Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ISOLDE
If you come across a dozen people making camp and one of them is a Northern dog, then you’ve encountered a camp of a dozen Northern dogs.
—Southern saying
13th Day of Summer’s Wife Moon,
Age of the Locways, Year 272
La’Angi Keep
Bernadette shook her head, squinting through the pipe’s smoke as she took a pull. “Are you sure?” I demanded.
“Sure,” she said, settling herself before the barrel like a general before his war map, glaring at the cheeses before us. “Got two dead dogs to prove it.”
“Who would’ve poisoned the High Steward?” I asked her, the woodsy smell of her pipe hitting my nose.
“Who wouldn’t?” she asked with a snort that blew smoke out of her nose.
I listened to her complaints with half an ear, but mentally I was running through what she’d told me. Shortness of breath, extreme pain in the limbs, bloodshot eyes, and a faint sweet smell on their breath not unlike the rare spice, cinnamon.
I knew every single person who had access to Laceroot Powder in this keep. The list included the two of us sitting in the cellar. We were as likely to show our hand for that piss weak excuse of humanity as we were to climb into his bed. It didn’t make sense.
“You were smart to give the dogs his meal,” I said, when she fell silent and passed me the pipe.
She shrugged, irritated. “If I’d truly thought it was poison, I’d’ve given it to Big Red.”
I took a pull of the herbs and felt some of the weight lift off my chest. “That mutt been back in your kitchens?” I asked her, sympathetically.
“Fucker barely leaves,” she said, with disgust. “Unless it’s to gobble a string of sausages or bury a good bone.”
I grinned at the thought. I’d chased Big Red off for her no few times, but if she’d truly hated the animal, it wouldn’t be allowed to linger by her feet. “You’re soft, Bern.” I took another pull of the pipe as she cut me off a slice of cheese. “You know who’s in the keep right now, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said. “Kael doesn’t.”
I nodded, understanding what she didn’t say. If Kaelson knew Luca of Raa’shi was present against the Duke’s express orders, he’d have to report his presence. Easier for us to hold that information back a little longer.
“I don’t like it,” I admitted, then blew out the smoke in a steady stream. The feeling of lightness lingered, along with a pleasant warmth that held back the chill of the cellar air. “Why would he poison the steward?”
“Because he’s madly in love with our lady, and wants to protect her at all costs,” Bernadette said, sarcasm dripping from the words. “I don’t know, Is. Nobles don’t make sense. You and me, we make sense.”
I arched my brows, giving a quick shake of my head to show my disapproval of the whole business.
If he thought he could control La’Angi through Audrey, it would make sense. But he was a scholar, not a spy. “Did anyone see him going into Dickface Daniel’s quarters?” I asked her, using her nickname for the steward to see her grin.
“No,” she said. “But who else could it be?”
“Me,” I said lightly, offering the pipe back.
She snorted. “You wouldn’t waste the powder. You’d just have cut his throat.”
By the time I’d realized that was the best course of action, I’d been hamstrung by the orders the Duke had given Audrey.
The poisoner, whoever they were, had done an excellent job of taking him out in public.
If it hadn’t been for Bernadette’s quick thinking, we’d all be wondering if his suspiciously timed demise was simply luck.
“We’re not telling Kael about this, right?” she asked me, then took a deep pull.
I considered it. The battleworn soldier was a good ally.
He asked excellent questions, and made swift connections.
But he got under my feet, and unlike Bernadette, my happiness didn’t require I throw a bone to a mutt.
“We don’t know anything,” I reminded her.
“Not yet. When we figure out who did it, then we can figure out if we’re bringing Kael into it. ”
She grunted. “Or if anyone else dies conveniently.”
The thought made unease climb up my spine. “Has anyone else been sick?”
“Nothing that made my belly ache like this did,” she said, shaking her head. “Eat, Is. Your girl’s tucked up for the night. We should crack a jug.”
She was right; Audrey was abed, and Luca was, too. There was no more good I could do tonight. I sighed, enjoying the herbally-induced lightness in my limbs, and reached for some cheese. “I’m going to have to dig into this, aren’t I?” I asked her, already knowing the answer.
“Yep,” she said. “Good thing you’re a crafty old bitch, isn’t it?”
Enjoying the praise despite having fished for it, I popped the cheese in my mouth. “Helps that I’ve got crafty old friends.”
* * *
From my peripheral I watched Audrey was swirl the contents of her cup absently. In my hands, the needle gleamed as it dipped through the fabric, then returned.
“The city needs the boost that the tourney brings,” Audrey said, unaware that I’d watered the drink while she was sighing over Luca’s gift of another old, forbidden tome.
Why couldn’t his gifts be useful forbidden items?
Mage-tonics to help her menstrual cramps, some good arrows, or a new war-belt?
Failing that, coin was always useful. I shook out the fabric, looking at the leaves embroidered across the edge.
Doubtful anyone would notice they were the foliage of a plant with lethal berries. I would, though.
Might this pathetic man? As I listened to their conversation, I turned the idea over in my mind.
“And, much as I can’t admit it openly, Daniel’s death will simplify things. But, honestly, Luca, I feel totally out of my depth. Last week I negotiated—badly—with Bertrand Von Limms. Of the Von Limms merchant family.”
“I know the Von Limms,” Luca said, surprised, swinging one leg idly from his position atop her desk, where he sat like he owned the place.
I glanced up from my sewing, sending him a quelling look.
He didn’t look toward me, but his leg stilled all the same.
Satisfied, I turned back to my stitches.
“And Bertrand. He looked after you, I’m sure.
” But there was a slight rise at the end of the word sure, as if it were a question.
Audrey made a frustrated noise, which, given how long she’d ranted about that specific deal, was quite a restrained response. Luca would never know, though. Just another thing on a very long list of things he remained ignorant of.
But was poison on that list?
“He offered me a lower rate for knappchs than we’ve had in over a decade, because he knew I couldn’t refuse—and he probably didn’t know that I knew he was short-changing me,” she added, irritated, grabbing said scroll and tossing it on the desk. It landed beside Luca’s hip.
He took the scroll then flicked it open. His eyes narrowed. “How much less?” he asked, the words calm.
“Nine percent,” Audrey said through her teeth. “I was going to walk away, but he reminded me he could get Starshine wine for La’Rea’s cellars and, damn it, Luca, I’m already in debt with the cost to repair and extend the tourney grounds. After the plague—”
“He said that, did he?” he asked, mildly, sipping nonchalantly before setting the wine down.
Once again he started to sway his leg. It jiggled irritatingly in my peripheral. A very small part of me wished the Butcher would just materialize. It would almost be worth dealing with him and the complication of Audrey’s plans to see the brown smear Luca would leave on the desk.
The sea breeze wasn’t enough to lift the curls that lay against my neck. I’d be wishing it was soon, but this early in the season the warmth of the late afternoon was fine. I set aside the sewing and stood, stretching.
“Would he not have bought Starshine wine to re-sell?” Audrey asked, tiredly. “Or would La’Rea not have been interested?”
“Rusoe—of La’Rea?—always buys Starshine liquor through Bertrand. So do we.”
The back-and-forth made a headache start behind my eyes. When it was Audrey, it was fine. When it was Luca?
I went and looked out the window, letting my eyes skim across the city.
I watched a guardsman I knew only as Red press his thumb against one side of his nose and send snot shooting out the other side down from the wall where he was perched.
Further across, a familiar figure stepped out of the barracks.
Chay glanced up toward the tower, but from his position, and the angle of the afternoon sun, I knew he wouldn’t see me, so I didn’t bother lift a hand.
With his hair freshly trimmed and his beard removed, he looked like every other La’Angi Blackguard.
Except he wasn’t.
Lucky for him, really.
I watched him cut across to the stables before movement drew my attention back to the room. Luca spread his hand over a scroll that kept trying to curl in on itself. He was leaning over Audrey to do so. They were reading together, looking equally thoughtful.
I cleared my throat loudly, making Luca glance up.
There was none of the guilt I expected to see, the childish sheepishness he’d shown so frequently, just mild annoyance at my interruption before he turned his attention back to the document Audrey had worked so hard on.
I considered walking past and giving him a nudge. He’d tumble to the ground so easily.
“You’ve done well,” he said absently to Audrey. “I wish I’d been here to help.”
“I’ve been swindled,” Audrey disagreed. “I know it. You don’t need to protect me.”
“Well,” he straightened, looking down at her.
“They know you’ve vulnerable. They would’ve been going for the throat.
Here.” He spun a page, pointed at one line.
“Drinnick has agreed to go back to increase his rates swiftly—in only two years, you’ll be back to your pre-plague rates, and in three you’ll be better off, if you can maintain supply. ”
“I fought hard for that,” she said fervently.
A smile touched the corner of his mouth and the line of her shoulders softened.
I looked away, uncomfortable with the echoes of grief in the cavernous wound behind my ribs.
Don’t do it, child, I wanted to whisper to the wind, my heart aching for her.
He isn’t worth it. His dreams are just shackles.
But she didn’t need me to tell her that.
She’d figure it out in time.
“I do wish I’d been here,” he said, quietly.
In the bailey, Chay returned from the darkness of the stables. He took the steps to the eastern door two at a time. I turned around to see Audrey lost in her columns and Luca waiting expectantly.
“Well, you weren’t,” I said, brightly. “Oh, look, isn’t it getting late?”
Luca sent me what he probably thought was a charming smile. “I’m glad that you’re here, Isolde,” he said, but didn’t move except to pick up a book Audrey set aside. “I know you put Audrey’s wellbeing above all else. I respect that.”
Oh, he had no idea. I shot her a dark look as his eyes dropped to the page. She didn’t seem to notice, shuffling a paper aside and double-checking something against a ledger.
“This is interesting,” he mused, aloud, looking at the page she’d marked. “The figures you’ve got here seem sound. And you tell me you feel out of your depth, dear?”
The only one out of his depth was the man who thought he was the fountain of all intelligence, smiling so patronizingly at Audrey.
Chay entered without fanfare, taking in the scene with no surprise. His gaze lingered on the wine glasses for a moment.
“Are we attending your standing late afternoon appointment, my lady?” he asked.
“You need to go out again?” Luca frowned. “You’ve had such a long day already.”
That made her spine stiffen. “I have,” she agreed. “And yet, there’s more to it. Are you leaving tonight?”
“I am,” he said. “Could this appointment perhaps wait? I haven’t finished looking over the drafted requests you’ve arranged for the tourney. I won’t be able to make it back until then.”
“Feel free to make notes,” she told him. “If you’re here still when I return, I’ll gladly discuss it with you. Unfortunately, I have a quest to progress.”
Chay bowed low, his hand to his heart. I saw Audrey’s slight frown, but behind her, Luca’s expression sharpened. I noted the change with interest.
Then Chay straightened. Audrey turned to Luca. He smiled, apologizing. The creases in his expression smoothed as he promised to support her best he could.
“I wish I could return,” he told her. “Or, better yet, openly visit. I could attend this appointment with you.”
She made a polite noise of agreement.
“One day,” he said, with a sigh. “For today, I’ll do as you say, and annotate any changes I’d suggest. Walk with the Wife, Audrey.”
We weren’t walking with anyone’s wife as we left that tower, though.
“He’s very friendly,” I said, keeping it neutral.
“He’s also very clever,” she said, frowning. “Very clever. He did those calculations in moments.”
I shrugged. As strengths went, I much preferred Kaelson’s. “Drinking before training isn’t wise.”
“I forgot,” she said with chagrin.
“It isn’t all you forgot,” I said.
She took the reprimand with a wince, her eyes dropping to the ground.
I didn’t want that either, though. I gave her a little nudge, waving my hand forward, in the direction of the hall where she’d train with Thomas and Kaelson.
“Hold tight to what’s important,” I reminded her.
“He’s a stepping stone, not a carriage ride. ”
Her shoulders firmed, her brows creasing in agreement. I’d got through this time. We’d need to watch the lordling on his next visit.
Over her shoulder, I caught Chay’s gaze. I couldn’t read his expression, but I mouthed a quick thanks for his well-timed interruption. His answering nod was somber.