Abruptly, she came to her feet, feeling oddly shaky. She wondered if Foley was half as unnerved by this conversation as she was. He still sat utterly motionless, watching her with a coiled attention. Yes. Probably just as unnerved. But far more determined to remain unmoved.
“I’m not so sure,” she said, moving toward the bedroom but glancing back at Foley. “What’s the point of being sweela, after all, if you can’t handle a few flames?”
The farther away she got, the more Foley seemed to relax. “What’s the point of being torz,” he retorted, “if you can’t remain steadfast and strong?”
That made her laugh, which made him smile in return. “I feel like I should warn you that this conversation isn’t over,” she said.
“You don’t have to,” he said. “I know you well enough by now to realize that on my own.”
She gave another laugh, this one interrupted by a yawn. Foley’s smile grew wider.
“Go to bed,” he said. “You’re exhausted.”
“I shouldn’t be so tired. I’ve only been up a few hours.”
“You were in pretty bad shape yesterday. I’m surprised you’ve stayed on your feet this long.”
She yawned again. “You’re right. I’m going right to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Her hand on the doorknob, she suddenly remembered a detail that had slipped her mind. “Oh, no! I promised Leah I’d come see her today! She has something to tell me.”
“I sent her a note this morning when it was clear you weren’t going to be leaving the palace. I said you’d try to get to the market tomorrow or the next day.”
“Excellent. I wonder what she wants, though?”
“I guess you’ll find out in the morning.”
TWENTY
Breakfast was about as awkward an occasion as Corene could remember in her entire life, and there had been plenty of unpleasant meals in the court at Chialto. Garameno, Jiramondi, Sattisi, and Bartolo were the only ones in the dining room when she walked in. She cursed herself for not going by Melissande’s room on her way, but she’d been too hungry to make the detour.
Bartolo glared at her so hard that she almost turned tail and ran out, but then she summoned a radiant smile and marched right past him to the food laid out on the sideboard. No one spoke as she loaded her plate and sat down as far from the others as the table would allow. She tried not to feel self-conscious as she lifted her first forkful and started to chew.
“You’ve managed to work up an appetite, I see,” Garameno said in a level voice. “More than some of us have done.”
She took a sip of keerza to wash down the food. “If you find my presence irksome, you could advise the empress to send me home,” she responded politely. “I’m sure she’d listen to you. You have such influence with her.”
Bartolo snorted in disgust. “I suppose you find your food tastier when it’s seasoned with insults,” he said.
“It’s actually freedom that tastes best to me,” she shot back.
They all looked up hopefully when they heard footsteps coming down the hall, but when Steff stepped through the door, things didn’t improve. “Oh,” he said, clearly at a loss. “I thought everyone would be done with breakfast by now.”
“More examples of Welchin courtesy,” Jiramondi murmured.
“Well, the room usually is empty by now,” Steff said. He didn’t let the icy atmosphere prevent him from filling his plate and sitting across from Corene, and he didn’t let the audience prevent him from speaking his mind. “You should apologize to my grandmother. I can’t believe you said such things.”
“I won’t apologize. I should have said them sooner. Or you should have.”
He sent a quick glance up the table to where the other four were obviously listening. “Maybe she should have heard our suspicions about a murderer, but the other things? About her daughters? That was awful.”
Corene shrugged and ate a piece of buttered bread. “I guess I’m just an awful person.”
“That was my own conclusion,” Garameno said.
“She isn’t usually,” Steff said, unexpectedly firing up in Corene’s defense. “She just isn’t careful. But last night she was trying to be mean, and I don’t know why.”
Bartolo came to his feet and threw his napkin to the table. “Because she thinks cruelty is amusing,” he declared. “As only fools and children do.” And on that dramatic line, he stalked from the room. Sattisi scrambled to her feet and followed behind him.
Garameno backed his chair from the table and smoothly maneuvered it to the door. “I think you had an agenda,” he said quietly. “But I don’t think you’re about to share it.”
“I think I was pretty clear,” she said. “My agenda is to leave. If I’m unpleasant enough, I figure someone will help me go.”
“If you’re unpleasant enough, someone might confine you to your room,” Garameno said.
“Better than cutting my throat and throwing me down the back stairwell,” she said cheerfully.
Garameno gave no answer but a muted sound of disgust and wheeled himself through the door. “Wait!” Corene called. “Has there been any news of Alette?”
Garameno shook his head and kept going, so she looked over at Jiramondi. Who also shook his head.
“No,” he said, “and my aunt is most concerned.”
“I imagine she is! So I suppose she’s had servants check the empty rooms—and the tunnels below the palace—”
“And the kitchens and the servants’ rooms and the gardens and the mazes,” Jiramondi supplied. “I expect all the living quarters to be searched within the next nineday, in case someone thinks they are helping Alette by hiding her.”
“You can search my room anytime,” Corene said. “I’m not harboring her.”
“I didn’t mean you.”
Steff had been pretty focused on his food, but he looked up to find both of them watching him speculatively. “I don’t have her,” he exclaimed. “Servants are in and out of my room all the time! Ask them!”
“No, Greggorio seems more likely,” Jiramondi said on a sigh. “I imagine his room is among the first ones that Lorian had searched.”
Corene toyed with her food. “Is there any thought that she might have just left? Escaped the soldiers somehow and slipped out of the city?”
“I would wish that were the case, but it’s hard to see how,” Jiramondi replied. “And even if she got past the palace guards and the gate guards—where could she go? I don’t believe she has friends in the city, and there are few ships to give her passage out.”
Corene laid down her fork. “What will Filomara tell her father?”
Jiramondi offered her an unhappy smile. “I have no idea. My guess is she will wait until he asks about his daughter. Which he has not done lately due to the fact that the Berringese navy is blockading our harbor.”
“And due to the fact that he does not seem to feel much affection for any of his children,” Corene added. “But if he believes she has been harmed at your hands—or disappeared while under your care—he might have the excuse he needs to join this war.”
“You’re right!” Jiramondi replied, feigning astonishment. “I hadn’t thought of that!” He came to his feet and gazed down at her for a moment. “How fortunate we are to have you here to point out all the things we otherwise might have missed.”
She stared back at him, unrepentant. “Send me home,” she said. “And bumble on in your own way without me.”
Jiramondi laughed and left the room without making any other answer. Corene stifled a sigh and turned her attention to Steff. “I don’t think Jiramondi likes me anymore.”
Steff shrugged and spoke casually through a mouthful of food. “You did something, didn’t you?”
It was a second before she registered that he had switched to Welchin and that his voice was too soft to carry beyond the edg
e of the table. “What do you mean?”
He gave her a look. You know exactly what I mean. “You’re not upset enough.”
She exhaled on the ghost of a laugh. “And here I was thinking the same thing about you.”
“I’m not because you’re not. And Liramelli’s not.”
“I’m trying to be. It’s hard to know how I would behave if—” She shrugged.
He swallowed a long gulp of keerza, glanced at the empty doorway, and said, “Is she safe?”
“I hope so. Hard to know for sure.”
He nodded. “Let me know if you ever do.”
“I will.”
“But you still shouldn’t have been so dreadful to Filomara last night.”
“Then they should let me go home.”
“This isn’t a good time for leaving the city. The blockade.”
“There must be some ships getting in and out,” she said. “I want to be on one of them.”
A shadow at the door pulled her attention that way a moment before Lorian stepped noiselessly inside. “The empress wants to see you,” he said in his formal way. “Both of you. Immediately.”
Steff crammed a last piece of bread in his mouth as he came to his feet. Corene summoned an uncaring, disdainful expression, but in truth she felt anxious. Filomara probably wanted to express her deep displeasure over Corene’s display last night, and Corene didn’t imagine the experience would be enjoyable. She was glad Steff would be there—even if she did think he might take Filomara’s side.
Silently they followed Lorian down the halls to one of the formal receiving rooms on the second floor of the white wing. Corene took a quick look around as she stepped in, noting the usual plain furniture and severe colors; this was not a place designed to put a visitor at ease. The only bit of softness was supplied by the view of the gardens through the huge windows on the back wall. Corene squared her shoulders and turned to face the empress head-on.
And almost tumbled over in surprise when she realized there was a man standing next to Filomara—and she knew him.
“Nelson Ardelay!” she exclaimed, flying across the room to hug him. He laughed and met her halfway, collecting her in a hard embrace that drove the breath out of her body. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, of course.”
Steff didn’t know any of the primes very well, but he knew enough to come over and offer a bow. “Good to see you,” he said.
“And good to see you!” Nelson replied. “How have you fared as the young prince practically returned from the dead?” As he spoke, he scanned Steff’s face for whatever he might read in its expression. Well, he was doing more than that, Corene knew. As the sweela prime, Nelson had a deep affinity with fire, but he also had an uncanny ability to know what other people were thinking. He claimed he couldn’t actually read minds, but it was hard to lie to him, hard to keep him from knowing how you really felt about something. Right now he was probably trying to assess how comfortable Steff was here at the Malinquese court, no matter what Steff might say.
“It’s been wonderful,” Steff said, glancing over at his grandmother, whose stern face did not lighten at his words. She was displeased with Nelson’s sudden appearance at her court, Corene realized, which made Corene even happier that he had arrived. “I’ve learned so much—met so many amazing people—”
Nelson clapped him on the shoulder. “Will we ever be able to lure you back to Welce?”
Steff smiled. “Not for a long time, I think.”
Corene touched Nelson’s arm. “But really,” she insisted. “Why are you here?”
Filomara finally spoke up. “Yes—why and how are you here? My own ships have had trouble making it through the Berringese blockade.”
“Well, you know, when you have a navy at your back, you tend to get one of two responses,” Nelson said affably. “People either fire at you or they leave you alone. Turned out they decided to leave us alone.”
“Really? My officers haven’t reported any Welchin naval ships coming close enough to the harbor to engage with enemy vessels.”
Nelson smiled. His eyes were bright with deviltry; he was enjoying himself, Corene thought. “Maybe it was just their presence in deeper water that made the Berringese think twice about attacking us,” he said. Corene supposed he had come in through an illegal port and that that was why Filomara was so annoyed, but it seemed obvious he wasn’t going to admit it. Just to make sure she was annoyed. “But you should be happy I made it through! Since my ship captain was carrying cargo you had expressly ordered from Welce.”
Corene could see Filomara’s irritation war with her curiosity, but she didn’t have to unbend enough to ask what he meant. Steff did it for her. “What cargo?” he asked.
Nelson threw his hands wide. “A smoker car! Direct from Kayle Dochenza’s factory! I understand it’s being delivered to the palace later today.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Steff enthused. He turned to his grandmother. “You’ll like having an elaymotive. I can show you how to drive it.”
“Or I can,” Nelson said warmly. He glanced around as if trying to gauge how many spare bedrooms the palace offered. “If you want to put me up here, we can work in a lesson or two anytime you have a free moment.”
“I’m delighted that the elaymotive has arrived, but not even remotely interested in learning how to operate it,” Filomara said in a cold voice. “And naturally you must stay here. I’ll have Lorian find a suite for you close to Steffanolo and Princess Corene. Do you also need a room for your attendants?”
Nelson waved a hand. “Oh, I knew that Malinqua wasn’t much of a place for pomp, so I traveled alone,” he said. “Didn’t even bring a valet.”
“Or a guard?” Filomara asked with some disbelief. When she had visited the Chialto court, she had brought a hundred soldiers and refused to stay at the palace unless thirty were housed there with her.
“Well,” he said, still smiling, “there’s the navy.”
“Hardly within call, if trouble arises,” the empress pointed out.
He spread his hands. “Call me an optimist,” he said. “I’m not expecting trouble.”
Filomara glanced at Corene, then back at Nelson, clearly nonplussed. She’d expected the Welchin ships to show up, Corene realized, but she hadn’t planned for a high-ranking ambassador to slip through the cordon and land on her doorstep. She’d planned to do all her negotiating through a blockade, emphasizing the danger that Corene might be in if the navy didn’t come to her assistance. The fact that Nelson could arrive unescorted and unannounced took away one of her high trumps, but it also slipped a wildcard into her hand. Because now he was effectively a prisoner in her house as well—except he didn’t seem to regard himself that way. Which meant he might be planning another play that she couldn’t figure out how to counter.
It was giving Corene a headache just to try to think like Nelson and Filomara. So she decided to see what would happen if she set an explosion. “Well, there’s been plenty of trouble so far,” she said. “I don’t think you should move into the palace. If you’ve got a ship ready, I’ll leave with you this morning.”
That caught Nelson’s attention. Steff protested and Filomara snapped, “Don’t be ridiculous.” But Nelson gave her a keen look and said, “If you’re in danger, let’s go now.”
“She’s not in danger,” Filomara said testily. “Things have been unsettled here, but the princess has never been at risk.”
“You can’t leave now,” Steff said. “The celebration is two days away! You have to be there!”
“Celebration?” Nelson repeated.
“A gala to formally mark Steffanolo’s appearance in Malinqua. We have been planning it since he arrived, and I expect it to be a most impressive event.”
Nelson raised his eyebrows at Corene. “I do like a party,” he said. “But it’s up to yo
u.”
Truth be told, Corene hated to miss the event, so she was willing to stay. Anyway, mostly what she’d wanted to do was rile everyone up, and she’d succeeded at that.
“Yes—very well—we’ll stay for the gala,” she said, making her voice sullen. “But right after that? We can leave?”
“We’ll see,” said the empress.
“We’ll go,” said Nelson.
“Good,” Corene said. She slipped a hand under Nelson’s elbow and tugged him toward the door. “Let’s talk. I have so much to tell you!”
• • •
The day was chilly but clear, making a walk in the gardens pleasant once they stopped to put on heavier jackets. Corene wanted to show Nelson the maze, but he wouldn’t set foot in it. He found a spot in the middle of an herb garden where nothing grew higher than their knees and there was nowhere for an eavesdropper to hide. The two of them sat on an ornamental carved bench while Foley stood about twenty yards away, scanning all approaches.
“Now,” Nelson said, sounding much more serious, “what’s going on here?”
She gave him a succinct version of recent events while he listened closely, nodding from time to time. It was always so refreshing to talk to Nelson; he could follow the thread of a story, no matter how convoluted, and he never needed anything explained twice.
“Yes, I would say it’s time for you to leave Malinqua behind,” he said when she finished her recitation. “But is Steff safe to remain? Or should we kidnap him for his own safety?”
“Do you have the resources to kidnap him?” she countered. “You appear to have come empty-handed.”
He grinned. “I could probably arrange something.”
“I think Steff is smart enough to make up his own mind. And he stands to inherit wealth and property here, even if he isn’t named heir. He has good reasons to stay.”
“I’ll trust your judgment on this. We will leave him if he wants to be left.”
“So tell me your part in all this,” Corene said. “Why are you here?”