Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [286]
"Oh, I know!" Eamonn grinned. "Brigitta is very angry. But Imri, listen. All that talk with Master Piero about virtue… honor, loyalty… what's it worth if we don't put it into practice? It's when the choices are hard that it matters."
At dawn we returned to the villa, yawning. I was thinking about how the nights were growing longer as the siege wore further into autumn and wondering if Gallus Tadius would be amenable to splitting the night patrol into two shifts. It felt like weeks since I'd had a proper night's sleep. Come to think on it, it likely was. Even on the road from Tiberium, I'd slept poorly, distracted by Claudia's proximity. And these days, no one got to sleep much.
"Imriel."
I blinked at Claudia, standing in the chilly atrium with a thick robe wrapped around her gown. For a few heartbeats, it seemed as though my thoughts had conjured her.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know you're tired. But I wanted to see you."
Eamonn touched my shoulder. "I'll be in my chamber."
He took his leave, and Claudia and I went to the salon in the guest quarters. It was cold there, too. We sat side by side on one of the couches, she huddled in her robe and I wrapped in my cloak. Since I didn't know what to say to her, I waited for her to speak.
After a moment, she gave a short laugh. "I had a speech in mind. I lay awake half the night thinking of the right words. Now it's gone."
"Too little sleep," I said. "None of us are in our right wits."
"Imriel nó Montrève." Sliding one cold hand out of her sleeve, Claudia touched my hair, which hung long enough to touch my shoulders. "You let it grow," she murmured. "Do you remember I asked you to?"
I smiled. "All too well, my lady."
"Oh, indeed." A faint glimmer of her old carnal mischief surfaced in her answering smile. "I owe you my thanks."
"For my hair?" I asked stupidly.
"For my freedom." Claudia's expression turned grave. "For Deccus' and Brigitta's. And I promise you, whatever I can do to bring this siege to an end, I will. I will use any influence at my disposal to ensure that the D'Angeline ambassadress' negotiations fall upon willing ears and help comes swiftly."
I eyed her. "At what price?"
Claudia winced. "I deserve that, I suppose. There is no price, Imriel. I'll not use this to try to bind you to a promise, if that's what you're thinking."
It was. I gazed at her face, touched by the dawn light slanting through the window. There were fine lines at the corners of her eyes that had not been there before. The siege had aged her. She had watched her brother descend into madness, her father's spirit broken, her mother reduced by grief. "The Guild abandoned you," I said slowly. "And yet you're still loyal to them?"
"Yes." She offered no justification.
So be it. "Thank you," I said. "I appreciate your aid."
Claudia nodded. "I will do my best. Imriel… this is no price, but only a favor I ask. Will you do what you can to look out for my family?"
It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes, of course. I hesitated. "Will you answer a question for me? Honestly and truthfully?"
"I'll try," she said.
"Who is Canis?" I asked. "Who sent him?"
"The beggar?" Her brown eyes were steady and clear, touched to amber by the dawn's rays. "I don't know."
"He's here, you know." I watched her pupils dilate. She hadn't known. "I think he may have been the one to send a message to Lady Denise. And I think he's done other things, too. Is he Guild?"
"I don't know." Nothing in her face betrayed her, but Claudia held my gaze too long. Only that, the most subtle of tell-tales. She lied very, very well. "I'm sorry, Imriel."
"So am I." I smiled at her, rueful and tired. "Yes, my lady. I will do all that is in my power to look out for your family, including your wraith-ridden brother. However," I added, turning my hands palm upward, "I fear that while the siege continues, my power is limited to whatever lies within these."
"No." To my surprise, Claudia took my hands in hers. Raising them to her lips, she kissed both my