After arriving at the Soloto Hotel, Odys generously booked the entire third floor, then took Bernadette to dinner.
Soloto State lay deep in the Western Province. Vota City was only two days away by carriage, and the city had good public order and a thriving commercial district.
The hotel's food was decent too, about on par with what they had eaten in Isara.
After dinner, Odys gave Longzel a few instructions in the hotel corridor. He left all the routine work to Longzel and the three clerks, then he and Bernadette returned to their separate rooms.
Once they had gone inside, Neil, a clerk in his twenties, quietly asked Longzel, "Captain, isn't that beautiful lady the governor's wife?"
If they were married, surely they would have gone into the same room.
Longzel's public role was captain of the guards, while the "Beyonder Marionettes" were his men.
He glanced at Neil. "No."
With that brief answer, he went to direct the Beyonder Marionettes to their rooms.
Longzel also instructed the three clerks to find out where they could buy carriages. Governor Odys had just told him they needed several for the rest of the journey.
After watching the three go downstairs, Longzel strode to Odys's door and knocked.
"Come in."
Longzel opened the door. Odys had just taken off his vest and hung it on a coat rack. Once Longzel had shut the door, he said quietly, "Governor, I think that clerk Neil is a spy sent by another organization."
Odys looked at him. "Why do you say that?"
"He asks too many questions," Longzel said. "Unless he's exceptionally curious, he must be gathering information for another organization."
Odys smiled. "You can't call that a spy."
Longzel paused. "Am I being too suspicious?"
"No. I mean I could tell he'd been