Eragos wondered, through his laughter and the fine cherry-smoke of his pipe, how good Eithne was at sensing whether or not someone was telling the truth. She seemed to sense it in Lady Areinh, though she did not know why, and could not guess. Picking up on a deception was only half of the great battle. The other half was finding out what someone was trying to hide from you when they lied. She knew the first half well, Eragos thought, coming as she did from a collection of rough-and-tumble types on the street. They thought they were hard. It had taken him all of ten seconds to dismantle her first friend. The second, significantly less. She had all of the tools one needed to be successful, but she did not know how to use them.
That was his job, wasn't it?
"You're wrong," Vargis smiled toothy at Eithne. "A thief wouldn't slit someone's throat for a biscuit. That's the real difference."
"Enlightening as always," Eragos murmured. "Let us try to remain on the topic at hand. Tomorrow, Lady Areinh will be meeting with Orill to discuss the full terms of their arrangement. During the meeting, she's allowed to have only one assistant in the room with her."
"Assistant!" Vargis snapped irritably. "As if we would-"
"That person will be Covas," Eragos went on smoothly. "The rest of us are tasked with guarding the exterior of the building. In accordance with local custom. Is this understood? We are not marshals or city guards. We do not have the power to arrest or interrogate. Only to deny access to the building and those within. Anything else is a breach of etiquette, and a potentially serious one at that."
"So if a man slaps a woman in front of my face-"
"You let it pass," Eragos finished in a dour tone. "No one said it would be easy, or even enjoyable. This is our duty."
Eragos did not think men would be slapping women in front of Vargis' face as some kind of test. Yet he did not think this city was accustomed to hiding itself. If their customs or practices seemed outrageous, the White Riders needed to be prepared to let it go. Anything else would not only jeopardize their assignment, but also the peaceful relations with this village and possible the reputation of the White Riders as a whole. Since none of them could see the future, it behooved them to err on the side of caution, and hope that was enough to stave off any ill consequence. Eragos doubted it very sincerely. Yet he would not say so here. Something was amiss, and he did not understand what.