Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [327]
Lady Denise watched us with amused indulgence. Although she had no children of her own, she was familiar with the appetites of young men. Picking at her own plate, she drew the story of the siege from us. Eamonn told most of it, in between chewing vigorously and swallowing enormous bites of food.
When it came to the mundus manes and Gallus Tadius, her expression turned somber. She didn't question it, though; not even the portal opening. I supposed she had seen things in Menekhet that had inured her to doubt. A Drujani bone-priest, for instance.
"I'm sorry," she said when Eamonn had done. "If I had known…"
I wiped my mouth with an immaculately clean linen napkin. "How did you know, my lady? Quentin LeClerc said there was a message."
"Yes." She drew a much-folded scrap of vellum from a purse at her girdle and handed it to me. "This."
I unfolded it. The parchment had been used before and scraped clean. It was thin and a little greasy. It bore only a few words written in Caerdicci, the ink blurred and difficult to read by candlelight. Lucca is under attack. I fingered the ragged edges. "Who brought it?"
She shook her head. "He didn't give a name. The guard at the gate said he looked like a peasant. He took the message and turned him away."
I raised my brows. "And yet you believed."
"I didn't dare do otherwise. Better to believe in error and be made a fool than risk the alternative." Denise Fleurais smiled briefly. "The Queen would have my head if I'd let harm come to you when I could have averted it, and I daresay I'd rather answer to her than Phèdre." Her expression turned somber again. "I thought a small delegation would suffice, since Lucca's attackers would have no reason to quarrel with Terre d'Ange. I was wrong."
"You couldn't have known. Obviously, whoever sent this had no idea the Duke of Valpetra wanted vengeance on me. I didn't know it myself." I ran the ball of my thumb over the parchment, wondering if it contained a hidden message. I gave her what I hoped was a disarming smile. "May I keep this?"
"Yes, of course."
There was no hesitation, no trace of guile. I tucked the scrap away. "Thank you, my lady. For this and for securing Tiberium's aid. You must have been most persuasive."
"Ah, well." With a self-deprecating gesture, Lady Denise spread her hands. "Queen Ysandre may be displeased with me after all once she learns what I had to promise the princeps. It will cost dearly. But the matter seemed urgent, and Deccus Fulvius was most helpful in securing the Senate's support."
"He's a good man," Eamonn offered.
She nodded. "Yes, he is. He has a message for you, too, Prince Eamonn; or at least his wife does." A hint of amusement returned to her voice. "From a young Skaldi woman? It seems she wished it held it in safekeeping and out of D'Angeline hands."
"Brigitta!" His face kindled, then fell. "She's gone, then."
"Is there word from Terre d'Ange?" I asked.
"Not current, no." She turned to me, sympathy in her gaze. "There are two letters that arrived while you were gone, but they would have been sent some weeks ago. I'll have the chamberlain bring them to you in your chamber. There hasn't been time since the news from Lucca arrived."
I remembered the letter I'd written there. "Was my missive sent?"
"Yes." She was quiet for a moment. "Prince Imriel, I dared not send word until I knew you were well. I will send it on the morrow, if you wish, but I suspect you will be your own best message. There is a ship standing by at Ostia, ready to transport you."
Ah, Elua! I'd nearly forgotten. They must be going mad there, wondering if I was dead or alive. I should leave; tonight, tomorrow at the latest. Already, it was growing late in the season to make the passage. But there were a few things I needed to do ere I left Tiberium. I rubbed my face with the heels of my hands and sighed.
"Give me a day," I said.
Lady Denise inclined her head. "Of course."
* * *
Chapter Sixty-Six
As matters transpired, I couldn't have departed