Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [153]
He had heard rumors about Master Piero, who was a controversial figure at the University. Unlike the other Masters, he refused to be confined to a lecture hall, venturing often into the city with his students. His methods were eclectic and his curriculum indeterminate.
Curious, Eamonn had sought him out.
"He's brilliant, Imri!" he said, glowing. "You saw him today, didn't you? The way he cuts through to the heart of the matter," he added, chopping his hand for emphasis. "Virtue! Envy! That's what I want to know!"
I smiled at him. "Well, I saw him try. The Skaldi girl wasn't having it."
"Brigitta." Eamonn looked pensive. "She struggles with the language. I've told her to study with Master Donato, my old Master. But she won't do it, she only has six months here. And Master Piero won't tell anyone what to do. He insists we must discover it for ourselves."
"There's sense in that, although I'm not sure it's a kindness in this instance." I refilled my winecup. "So why is a young Skaldi woman—"
"Where is the kindness in imposing our thoughts upon others?" Eamonn interrupted, lifting a finger. "Is common sense a virtue, Imri? We have agreed that it is. And yet it is one that cannot be taught, save by example. It must be discovered and admired on its own merits, even as one might see the foundations of a mighty building in a crude chunk of stone."
"—why is a young Skaldi woman studying in Tiberium?" I finished.
Gilot, bored witless, rolled his eyes.
"Sorry." Eamonn laughed. "I'm new to Master Piero's ways, and I get excited." He lowered his voice. "Truth is, I don't know. She's very serious, Brigitta. She keeps to herself. I tell you, Imri, make no mistake. She'll draw a dagger on you just for flirting. But Master Piero sees merit in her, so it must be there."
"No doubt," I said diplomatically. I nodded at Lucius Tadius. "What about him?"
"Lucius?" Eamonn dropped his voice another octave. "He's bright, very bright," he said. "But he is too lazy, and does not always try." He looked troubled. "I'm not sure. There is some problem with his family. He is meant to be his father's heir, the Prince of Lucca, but there is some problem there. I think it involves buggery," he added in a whisper.
I choked on a sip of wine.
"They don't like it here, you know; or at least not exactly," Eamonn said in a serious tone. "They're very funny about such matters in Tiberium."
Gilot took interest. "How so, my lord?"
"Oh!" Eamonn took a deep breath. "They're very strange. Anything a man might do with his shaft they reckon is right and fine. But to pleasure a woman with lips and tongue…" He shook his head. "That, they reckon debasing."
"Idiots," Gilot commented.
"Yes." Eamonn nodded. "And it is the same for a woman to take a man into her mouth, although I have never heard any man complain of it. And worse for a man who does it to another, and worst of all for a man who lets himself get buggered. They've no respect for it, or anyone who suffers it."
I glanced over at Lucius, seated farther down the table. He raised his winecup in mocking salute. "But that's just… silly," I said. Even to my own ears, I sounded as plaintive as Alais complaining at my nicknaming her.
Eamonn shrugged. "It's Tiberium, Imri, not Terre d'Ange."
"Nor Alba, either," I said sharply.
"No." He grinned. "That's why you'll find a good many Tiberian women interested in what you might offer them. I suggest you make the most of it."
Gilot lifted his winecup. "I'm for that!"
We drank to it, the three of us.
Day wore on into evening and Master Piero's disciples peeled away at last, making their farewells and leaving us alone. Once we were surrounded by nameless strangers, I felt myself relax, tense muscles easing.
"So," Eamonn said softly. "You do not wish anyone to know who you are, Imri?"
"It's not that, exactly." I met his gaze. "I'm not ashamed. I just want a chance to be myself, and not my history."
He understood, nodding. "I won't tell anyone," he promised, then paused. "How are my lady Phèdre and