Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [206]
It was only the leaving that was hard.
Sidonie waited while I conferred with Deordivus and Urist, speaking in low tones to Lord Amaury, Claude de Monluc, to Mavros, to a Hugues rendered suddenly shy and tongue-tied. Maslin de Lombelon was gone. I hadn't noticed him leave.
After a time, she approached the table where our maps were spread. I pushed my chair back and rose to greet her, acutely aware of my own neglect. Vengeance and love didn't make for good bedfellows. Or mayhap I was still insufferably self-absorbed.
"I'm sorry," I said awkwardly.
Sidonie shook her head. "Don't be. Shall I go?”
"Can you stay?" I asked.
"Until the morning?" She tilted her head, smiling slightly in the direction of Lord Amaury, who was sitting with his head bowed, tugging at his curly brown hair. "Oh yes, I think my mother's emissary is sufficiently abashed that there will be no trouble.”
"I would like it," I said quietly. "I would like it very much. What you said today …" I paused, unable to find adequate words that sufficed to express the vast love and awe within me. "You were magnificent. Truly.”
"Ah, well." There was no pride in her expression, only a deep, complicated sorrow. "I've had a long time to think about being brave, Imriel.”
Urist grunted. "Better late than never, eh?”
Sidonie nodded. "Yes, my lord. I'm trying.”
So it was decided.
I spoke to Hugues, who had come to deliver a satchel full of coin, courtesy of my factor. He was still wide-eyed, out of his element. I thanked him for his kindness and promised to send word at every opportunity. And I thanked him, too, for the gift he'd made me the last time I'd departed from Terre d'Ange.
"The flute?" Hugues blushed. "Oh, it was a silly gift.”
"No, it wasn't." I shook my head, thinking about Dorelei's laughter. "It was perfect.”
"Well, I'm glad you liked it." He embraced me carefully, mindful of my wounds. "Please come home safe, Imri. I don't want to be the last member of her ladyship's household to see you alive.”
I swallowed hard. "I'll do my best.”
Mavros, too, took his leave. He'd come out of loyalty when he'd gotten word of L'Envers' entourage heading for the manor house. "I don't know what I expected to do," he said wryly. "Serve as a witness, mayhap, if he killed you out of hand. Declare blood-feud on behalf of House Shahrizai.”
"You're a good friend," I said. "Truly.”
Mavros shrugged. "You do keep life interesting, cousin." He tugged aside the collar of my shirt, peering judiciously at the love-bite it covered. "Very impressive," he said to Sidonie, who merely raised her brows. "You're a bundle of surprises, your highness.”
I swatted his hands away. "Yes, and you're incorrigible.”
"So I'm told." He took my face in his hands, and I was moved to see that beneath the careless amusement, there were tears in his eyes. "Take care of yourself.”
"I will," I said softly. "I'm coming home with that bastard's head in a bag, Mavros.”
"Good." He nodded. "Good.”
Lord Amaury was staying out of a morbid sense of obligation, although I daresay he was none too pleased about it. In the morning, he would escort Sidonie back to the Palace, along with his men and her personal guard. I might have felt sorry for him another time. As it was, I couldn't put a name to what I felt. I'd never had such powerful emotions warring in me.
It was Sidonie who took matters in hand. With quiet, assured competence she spoke to the steward Isembart. I saw him bow in acquiescence, and although his features were schooled to near-perfect inexpressiveness, I could sense the relief behind them.
"Very good, your highness," he murmured.
I was watching her out of the corner of my eye while Urist and I went over our preparations for departure on the morrow; the supplies that had been delivered, those we would need to procure on the road. Sidonie caught my eye and smiled, returning to the table where we were working, still spread with maps.
"This is where he was seen?" she asked, touching