"Anne Logston - Shadow 03 - Shadow Dance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Logston Anne)

Shadow grinned and pulled open the bags' ties, gesturing at the gold
inside.

"Taxes," she said casually. "This should settle the Guild's back taxes up
to today. The Guild's records were messier than a cesspit, but we finally
muddled it out."

Donya's brow wrinkled.

"Shady, do you have any idea how long it's been since the Guild's paid
its taxes?"

"Seven years." Shadow nodded. "Since Ganrom took the seat. Go on,
count it," she told the Collector. "I want a receipt."

It took the Collector and all three assistants to count the coins and
track down the appropriate records. Finally, sweating over the last dusty
volume from the storage room, the Collector nodded.

"Paid to the last copper, Guildmistress," he said, smiling broadly and
marking the books. "Chon, write up the Guildmistress's receipt and I'll
sign it."

"Well, I am impressed," Donya said, shaking her head. "Not to mention
amazed. Where did the Guild come up with that much gold in the less
than two years you've held the seat? I can imagine what the Guild treasury
looked like when you took over."

"An empty room is what it looked like," Shadow grimaced. "If Bobrick's
plan to destroy the Guild hadn't worked, lack of funds might've done it for
him. Fortune alone knows what Ganrom did with all that money—the cost
of those ridiculous separate tokens, plus the bribes from Bobrick, plus
what was already there from Evanor's term—when not a copper went out
to maintain that slimepit of a Guildhouse or the Guild's responsibilities."

"What did you end up doing about those tokens?" Donya asked
curiously as Shadow pocketed the parchment receipt.

"Just a minute." Shadow turned to the two thieves who had
accompanied her. "You can go on back," she said. "Take the carriage if
you want. It's already paid for."

"Bought most of them back," Shadow sighed, following Donya down the
corridor. "Replaced them with a typical copper token and paid the
members back the difference in fees out of my own pocket. Then I melted
the rest of those damned things down for silver and gold."

"That's not what I meant," Donya said. "I mean, what did you do about
the token system?"