us and place it into the stones.”
“Oh, the ring!” Fiala grabbed it from where she had put it earlier, handing it over to Rosa. “There you go.”
“Thank you, Fiala,” Rosa smiled, the first one completely naked.
Doc took his boots off, just starting to disrobe. “Are you all sure about this? There’s nothing wrong with the way you feel. We haven’t had any problems.”
“It’s about making sure you’re safe more than the emotions,” Sonya said.
“None of us feel overly jealous,” Ayla nodded. “The small spikes we might have usually get ignored. This is more about energizing the ring for you to get it enchanted.”
“We want to make sure you’re as safe as we can make you,” Lia added, stretching out on the bed. “That’s why the ring will be enchanted for healing. Since none of us are deeply jealous, it’ll take all of us to make sure the ring stays empowered for years.”
“Because soul stones fade as the energy in them is expended,” Sophia said. “The wear on them degrades the stones, causing them to eventually fracture, too.”
“They break when the soul fades,” Rosa corrected. “When they are infused, the soul becomes integral to their structure.”
Doc was listening, but with his wives all naked and in bed already, he wasn’t at his most attentive. Seeing his gaze, his wives giggled, then began to exchange kisses and caresses, further derailing his ability to think.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world…” Doc whispered.
“Well, you are the Voice of Luck,” Lia snickered. “Now come here, husband. We’re all going to pamper you while our lovely Weed does her task. She’ll be thanked by all of us before we go to sleep.”
Rosa’s eyes were bright as she clutched the ring tightly in her hand. She would focus on her task first, then reap the rewards from the flowers Doc loved.
Chapter Fourteen
Doc met Ayla’s eyes across the table, smirking when she licked the gravy from her lips. She’d been the one to wake him that morning, so this was the second time he’d seen her licking her lips clean. Ayla’s face heated slightly; she bit her lip and lowered her gaze, thinking of that exact same moment.
“Charles is such a good chef,” Sophia sighed happily.
“He really is,” Fiala agreed. “We have good staff, which helps the house run smoothly.”
“Doc, are you going to the Silver Lily or the enchanter first?” Sonya asked him, pushing her empty plate away.
“Enchanter,” Doc said, touching the mythrium band on his ring finger. “I want it done so you all can feel more at ease.”
“It looks good on you,” Ayla smiled. “It’s a small piece of jewelry, but it states your station in a subdued way.”
“He also always carries us with him wherever he goes,” Lia said. “I like that symbology.”
Doc chuckled, thinking of a bad joke.
“What?” Fiala asked.
“Just thinking that, most of the time, I feel like you all have me wrapped around your fingers because I’m always willing to do anything you ask. Yet here, the ring is clearly showing you being wrapped around mine.”
“We’ve all been wrapped around your fingers before,” Rosa murmured, her eyes gleaming.
Harrid coughed, having been taking a drink of coffee. Sonya thumped him on the back to help clear his throat, as some had gone down the wrong way.
“Let’s try to keep the conversation polite enough to not kill Harrid?” Doc snorted, rubbing Rosa’s head.
“Thank you…” Harrid croaked.
A rapid knock came on the dining room door before it was yanked open. Bernard, their bear bestial butler, looked grim in the doorway. “Sir… there’s news.”
Doc was on his feet instantly. “What happened?”
“Simpson is here to tell you, sir. In the parlor.”
Everyone was done with breakfast, so the entire group went to see Simpson. Bernard cleared out of the way— he was worried, but the best he could do was his job, not cluttering up a room.
Simpson was standing in the parlor when the door opened. The bull bestial rubbed at one of his sawed-off horns when he saw the entire family. “Sir… sorry to bother you.”
“Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?” Doc asked.
“No, sir. Everyone on the crew is fine…” Simpson said, then trailed off. “We had three buildings near completion the other day. Today… we have charred ruins.”
“What?!” Fiala asked.
“Someone torched the homes,” Simpson said, “sometime between the crew knocking off and this morning. Considering how ruined they are, it would’ve been late last night.”
Doc exhaled. While he was glad that no one was injured, he was mad at what was a clear jab at his endeavor. “I see. I’m glad you’re all safe. You had mentioned moving into the first house. If you’d been there, it would’ve been a disaster.”
“Anyone willing to burn them down would’ve had no compunction in killing me,” Simpson nodded.
“We’ll get contracts written up for guards,” Ayla said.
“Need to find some,” Sophia told her.
“Doc, ask the clan,” Sonya said. “This is your project, so as shaman, you can request aid. The fact that you’ll take on the burden of cost will have them approve it quickly.”
“I’ll do it today,” Doc said. “This changes my entire day around.”
“You’ll see the enchanter first,” Lia said, meeting his eyes. “If your enemies are going to take aggressive action, it’s even more imperative that you have an ace up your sleeve.”
“She’s right,” Fiala nodded.
“Okay. Enchanter, then clan,” Doc said. “I’ll hit the Silver Lily after that.”
“I was going to join you later,” Sonya said, “but I’ll wait until tomorrow. We should focus on the tasks that need to be done today.”
“Uh, sir?” Simpson asked softly. “McKenzie was wondering if he could ask your dryad to come out to help with the property.”
Doc hesitated, then turned to Lia. “Can you take her out there?”
“I can,” Lia nodded, “but what about your healing?”
“I’ll take care of a minor problem or two, but ask anyone else to come back tomorrow.”
“Very well. Weed, we’ll be going with Simpson.”
Rosa nodded. Her eyes locked onto Doc for a long moment before she went to Lia’s side.
“We’ll get our things and come with you, Doc,” Sophia said. “If the clan agrees, we can get the contracts signed today.”
“Alright,” Doc said. “Let’s get things moving.”
~*~*~
It felt a little weird not having Rosa beside him. She’d been with him almost every day since reaching Furden, minus the dates and social events. To be heading into the city without her had him feel like something important was missing. Ayla and Sophia being beside him eased those feelings a little, but it persisted.
“Things calmed down there for a bit,” Ayla said as they passed the ruined buildings, looking at them. “We handed off a lot of things to others.”
“Yes, and we’ll do the same with this problem once we’ve locked up protection,” Sophia nodded. “This has to be Strongarm. He’s the only one this project affects.”
“Probably is,” Doc agreed. “No proof for now, but I’d bet it’s him. I should see Sheriff Donadin soon and get him to sign off on a substation for the community. If I pay him enough, I might be able to get the one deputy I trust to care for the people.”
“We’ll need to set up private security for the community, too,” Ayla said. “We’ll work with the manager for that. I’m thinking a mixed group would be best. This way, no one feels like the community isn’t being represented.”
“The substation will be for the deputy to handle any paperwork and to hold people until they can be taken in?” Sophia asked, opening her folder.
“Yeah. Maybe four deputies in total. I want it small so Donadin doesn’t want to move his office to it.”
Ayla opened her folder up, pulling out her pen. “We’ll pass these ideas off to McKenzie on the way back later. Do you mind if we take the carriage after the clan? We’ll send Clyde back to you after he takes us home.”
“That’s fine. I could use the time to walk the city. There are a couple of stops I kept putting off before, minor things that today makes the perfect time to do.”
“Just be careful,” Sophia told Doc before shifting her focus. “Four deputies with holding cells. It’d be best to set it at the edge of the property, closer to the city proper, to make it clear that the deputies are there to assist, not push down on them.”
“The private security should be the ones to enforce most things,” Ayla nodded. “Maybe a couple of stations set around the rest of the property?”
“McKenzie might’ve already planned it, but we’ll verify with him.”
Doc stayed quiet as his wives worked— they always went above and beyond for him. He’d need to take them all out for dates again soon, and was thinking that a big date would be best. If Heather agreed to his request, he’d definitely want all of his wives for that.
~*~*~
The enchanter’s office was ornate, with the windows having runes etched into the glass, glowing light blue. Doc helped his wives down before focusing on the runes. “Enchanter sure knows how to advertise.”
“I wonder if they have a purpose?” Ayla pondered aloud.
“I’d think it’s reinforcing the glass,” Sophia said. “It’s a large window. People could easily climb through it if it was broken.”
“I’d have to think that robbing an enchanter’s shop is stupid,” Doc snorted.
“The few I’ve heard about ended up with all the robbers dead. No enchanter leaves their shop undefended. Someone will always risk it, though, because the profits can be quite high.”
“Not high enough for my life,” Ayla said.
Doc led the way into the shop. The bell announced them, allowing the woman behind the counter to get to her feet to greet them. He gave her a smile as Harrid closed the door behind them. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, sir,” the woman replied, eyeing the group critically. She was going to dismiss them until she saw the ring on Doc’s hand. “How can I assist you?”
Doc reached the counter, laying his hand flat so the ring was obvious. “I have an empowered ring that needs an enchantment.”
“What kind of enchantment, and did you want the rest of the stones filled?”
“Healing is preferable, and no. I’ll keep the others empty for now.”
“Hmm… may I see it, Mister…?”
“Doc Holyday,” Doc said, pulling the ring off to hand it to her. “And you are the owner?”
“Victoria Glint, sir. I’m an enchanter from Blue Hill in Big River.”
“You grew up there?” Doc asked, watching as she pulled a jeweler’s loupe to study the ring. Doc eyed the item, as it had tiny blue lights ringing it.
“Born and raised, but I had to come west to find a place I could set up shop,” Victoria said distractedly.
“Your accent isn’t as strong as I’d expect.”
“Speaking clearly is the hallmark of education,” Victoria said as if she’d had the words drilled into her. “Headmistress was very firm on that.” Putting the loupe down, she smiled. “The quality is good; not excellent, but better than most. The souls inside are potent. You must have paid a good deal for them.”
“My health is important to me and my wives,” Doc replied. “Can you manage the enchantment?”
“Yes. It will take me a few days if you want my best work.”
“What’ll that mean for me, once it’s done?”
“Any minor wound will heal in minutes. Bones will heal in a day if left to mend. Organs are trickier, but my best will see them healed enough to keep you going so a doctor can patch them as they should be.”
“We’d like the healing to be specific,” Ayla said. “Focused on waking him and stopping him from bleeding out.”
Victoria gave Ayla a long look before turning her attention back to Doc. “Is she correct on that, sir?”
“My wife is correct,” Doc nodded.
Victoria’s hand went up without thought, brushing at her hair. Her slightly-pointed ear flashed into sight for a second before her hair covered it again. “I see… I can arrange the healing enchantment to focus as you wish, ma’am, but he’d need to see a doctor even sooner that way.”
“Our husband has a healer on standby,” Sophia smiled. “This is to make sure he’s awake and able to get to the healer.”
Eyes flickering to Harrid, Victoria nodded. “Ah. You must have enemies if your guard isn’t enough. Very well. Give me two days and I can have it done. The cost is not cheap, especially for a truly custom piece.”
Ayla laughed lightly. “We can pay the cost easily. Besides, if we don’t pay, that ring would easily recoup the costs you incur.”
“It would, indeed, especially with the healing enchantment on it,” Victoria said. “Return on the morning of the twenty-first.”
“A pleasure doing business,” Doc said. “Could you make me six rings, like you suggested originally?”
Victoria’s eyebrows went up at the request. “I could. They wouldn’t be as powerful as yours, but they would be quality work. The cost if I’m supplying the rings would be… prohibitive.”
