Barry Unsworth - The Ruby In Her Navel

"The places, we do not know their names," the man said. "We make music always in the same way."

"No," I said, "I wanted to ask where you come from? Where is your home?"

There was a laugh at this from the youngest of the women and the dulcimer-player looked at her soberly, perhaps in reproof, I could not tell, but she met his eyes boldly – she was not one easily abashed, this I already sensed about her. "She laughs because our home is far," he said, as if to apologise for her, "and because it is many summers since we are there."

"We come from beyond the Toros," the first man said. He raised one arm to show the height of the mountains. "We are from a town they call Sivas. It is beside a great river." He nodded towards the girl who had laughed. "She comes from a different place, she comes from Niksar. She says she is born on top of the mountain called Ararat. She says that giants live on that mountain."

There was laughter at this, and I saw that it was an accustomed joke among them. "Giants carry her to Niksar," the other man said. However, the girl did not join in this laughter but compressed her lips and looked away, and this gave her face a look of obstinacy that I think made them laugh all the more. For my part I was more than ever eager to hire them: not only did the men sing in outlandish accents and play on instruments of a shape not seen before, not only did the women do things with their abdomens that seemed to defy our corporeal nature, but they came from lands that no one knew anything of, and one of them had been born on the peak where the ark had rested on the seventeeth day of the seventh month, when God saved the world from flood! I saw already how I would lay emphasis on these things when I made the announcements. If this did not gain me the King's favour, it was hard to see what would.

I spoke to the men still, believing – as it turned out mistakenly – that it was they who made the decisions; in fact, decisions were made by all five together, often speaking all at the same time. I think they understood soon, but affected not to, out of caution or cunning.

Whatever the truth of this, much had to be repeated before they admitted to an understanding of the offer I was making, which was that they should come to Palermo to perform at the royal court, before the King himself and his guests; that they would be housed well all through their stay, given beautiful new clothes to wear and paid in gold. The King's generosity was proverbial, I told them. If they pleased him they would receive presents of great value. In any case, whether they pleased or not, I would guarantee them a fee of eight gold dinars, far more than a year of wandering would bring them. Also, they would see the great city of Palermo.

They now fell to discussing the matter among themselves, but in a manner far different from the way in which the men had spoken to me, with raised voices and fierce gestures, not waiting for one to finish before another began. I could not tell what was dividing them, not knowing a word of the language they spoke, which had strange nasal inflexions and sounds made far back in the mouth so that the lips drew back in making them. As I say, I could form no idea of why they argued so, whether from distrust of me or some other matter. But I knew already, watching them cluster together and shout with their faces close, that my troubles with these people were just beginning. Loud among them was the younger one, she who claimed Ararat for her birthplace, who had come forward and danced before me, and spoken some laughing words to the others. Suddenly now I wondered if that laughter of hers had concerned me.

They fell silent and the man I had first addressed turned to me. "It is the mules," he said. "We have three mules. They are good mules, very valuable."

I was offering them a royal reception, with the chance of royal favour, I was promising them more gold than they could ever have had at any one time in all their lives. And they were holding out against it for the sake of three miserable mules that were not worth more than two ducats each, and a good deal less if in bad condition!

"So we are asking," he said. "Can we keep our mules?"

"Take them with you? You mean on the ship?"

I paused on this, daunted by the prospect of explaining, in terms that he would understand, the cargo of caged birds that we would be taking next day, and how much more difficult, and even chaotic, it would be if in addition to the five of them and my two guards and the crew, we had mules trampling about on the deck. "We will return to the inn," I said, "and sell the mules to the innkeeper. He can keep them there until he finds a buyer."

This proposal led to further lively talk among them, but finally it was agreed, and we set off back, the women riding, the two men walking and we three making up the rear. The night was far advanced when we reached the inn, and both the innkeeper and his wife were abed, but I wanted the business done, so woke the serving lad, who was sleeping in the yard, and told him to rouse them. The man came down, though in an ill-temper that he took little care to conceal. When I asked him to make an offer for the mules he answered in surly fashion that he had no need of mules.

Then, no doubt realising his advantage – he could see I was in haste to conclude the sale – he made an offer of derisory smallness, eight folles for the three, and in spite of all my efforts he would not budge from this.

"I am here on the King's service," I said. "This contemptible behaviour of yours will be included in my report and the consequences to you will be serious." By this I sought to put him in fear, but it was an empty threat, and in his lowness and insignificance he knew it for such.

Palermo was far, he knew he was a beetle not worth the crushing.

Besides, what offence had he committed? He could hardly be punished for shrewdness in commerce; it was a virtue of our good King Roger himself, one widely admired as enriching the realm and therefore all who lived within it.

So I was in a quandary. It was long past midnight, the town was sleeping. If I wanted to keep the trust of these people and show my good intentions, they would have to be given a fair price for their mules.

The only way I could see of achieving this was to buy the mules myself.

But there was the purchase of the birds next day; I knew the price I was to pay per bird, but could have no knowledge of how many birds there would be. Furthermore, there was the expense of my journey to Bari and the return. And there might be other claims on my purse that I could not foresee. On the other hand, I had to get these people on board ship as soon as possible, so as to make it the less likely they would change their minds about going.

"I will buy your mules," I said. "I will give you four silver ducats for them."

This offer set up a clamour among them, the nature of which I only understood when the drummer turned to me and said, in the quieter tone he used for commerce outside the group, "We want nine ducats for the mules." And he showed me the backs of his hands with the thumb of the left one folded inward to make his meaning plain.

Nine ducats! It was far more than they were worth. The innkeeper and these travelling people between them gave me a memorable example of human rapacity that night. It was true that I had offered less than a fair price, but this was because I was worried about my expenses. If I paid what they asked they would take me for a fool and all our future dealings would be coloured by it.

I paused for a moment or two, wondering what line it would be best to take. The yard felt crowded with mules and people, the people full of noise and exclamation, the mules for the moment docile, tethered companionably together in the moonlight, their ears laid back as if they were quietly aware of being under discussion. There were six altogether, with the three we had hired. Sometimes, unexpectedly, a man is struck with wonder at where he finds himself and what he finds himself doing.