Chapter 28
A Timely Tea Talk
A cker-following Lord Kim tended to frequent the library that famously held the most texts related to the study of the stars. It was where he would review complaints filed by his tenants, and where he also drafted reports on his many opinions on the laws of Junya and Zinfera.
The reason for this was that the library had offices at the back of the building that could be rented out to sponsored scholars, or nobility. And the library was a particularly popular place to study, as it wasn’t far from the seaside. Zinfera’s multiple small islands dotted the distant waters, adding a scenic view from the library’s front doors. It was also an ideal location with its close proximity to the stylish shops on the main road.
The library was three stories tall—one of the tallest in Junya. Its floors and pillars were made of dark-stained wood, with whitewashed walls and lightly papered sliding doors dividing the rooms, much as in the house where Tam was staying with his companions.
On the first floor, shelves lined the walls. Rows of long tables ran down the middle of the room, benches tucked underneath. The building smelled of books and pine-scented wood polish.
Tam instantly loved it.
Approaching the official who sat behind a large desk carved with dragons and laurels, Tam clutched to his chest the thick manuscript he had spent the night crafting as his thesis, hoping he appeared timid and uncertain.
“Pardon me, sir?” he called out.
The official had a long, straight, salt-and-pepper beard touching his chest; he wore a tall black hat. He didn’t so much as glance in Tam’s direction.
“Excuse me?” Tam tried again.
The official turned the page of the large volume in front of him.
Tam had worked with many types of difficult people in his time gathering information for his mother and the crown of Daxaria, and even though he was in a foreign land now, he still knew how to handle people.
“I’m here to request the records for the Gatral Dragon constellation?”
The official, again, gave no sign of having heard the request.
Tam smiled, sighed, and then stepped around the desk, as if to go rummaging about on his own.
A long cane appeared, coming down with a crack in front of him.
It was roughly the reaction he had been anticipating. Still wearing a polite smile, Tam turned to the official. Despite wielding the cane, the man hadn’t looked up from his book.
Tam again squared himself to the desk, noting the number of Zinferan men that either ignored him entirely or only bothered to spare him a brief look of annoyance as they continued to pore over their own studies.
“I am new to Zinfera,” Tam began. “My wife is from here, and her family has sponsored us so that I might continue working on my thesis. Is there something I need to do or have in order to see these records?”
“Name?”
“Voll.”
“Your wife’s maiden name?”
Tam tilted his head. “Goe.”
At long last the official lifted his eyes that were framed with deep wrinkles to Tam. “There are no Goes in Junya.”
“They reside in Haeson and Gondol, but everyone knows Junya has the best records of the stars,” Tam replied with his most innocent smile.
The official was not impressed. “You should stay with your wife’s family if they are funding your studies.”
Tam quickly recalled how important the hierarchy of family was in Zinferan society. “We have traveled with her cousins. Her father wishes us to join them in Haeson in another month or two.”
The official sniffed disapprovingly before turning back to his book, his wiry eyebrows raised.
Tam waited patiently.
The official turned another page then called out. “Po, records on the Gatral Dragon. Case twenty-three, shelf four.”
A younger man who had been seated nearby with an inventory ledger in front of him sprang up and took off down the left side of the room.
If anyone thought this was odd, they didn’t show it.
“Thank you.” Tam bowed his head.
The official said nothing.
Stepping toward where the young man had disappeared, Tam pretended to be eyeing the room as any foreigner would: with undisguised interest, while also pointedly not gaping at the people.
That didn’t mean he didn’t take note of everyone there…
No one was dressed in a manner befitting a lord who could be Lord Kim, but then again, neither was he. Tam wore a simple Zinferan wrap-style black shirt, along with his boots and trousers from Daxaria.
The young Zinferan man named Po led Tam to the very back left corner of the room. There he pulled out four books, handed them to Tam briskly, and hurried back to his seat closer to the front doors.
Tam stared down at the texts, made a show of shrugging and looking pleased, then sat down and started working in the quiet room, with no sounds other than pages turning and quills scratching around him.
◆◆◆
By the time Tam was closing the last book, the sky outside the front doors had dimmed and he was the only patron left in the library—aside from the official who had been guarding the door, who appeared quite abruptly beside Tam.
“We are closing. Leave.”
Tam stood up, forcing himself to be clumsy as he did so. “Of course! My apologies! I get too involved in my studies and—”
The official was already walking away.
Tam sighed with a smile, his eyes fluttering closed as he stretched his neck.
“Dongu is a brilliant man, but unless you are made of paper and ink, he will have very little interest in you.”
The voice that sounded at Tam’s side would have surprised him had he not heard the subtle nasal breaths moments beforehand. He turned to find a stout Zinferan man with a closely trimmed goatee and a long royal-blue silk coat watching him with a twinkle in his eyes.
“My name is Lord Kim,” he said with a smile.
Tam blinked, gave a convincing gasp of astonishment, and bowed. “My lord! My apologies! I had no idea! I—”
Lord Kim chuckled. “Not to worry. I have a room in the back, and I don’t usually herald my presence. I noticed you are quite a serious scholar, and you are very clearly not from our shores. I confess that I am curious about you and your studies. Would you mind having a cup of tea with me, Mister…?”
Tam pressed his hand over his heart and bowed again, making sure that while proper, the gesture was a bit sloppy so as to not betray his own nobility.
“Mr. Voll! And of course! I’d be honored! My wife is used to me forgetting the time, but I don’t want to get back too late—our son loves to hear about my studies before bedtime.”
Lord Kim’s smile broadened. “A scholar and a committed family man! The first round of tea is on me, hm?” The Zinferan nobleman clapped a hand on Tam’s back, steering him toward the doors where Dongu waited, his nose wrinkling in displeasure at their slow departure.
“Have a good evening,” Tam said, bowing to the official who, as expected, said nothing, instead slamming the doors behind Lord Kim and Tam hard enough to make the handle rings bang.
“Did I offend him?” Tam asked with feigned worry.
“Oh no, no, dear boy. He doesn’t like anyone. Now, tell me, what kind of tea would you care to have this evening? Black tea? Fruit tea? Milk tea…?”
“I’d best have a citrus. If I drink black tea I’ll be up all night and won’t be able to get a full day to study tomorrow.”
Lord Kim laughed again and gestured at a quaint store with its windows already aglow, just up the road in the same direction as Tam’s guest home. Its pillars were painted a mint green, and its sign gleamed with gold lettering: Lang Tea.
Inside, the shop featured low tables, all crowded with men. In the center of each table sat a painted porcelain pot over a small lit flame. Tam watched as Lord Kim waved to a man behind the counter, who hurried over.
“My room upstairs,” Lord Kim informed the teahouse attendant quietly.
The attendant bowed, but shot a curious glance in Tam’s direction, prompting the future duke to smile in thanks.
“You’re tall… I’m sorry to say that it really does not help you blend in, and not everyone is happy to see foreigners in the kingdom these days. Particularly those from… Troivack?” Lord Kim ventured as he followed the attendant. A staircase led them up to a balcony encircling the ground-floor room, with private rooms built off it; different-colored round lanterns hung between the rooms.
“I’m from Daxaria,” Tam clarified while hunching his shoulders.
“Ah, that is better. Though you don’t look too much like a Daxarian.”
“I had a Troivackian grandparent,” Tam said truthfully. Duchess Annika Ashowan’s mother had been Daxarian herself; but Tam’s grandfather was Troivackian.
“I see. How is it you happened to meet your wife?” Lord Kim asked as they headed toward what appeared to be the largest room. It sat open and three women wearing fine, jade-colored tops and orange skirts stood in a line along the wall, waiting for them to enter.
“Is this teahouse yours, by chance…?” Tam ventured after remembering what Jeong had said about the color orange and those who wore it.
Lord Kim looked over his shoulder at Tam, his eyes sparkling. “What a quick mind you have. Yes, it is. Please come in and sit.”
Tam bobbed his head in thanks and entered. Lord Kim finished giving the women their tea orders.
Once the door had slid shut and the lord took his place by the table, Tam joined him in sitting cross-legged on the floor. A beautiful painting of a woman in a red dress standing on the shoreline took up most of the wall behind Lord Kim, drawing Tam’s eyes. The rest of the room was decorated in white and shades of brown.
“Ah, it is a beautiful piece, is it not? This was quite a popular style back when Grand Lady Chin Taejo first earned the favor of the emperor at the time. Have you heard of the mother of our emperor?”
Tam nodded, his eyes still fixed on the red dress.
“A fearless woman not to be trifled with… It is a pity that Zinfera has fallen on such uncertain times.” Lord Kim shook his head. “But enough of such thoughts. You were reading about the constellation of Gatral. You aren’t one of those foolhardy men who think they can find a dragon and a golden treasure hoard, are you?”
Tam held up his hands. “Not at all! When I was a boy, I found some old books in our family’s library about the stars. Ever since, I have been dreaming of the day I could come and study the texts here in Zinfera. Gatral just happens to be the constellation that interests me presently.”
Lord Kim nodded along. “That reminds me, young man, you never mentioned how it is you met a fine Zinferan woman?”
Tam looked at the table bashfully. “My… my brother-in-law introduced us. I am often reserved in nature, and our families happened to know each other, and, well… we’ve practically been inseparable since the day we met.”
Lord Kim laughed good-naturedly as the door to their room slid open. In shuffled the three serving women, their faces tilted toward the floor as they set the table and poured the tea. Lord Kim and Tam waited quietly until they were once again alone.
“How long have the two of you been married?” Lord Kim persisted.
Tam, making sure to keep smiling, answered, “My lord, you must have so many more important things in your life to worry about than my own marriage. Have you always lived in Junya? Forgive me if that was impertinent!” He bowed so deeply that his hair grazed the table.
Lord Kim sighed, and reached for a teacup painted with delicate cherry blossoms. “I apologize, Mr. Voll. It must seem I am prying into your life unnecessarily. As I said earlier, we seldom get many visiting foreigners. I have been living in Junya many years, though I did spend a bit of time in Haeson in the early days of my own marriage. I find Junya to still be a traditional place, and one steeped in Zinfera’s history. I do hope you discover the charm of this city during your stay.”
“I’m already enjoying it a great deal.” Tam picked up his own cup, sipped tentatively, and perked up. “I should bring Eli here. She would be able to tell me all about this tea.”
Had he just said that out loud?
“Eli?” Lord Kim pressed leaning forward.
“Ah. Ellie. My wife. She is exceptionally knowledgeable about tea,” Tam clarified. Though he mentally kicked himself for not using his assistant’s alias.
“Your wife sounds like a quality woman. If you are interested, I’d be happy to have her come to my teahouse. I may even bring my own wife should she rejoin me here in the city—our eldest daughter has children of her own and requested my wife’s help for a time.”
“We would be honored, sir!” Tam gushed.
Lord Kim chortled, pleased.
As they fell into other topics regarding popular stores and politics of Junya, Tam took another sip of tea. The citrus scent reminded him of his exchange with Eli the night before, when she had ensured that a very clear boundary remained between them. As a result, Tam had taken a very long walk around the side streets of Junya, trying to clear the emotions clouding his mind. Then he had returned and insisted on writing the thesis at the low kitchen table, sending Eli to bed alone.
He had realized at some point during the previous night as he worked that he was toeing a far more dangerous line than a simple crush on his assistant, and so he had been grateful that he had an excuse to be elsewhere.
While everything else was going along splendidly with his new plan to assess what was happening in Junya and finding Lords Guk and Kim, the matter of him falling into a one-sided infatuation with Eli was not helping his peace of mind in the least.
Hopefully Eli was able to find Luca a good teacher today. Then maybe I can stay in Luca’s room with him, saying I’m helping him study and learning to stick to a good schedule for school without suspicion. That is the best-case scenario… I think.