So we talked of old times, how we’d ranged through this forest and hidden in old mine pits and fallen out of trees and off horses and accidentally burned down two haystacks one year. The usual country childhood. The only thing we didn’t talk of was the two summer nights we’d spent together at our old tree house where we both first discovered the pleasures of making love—the fumbling uncomfortable ecstasy of it. A few nights later, I waited and waited, and he didn’t come; and then I heard he’d run off to join the army.
“Here’s where we part again,” he said as we reached the road. He turned, and as if he’d been reading my mind, he said, “I’m sorry I ran off all that time ago without telling you. There were a lot of problems at home and I had to go.”
“Stefan said you had a big fight with Old Grumpy,” I said helpfully. I’d forgiven him a long time ago, accepted that our loving had been more curiosity and hot-bloodied youth than passion. Anyway, since then I’d found much bigger things to be angry about.
“Yes, that was it. It wasn’t you. You were lovely.” He took my hand and kissed it.
“Oh, look at you, you smooth fellow. You’ve made me blush. And you’ve probably got a truelove somewhere.”
He laughed and gave me back my hand. “Dozens,” he said. “A woman in every town.”
I wanted to offer to help him, but there seemed no proper way to broach the subject without being patronising, so we bid each other farewell. I went off down the road feeling bad about not saying anything. I decided to call on his mother, Grace, after Blessing time and tell her I had work for Dannel on the farm. So I’d got quite some way before I noticed how Dannel’s touch had made my hand oily. Some kind of grease. I lifted it to my nose and smelled animal fat of some sort, and noticed something glinting in the sunlight. Little specks of crystal.
Rogues. They said that rogues often powered their magic covering by themselves in grease full of ground crystal. Was my old friend something worse than a deserter?
My spine went cold and I whirled around to look back at Dannel. There was no sign of him. He must have gone back into the forest.
MIDDAY HAD PASSED when I reached the house. I was famished and wished I’d eaten more of the food I’d brought Klea. I stopped in to check on Katti, who was asleep on the stableman’s bed and seemed comfortable. As I crossed the stable yard to the house, I came upon Hagen Stellason on a bench with his feet up on an over-turned bucket. Men! They seem to have nothing better to do than hang around making a nuisance of themselves.
“Did you have a nice walk?”
I considered him for a moment. He was so ordinary looking that he’d make a good intelligencer. Yet that twinkle in his eye made his face come alive.
“Shameful how servants laze about when their betters’ backs are turned,” I said pointedly. “Surely you have some work to be at.”
“But I was longing to see your lovely face again,” he said.
“Of course you were,” I said, trying not to smile at his cheekiness.
“So why was Lord Illuminus searching your room?”
If he thought to startle me, he failed. “I really couldn’t say. Family politics, I expect. I try to stay out of it,” I said. I added for good effect. “It’s always someone.”
The moment I said that, I knew it was a mistake.
“I’ve been travelling with your uncle for the whole Blessing period and there’s been more room searching here in one day than I’ve seen in the last three weeks. Still, I guess your aunt being a known radical must make a difference. No doubt the Matriarch wants to see what she’s at, eh?”
All my amusement disappeared. I’d always worried that Eff’s writings would get her into more trouble with the family Elders, and now here was an intelligencer, possibly from the heart of the government, asking questions about her.
“Which is nothing,” I said, far too quickly. And going into the house, I would have walked firmly away from him, had he not caught up and kept pace with me the whole way.
AFTER ALL THAT, when we got back to the kitchen, he seemed to lose interest in me and started flirting with Toy’s maid, who was washing out something silky in the scullery. I ate some bread and cheese and ignored them. I was only happy that he didn’t seem to notice when I slipped away and hurried up into the Eyrie. Certainly he didn’t follow me.
This time the tower was completely deserted and I managed to do a thorough search of Toy’s room. In the little hiding place under the floorboards, I was surprised to find a couple of bundles of smokeweed and four little papers of potion powder. Toy had always struck me as too scarily focused to be a smoke rat, but some people hide their vices well.
I felt petty because I couldn’t help being annoyed to see that there was no dust under Toy’s bed. Clearly people had swept up properly in here. You might think your staff care about you, but they know who really needs to be pleased.
The room searched, I could think of nothing more to do until I managed to get hold of the combination to Toy’s treasure box. I should really return to the Blessing party so as to blend in as much as possible, but the ceremony would be almost over by the time I trudged out to the fields. My feet were tired enough as it was. So I gave into temptation and paid a little visit to the women’s retiring room instead.
During a family visit, the top floor of the Eyrie was customarily the preserve of the noblewomen, retainers and family. We slung a silken canopy from the stone roof and furnished it with carpets. Day beds were set out and hung with soft linen drapes so that the ladies could be private while they enjoyed massages or dallied with lovers.
The view from the windows was beautiful—deep green forest stretching away to the tall, snow-tipped mountains. But I’d seen that view. I was more interested in what the mages had brought to decorate their eyrie. The day beds had been re-hung with heavy silk drapes more suitable for the cool days of early spring and loaded with bright silk cushions. All kinds of delicious-looking massage oils were arranged on a little table. I love nice smells. They seem to hold the promise of far-off places.
I was taking a sniff at a bottle when I heard a rustling behind me. With a soft glow of crystal light, the curtains on one of the massage beds floated open, revealing my cousin Scintillant lolling on his side among the pillows. He was wearing his tight Blessing breeches and a big white shirt left open to the waist. His dishevelled curls made him look even more loin-meltingly handsome than usual. Curse him.
“Shine, sweetie. How nice to see you. I was hoping we could have a little chat. I hate being on bad terms with you.”
“Are we on bad terms? I’m sorry. I’m so busy at the moment, I’d forgotten.”
“Spiky, spiky,” he laughed.
Verbal fencing was one of the pleasures of being with Scinty. I always tried to hold off with him as long as I could. It had never been very long.
He came over and leaned against the wall beside me. “Are you really mad about the belt? It’s just a bit of fun. I’d be horrified if you were hurt by it.”
“It was the way Lady Lumina told me that annoyed me.” Lumi’s face had been so satisfied. She seemed to know how attached I got to Scintillant, how much I’d wanted his attention back after he’d strayed off, how much I thought about him after he’d gone. I was so angry that I had a weak spot for her to get at, I’d sworn to get over Scintillant immediately. And the only way to do that seemed to be to avoid him completely.