Thornhold - Elaine Cunningham [128]
“Purple and black,” Alice confirmed. “Why?”
Bronwyn just shook her head, for her throat was too tight for her to form an answer.
“Child, it’s time,” the gnome said. “If that was the girl’s father, you’ll have to turn her over. Cara would be the first to insist.”
“I know,” Bronwyn said, but she meant nothing of the sort. Never before had she felt less sure of anything. Before she could decide what to do with the little girl, she needed to find some answers. It was time to face down Khelben Arunsun, and test her ability to hold to her own path against the Master Harper’s powerful will and subtle manipulations.
Thirteen
As it turned out, Bronwyn did not have to seek out Khelben Arunsun. He came to her.
The street outside of her shop was always alive with a pleasant clamor during the day and well into the evening. So the sudden lull in this bustle held a portent that few warning horns could match.
Bronwyn peered out the window and understood at once. Lord Arunsun and his lady, the mage Laeral Silverhand, strolled arm in arm down the street, stopping at shops to admire this or that trinket. This was far from a common sight, but Bronwyn suspected that this visit was for her benefit and that the other stops were visited so that she would not seemed to be singled out.
At that moment one of Ellimir’s helpers came running out, a bolt of cloth-of-silver in her arms. She held up a length of it to show that it was of near color to Lady Laeral’s hair. The two women haggled pleasantly for a few moments. Bronwyn watched, troubled by something but not quite able to pinpoint her concern. Then the young seamstress turned, and Bronwyn noted the heavy kohl that lined her eyes, the smudge of henna still on her cheeks.
So that was why the three-copper courtesan in the alley had looked so familiar, Bronwyn thought grimly. She was willing to bet good gold coin that this shop assistant was one of Danilo’s Harpers.
That flustered and angered her. She drew back from the window and busied herself with some rare volumes as she collected her thoughts.
The bell over the door rang too soon for her comfort. The archmage and his lady were met at the door by Alice Tinker. Bronwyn had to admire the gnome’s performance. Alice’s response was perfect. She seemed overawed by the presence of two of the city’s most powerful magi, and so eager to please that she resembled a puppy who regretted she had but one tail to wag. Anyone who witnessed the gnome’s performance would have a difficult time believing that she had been a Harper informer for many years. Since Alice’s admission, she had spoken freely to Bronwyn of her past. It was difficult to equate the motherly gnome with the fierce fighter she once had been, but Bronwyn could see how that very dichotomy would make Alice a more effective Harper agent.
Khelben looked somewhat bemused by the presence of a child in the shop. Bronwyn noted how his eyes followed Cara, but his countenance was too difficult for Bronwyn to read. She studied Cara herself and tried to imagine what the archmage saw. Cara was a small girl, exceedingly thin, and brown as a wren. Half-elf, that was obvious, but except for her delicate frame and the slight point to her ears, she looked more human than elf. Did the archmage also note that the girl followed Bronwyn like a second shadow? That, like her apparent mentor, the child had an eye for rare and pretty objects? Following Alice’s lead, Cara brought choice baubles to show Laeral. Soon she was giggling and chattering, utterly charming the lady mage.
Khelben was not long content to stand to one side and watch the womenfolk exclaim over trinkets. Bronwyn caught his eye as she bent to hold a hand mirror so that Laeral could admire the effect of a necklace of rosy pearls.
She put the mirror into Alice’s hand and straightened. “Can I show you anything, my lord?”
“Old tomes, perhaps? I see none about, but perhaps you have some that are not on display?”
Bronwyn took the hint and led him into the back room. He waited until she had lit a small oil lamp and shut the door.