The Dream Spheres - Elaine Cunningham [65]
Her surprise seemed total and genuine. Although Danilo had never truly believed his mother had had any part in this attack, he could not deny the sudden easing of his mind.
"Elaith Craulnober. A guest," he said firmly, cutting off the exasperated comment she was so obviously prepared to make, "here by my invitation and protected by the rules of hospitality."
"Do not lecture me on proprieties and social obligations," the noblewoman returned heatedly. "You had no business inviting that rogue to a respectable affair in the first place! Nor did your… companion… do well to intervene!"
Danilo's eyes narrowed. "I suppose she should have walked on and left a lone elf to face his death at the hands of five tren assassins?"
"Five tren," Cassandra repeated tonelessly. This news seemed to dissolve some of the starch from her spine, and suddenly her posture was less that of a warrior queen than of a woman who could claim a score of grandchildren. The moment quickly passed. "What transpired?"
"They fought. Four were killed, one escaped."
"By the runes of Oghma." Having delivered that oath, Cassandra rose and began to pace, her face deeply clouded with anger and concern. "Perhaps now you will understand my reservations concerning this liaison you insist upon forming with this woman! If you do not understand it, you soon shall-unless you are as great a fool as you have always pretended to be."
This pronouncement startled Danilo for a number of reasons. He addressed the easiest issue first. "You saw through the pretense. I did not think anyone in the family did."
The woman sniffed. "Do you think I know so little of what happens under my own roof? I understand more than you think. As it turned out, your decision to play the fool in the service of the Harpers dovetailed well with the family interests. Wine merchants must know the trade. That you have learned, probably quite by accident, while meddling with Khelben's projects."
"One tavern at a time," Danilo agreed, making a jest to cover his surprise. "There is no substitute for firsthand knowledge."
"Indeed," she said dryly. "And now you are acclaimed as a bard, after all those years of tormenting your tutors and music masters! In all, I would say the choices you made for your life were not so very different from those I would have chosen for you. Until recently, of course."
Her implication was unmistakable and supremely irritating. Danilo set down his wineglass with exaggerated care to compensate for his urge to heave it against a wall. "Which brings us to several other questions," he said evenly. "Why are you so opposed to Arilyn?"
"I suppose I have nothing against her personally. As a traveling companion, you could hardly have chosen better. However, it is time that you considered finding a consort. A half-elven mercenary is not suitable for a man of your position."
"Then I shall change my position," Danilo returned. "Anything I do for this city or this family can be done by another. Why should I not follow my own inclinations?"
Cassandra threw up her hands. "Why stop now?"
He let that pass. "I am also puzzled as to why you think Arilyn erred in giving aid to one of the Thann's guests. Would you have felt differently about this matter, had the target of the tren attack been some nobleman's daughter?"
The noblewoman gave the question more consideration than Danilo expected-more, he thought, than it warranted. "That is quite different, of course, but even so, she should not have interfered."
Danilo shook his head in astonishment. "You are surely not in favor of giving assassins free reign of the estate!"
The look Cassandra sent him was somber. "You should have listened," she said softly, "to the lessons I tried to teach you in your boyhood."
"Guild Wars, assassinations, chaos," Danilo said impatiently. "Yes, I remember it well."
His mother shook her head. "We are never quite done with the past. Who should know that better than a bard?"
Danilo studied her for a long moment.