Shield's Lady

me.”
    Sariana was totally involved in her budding ideas. Absently she began to pace the deck of the sled. She was so enthralled in what she was planning that she didn’t notice the chill of her wet chemise.
    “The fundamental key to changing the Shields’ role in society is to change their financial and business relationships with that society. You have to evolve out of your limited bandit hunting and find new financial niches for yourselves. What you need,” she concluded triumphantly, “Is a good business manager. Someone who can tackle the job of restructuring the economic position of an entire class.”
    “And as it happens,” Gryph observed, “a very aggressive business manager has just recently married into my social class.”
    Sariana smiled her brilliant smile. “As it happens, you’re right. This could be a lucky day for you and your entire class, Gryph”
    He grinned. “Tell me something. Just how do you plan to change a whole class of frontier warriors into respectable craftsmen and business people?”
    “That’s easy,” Sariana said smoothly. “All you need is a solid financial base and some shrewd investment advice. By a strange and interesting coincidence, you have recently come into possession of a cavern full of financial capital. In the past you Shields have obviously not handled the sale of your prisma with any great skill. There’s a vast difference between selling your capital and investing it so that it continues to earn for you.”
    “And you’re going to show us the difference, right?” “As I said, this could be your lucky day.”
    Before Gryph could think of an appropriate response there was a crackle of underbrush behind him. Sariana jumped in startled surprise as Etion Rakken, looking quite tattered and unkempt, made his way slowly down to the shoreline. But Gryph greeted the banker’s arrival with resignation.
    “Hello, Rakken. I wondered how long it would take before you stumbled out into the open. When I realized you’d gotten past the traps back at the caverns, I figured you’d probably joined forces with Miscroft to escape. You have a nasty habit of working with inferior craftsmen.” Gryph indicated the gasping bandit at his feet.
    Rakken tried to straighten his clothing. Then he held up his hand in a placating gesture. “Sorry about that little scene on the sled just now. It was Miscroft’s idea. He thought he could take you in your sleep and thus ensure that the Shields never find out about all that prisma. I told him it would never work, but who can reason with a bandit?” He turned to Sariana. “I’ve been listening to what you’ve been saying, Sariana. Do you think you could use some expert banking advice?”
    Gryph swore softly as he watched the other two regard each other with intent interest. He scowled at his wife and then at Rakken. “I’ll say one thing for you easterners, you never stop dealing.”
    The next day Gryph and his small party arrived in Little Chance to find a contingent of Shields waiting for them at Delek’s house. Delek himself limped happily out to welcome his friend.
    “I just got back with the others,” he explained. “We were making preparations to set out after you.”
    Gryph displayed his teeth in a fierce, elated grin. “I’m very glad to see you, Delek. I have much to tell you. But I think that first I had better introduce you to my wife. She has a few suggestions to make on the subject of dealing prisma.”
    Delek cocked an eyebrow. “Do we have a lot of it to deal?”
    Gryph slapped his friend on the back and reached for his wife’s hand. “Let’s go inside,” he said to Delek. “I want to tell you the revised, updated version of the legend of Targyn the Bandit Hunter.”
    “You know me,” Delek said easily, “I love a good story.”

    Seven months later Sariana looked up from a pile of papers on her desk and smiled brightly as her husband strode into her office. He had her winter cloak over his arm. Her warm, laughing, loving smile had no impact whatsoever on his forbidding expression. Gryph glanced pointedly at the timepiece on her desk.
    “I thought we agreed that you would only work half days from now until the baby arrives, Sariana. Damn it, I have to watch you every minute. This pregnancy has been twice as much work for me as it has for you. I’m the one who has to remind you to take your tonic in the mornings. I’m the one who has to be responsible for getting you to your monthly checkups