Before heading off to talk to Poppo Bartoli Amondo had a page ask his squire to meet him in the village temple in an hour and a half. He informed Poppo that he didn't require his services as chamberlain as his duties would be shared by Marke Alfara and his valet Keres Nedel. He suggested that Nazma who was moving into the manor might require his services but that would be up to them to arrange. Poppo who wasn't all that much older than him took the news rather better than expected and in return informed him that he hadn't expected to be kept on and had thus already made other arrangements elsewhere. Wishing him well he presented him with a small purse containing several gold coins and then headed off to speak to Alwis Carne who had served as his brother's valet.
Alwis responded to the news that his services as a valet were not required similarly too Poppo but unlike him hadn't yet made other arrangements and requested to stay on till the end of the month to give him time to do so.
With that out of the way, he had one last meeting before he had to head to the temple, this time with Berthold Hicks.
"So milord I can't imagine you need more than one secretary but before you offer me another position or whatever else you have in mind for me I must inform you that I have already been approached by Eugene Haas or at least agents claiming to work on his behalf. I did, of course, reject their advances but I feel obliged to mention it to you none the less."
"Interesting though not perhaps unexpected given the circumstances, now what were they actually looking for from you?"
"Well at first they simply asked me to provide information on your coming and goings plus any dirt I might have on the barony, it's employees and your family members. However, when I declined, they approached me with a more legitimate offer of employment not from Eugene himself mind you but rather Malcolm Ginn, the lord of Shanoky. Even though in certain circles it is well known that his current secretary is not well I still declined."
"Is that all they didn't ask anything else of you?"
"Well milord I did receive other offers of employment not in any way connected to Eugene as far as I could tell but I have yet to respond to them, waiting for this conversation or one very much like it before deciding what course to take."
"I see what were the names of these agents of Eugene that approached you?"
"Well, the one who wanted me to spy on you called himself Peter Gare and the one with the offer of employment Hansel Oben."
"I am aware of Hansel but this Peter Gare fellow had you ever met him before he made the offer or since?"
"No, I've only ever met him that once but your brother did send and receive several messages from him about ten to six months before his death. They seemed innocuous at the time but now that I think about them something doesn't sit right."
"In what way?"
"Well on the face of it they concerned a matter of trade, something about horses if I remember correctly but the language used seemed a bit off and might have been in some kind of code. After I rejected the first approach I tried to find the letters in question but they were nowhere to be found."
"Who else had access to my brother's correspondence?"
"Well milord while he was still alive in principal the steward, the Seneschal, Tobia Jalen the scribe, all the clerk and perhaps Nazma. After his death and before your arrival all those plus the escheator, his men and well other members of your family I imagine."
"That many?"
"Yes, milord but I suppose anyone could, in theory, have gained access to them if they were determined enough."
"That's certainly true of most things, do you know of anybody else who was approached by the two you mentioned or anyone else for that matter?
"No one's mentioned having done so to me but I can't imagine they��d have put all their eggs in the same basket."
"Alright, Berthold I appreciate your candour have you anything else to add?"
"Well, sir I was approached a couple of years ago by a man in the Rose and Thorn Inn while your brother was visiting the ducal capital. He was interested in information about the harvest the year before and the expectations for the upcoming one. I declined back then as well and when I mentioned it to your brother he told me to forget about it but report to him straight away if anything similar ever occurred."
"Well then I'll ask around to see if anyone else was approached but for now I do have a proposition for you."
"I'm all ears, sir."
"As you surmised I am happy with my current secretary and have no need for two of them however I will be making Erdal Spaci the Baronial Marshal. While he is well used to commanding my banner of knights and others for me, admin is not his strong suit. My secretary while not busy on my behalf has been helping him but with a much larger force to command and hopefully mercenaries added to the mix he needs someone working for him on a more permanent basis, what say you?"
"Well milord I can't claim to know much about martial matters but I am willing to give it a go."
"That's the spirit I'll introduce you to Erdal after dinner tonight and then once you take a day or so to get your replacement Marvin up to speed on things you can start working for him."
"It shouldn't take that long to get Mervin settled in and if he needs any help after that I'll try and make time to do so."