"Hm?"
At Lawyer Bell's house on St. George Street, Jenkins, who was chatting idly with Mr. Goodman from his chair, suddenly frowned the mont the cat glanced in his direction. For a fleeting instant, he felt as if he were being watched, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"Is sothing the matter, Mr. Williams?"
Mr. Goodman, dressed rather formally, inquired. Jenkins simply shook his head, dismissing the feeling as a fignt of his imagination.
St. George Street wasn't particularly long, and every house had an owner. However, only about two-thirds of them were year-round residents, and most of those had co to the gathering.
As a long-ti resident of St. George Street, Mr. Goodman introduced Jenkins to the other neighbors. Although Jenkins didn't recognize any of them, they all knew who he was. They even seed sowhat reserved when greeting him, a stiffness that was likely due to more than just simple unfamiliarity.
Lawyer Bell was the gathering's organizer and the founder of the St. George Street Residents' Committee. According to Mr. Goodman, he was the most respected and responsible person on the street, and everyone trusted the lawyer implicitly.
Lawyer Bell fit Jenkins's image of a successful, middle-aged man from the wealthy class perfectly. He was tall and lean, with a sharp, capable air about him. He wore a ticulously tailored suit, and while his expression was a bit stern, he didn't seem like a difficult person to deal with.
He spoke the common tongue with a crisp, articulate capital accent, greeting everyone with an easy familiarity. Even when addressing Jenkins, his tone was perfectly normal, betraying no sense of awe or deference due to Jenkins's status.
This neighborhood gathering was an annual event, and this marked its thirteenth year. It began with a mont of silence for their neighbor, the widow Margaret, who had died tragically. Afterward, the discussion turned to various matters for the coming year.
Aside from a few new neighbors, not much had changed on the street in the past year. Even with the collective evacuation for a ti late last year, the peace and tranquility of St. George Street had remained intact.
Consequently, the eting proceeded quite smoothly. Whenever Lawyer Bell announced a new item on the agenda, everyone would vote with a show of hands. If anyone had an objection, they were free to raise it for group discussion.
When the discussion turned to splitting the community managent fees, the new neighbors had to state whether they would contribute. Miss Silver Flute, also known as Mrs. Mistara Folant, who appeared to be settling in for a long stay, decisively agreed to join the community plan.
Just as Mr. Goodman had predicted, Lawyer Bell very tactfully pointed out that since Jenkins's house now occupied two lots, he would need to contribute a double share of the fees.
"I don't see any issue with that. However, if I'm to pay a double share, should I not also be entitled to double the rights?"
he asked.
"Of course. It's as if you own two houses on this street, Your Lordship. You will naturally receive double the services."
Lawyer Bell replied, addressing Jenkins directly as "Viscount"—even though Jenkins had yet to travel to Bel Diran for his official investiture due to the Queen's declining health. No one else raised any objections, and so the matter was easily resolved.
Aside from the longstanding clauses and agreents, the most significant new topic at this year's eting was the installation of streetlights on St. George Street.
Ever since the Church of Knowledge and Books had offered to partially fund the installation of streetlights and had partnered with City Hall to imdiately light up the main thoroughfares, the other churches had finally caught on that the Sage Church was using this as a ans to spread its faith.
A preliminary assessnt concluded that it was a low-cost, high-return strategy, so Nolan's other churches also began inquiring at City Hall whether municipal infrastructure projects were in need of additional funding.
Even so, St. George Street, located in the western part of the city, had only received simple streetlights at either end of the road and one across from Jenkins's house. This was clearly insufficient for the needs of all the residents.
Lawyer Bell proposed that everyone pool their money. He had connections at City Hall and could arrange for a sufficient number of streetlights to be installed along St. George Street ahead of the official schedule.
Installing the lamp posts themselves wasn't particularly difficult, as gas lines with more than enough capacity were already buried deep beneath the street. It was simply a matter of opening the valve at the base of each post, connecting it to the main line with an additional pipe, and making a few minor adjustnts.
The reason Nolan's City Hall hadn't proceeded with a mass installation of streetlights was twofold. First, construction that involved digging up roads was extrely difficult in the winter. Second, there were political considerations at play. As for what those considerations might be, Jenkins had no idea—this was all according to Papa Oliver.
Most of the neighbors, however, did not support Lawyer Bell's proposal. They were reluctant to spend the extra money, especially since, judging by the current trend, St. George Street would be fully lit by this autumn at the latest anyway.
Spending money just to have streetlights six months sooner was seen as an unwise expense. In the end, Lawyer Bell could only toss the paper bearing his proposal into a nearby trash bin with a sigh of regret.
Another important matter was the increasingly serious issue of disease prevention. After the great battle in the Evergreen Forest, reports of the Corpse Plague had surfaced all over Nolan. The Church estimated that the outbreak would peak at the end of this month or the beginning of the next, after which it would gradually fade away thanks to the city's proactive response and the loss of the Skull Sword that had served as its power source.
This information, worded more delicately, had already been disseminated to the city's residents via the newspapers. Thus, the outlook for epidemic prevention was still grim, and the neighbors needed to prepare themselves to keep the infectious disease from reaching St. George Street.
The basics, like washing hands frequently and eating only cooked food, went without saying. Other asures, however, such as paying close attention to one's health and getting regular check-ups, also needed to be stressed.
Soone even brought up the issue of pets, as there was ample historical precedent for small animals spreading plagues. Of course, this wasn't directed at Jenkins's cat. Cats caught mice—though Chocolate was an exception—and since mice carried many terrible diseases, having cats around was actually beneficial for disease prevention.
The topic of pets was raised because of Mr. Goodman's chicken.
Soone subtly complained about being frequently awakened by a crowing rooster lately, and those who lived near Mr. Goodman's house murmured in agreent.
Mr. Goodman apologized profusely and promised to have the chicken sent away as soon as possible.
"My cousin's family is visiting for a holiday," he explained. "They'll be returning to the countryside next week."
he assured the group, and with that, no one else said another word on the matter.
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