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Rank and influence will always attract those who hope for some gain. So Barbara was wary from the beginning when a stranger named Heniriz Chammering left her card and requested a few moments of her time.
* * *
“It’s clear what you thought,” Barbara interrupted, losing patience at last. “You thought I was a wealthy woman. What isn’t clear is how you thought to turn that to your advantage. Let us not mince words here. What is it you want?”
She made a very convincing show of looking aghast. “No! You misunderstand! I don’t…you mustn’t think…oh, this is all so difficult. I don’t know where to start.” She pulled a handkerchief from her reticule and dabbed at her eyes. “My sister—”
“Ah, your sister. Now we come to it. What is it your sister wants, then?” Barbara interrupted.
“My sister has been dead these twenty years and more,” Maisetra Chamering said quietly.
Barbara didn't know which of those words sank into her stomach like a stone but she felt the shiver of someone walking over her grave. She waited, all senses alert, her heart pounding in her ears.
* * *
“It’s clear what you thought,” Barbara interrupted, losing patience at last. “You thought I was a wealthy woman. What isn’t clear is how you thought to turn that to your advantage. Let us not mince words here. What is it you want?”
She made a very convincing show of looking aghast. “No! You misunderstand! I don’t…you mustn’t think…oh, this is all so difficult. I don’t know where to start.” She pulled a handkerchief from her reticule and dabbed at her eyes. “My sister—”
“Ah, your sister. Now we come to it. What is it your sister wants, then?” Barbara interrupted.
“My sister has been dead these twenty years and more,” Maisetra Chamering said quietly.
Barbara didn't know which of those words sank into her stomach like a stone but she felt the shiver of someone walking over her grave. She waited, all senses alert, her heart pounding in her ears.
