Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [117]
He told her it was he, and not I, who found the cap.
He told her I fouled his pursuit of the messenger.
"Oh, please!" I said in disgust. "You're the one who blocked my path. And for all I know, you're the one planted that note. You were awfully quick to assume the worst of me, Bertran."
He bristled. "I would never stoop—"
Ysandre raised her hand for silence and we both complied, chastened. She looked somberly at Phèdre. "What do you think?"
"I don't know, yet," she said. "But I think it's time to start asking some serious questions about what members of Parliament may have been overheard using the phrase 'true of heart and pure of blood.'"
The Queen raised her brows. "An open inquiry? Surely we have more to gain by concealing our hand."
Phèdre glanced at Bertran. "How many people have you told of last night's encounter, my lord?"
His face turned brick red. "Only those who were there!"
"So," Phèdre said mildly. "I imagine it will be all over Court by this evening."
"Name of Elua!" I clenched my fists. "I'm an idiot. I should have sewn my mouth shut." I pointed at Bertran. "I should have sewn your mouth shut!"
"Oh, you'd like that!" He glared at me. "Look, I saw what I saw."
Ysandre sighed. "Did you tell your companions about the note's contents?"
Abashed, Bertran nodded. "On the way home," he muttered.
"My thanks," I said sardonically. "You're a loyal friend, Bertran."
His flush deepened. "I'm loyal to the Crown, is what I am! You know damned well what it's like, Imriel. I'll do whatever it takes to keep the Trevalion name above suspicion."
"Your ambition is to be commended, young lord de Trevalion." The Queen's tone was cool. "But a measure of forethought would not go amiss with it." She beckoned to Diderot Duval, her Captain of the Guard. "Lord Duval, see if your men can locate these companions before their tongues can wag and bid them to silence. I would proceed quietly for a day and place a covert watch over the dolphin fountain in Elua's Square on the morrow." She looked at me. "Are you willing to keep this purported appointment, cousin?"
"Yes," I said. "Of course, your majesty."
"Good." For a moment, Ysandre looked unspeakably weary. "If naught transpires," she said to Phèdre, "I will stage an open inquiry."
Phèdre inclined her head. "My lady."
On the following day, I went to Elua's Square a little before sunset. It had all been arranged with Captain Duval. In the warm months, it was a bustling place. There was a great oak tree in the center of the square, rumored to have been planted by Blessed Elua himself. Four fountains played beneath it, and it is a popular meeting place for friends and lovers. But in the winter the fountains were dry, and only a few hearty souls strolled the square.
For the sake of appearances, Gilot accompanied me, then wandered some distance away, ostensibly immersing himself in a game of dice with a pair of idlers; members of the Queen's Guard in disguise.
I sat myself on a bench beneath the oak's barren branches, contemplating the dolphin fountain. There were four of them, dancing on their tails amid the marble waves, bodies arching. In the summer, water spewed from their smiling snouts, but they were dry now.
There had been dolphins in the harbor at Amílcar. I remember how they raced alongside the ship, breaching to blow plumes of water into the air. Fadil Chouma, the Menekhetan slaver, had pointed them out to me as I stood beside him aboard the ship, scared and sick, dizzy with the lingering effects of opium.
I was scared now, too.
No one came. We waited until darkness fell. I sat for a long time without moving on that bench. By the time Captain Duval and his men came to fetch me, the cold had sunk deep into my bones.
"Go home, young highness," the Captain said, almost kindly. Almost; but not quite. "The Queen thanks you for your service."
I gazed up at him. "I didn't ask for this," I whispered.
He