Shadowmarch

coarse.”

He frowned. It was a much greater pleasure than she would have guessed to see him discomfited—like watching a supercilious cat take a clumsy fall. “They are men’s clothes, Princess Briony, however rich the fabric and workmanship. They make coarse what is naturally fine.”

“So the mere fact of what I wear can make me less than fine, less than noble? I fear that leaves me very little room in which to maneuver, Lord Dawet, if I am already so close to coarseness that a mere doublet can carry me to it.”

He smiled, but it was a surprisingly angry expression. “You seek to make sport of me, Highness. And you may. But you seemed to ask whether I approved, and I would be honest with you I do not.”

“If I were your sister, then, would you forbid me to dress this way?'

“If you were my sister or any other woman whose honor was given into my keeping, yes, I would certainly forbid you.” His dark gaze suddenly touched hers, angry and somehow demanding. It was startling, as though she had been playing with what she thought was a harmless pet that had suddenly shown it could bite.

“Well, in point of fact, Lord Dawet, that is why I asked you to attend me.” “So it is not ‘we’ and ‘us,’ Highness?”

She felt her cheeks warming again. “We. ‘Us.’ You overreach yourself, Lord Dawet.”

He bowed his head, but she glimpsed the tiniest hint of a smile—the old one, the self-satisfied one. “I have been unclear, Highness. I apologize. I simply meant that you did not say ‘we,’ so I wondered if this was not then an audience with you and your royal brother, as I had been given to understand. I take it that instead you wish to speak more … informally?”

“No.” Damn the man! “No, that is not what I meant, although of course I act today as co-regent and with my brother’s approval. You make me regret speaking to you in a friendly way, Lord Dawet.”

“May the Three Highest bring rum on my house if I intended any such thing, Princess—if I intended anything other than respect and affection. I simply wished to know what sort of meeting we are having.”

She sipped at her wine, taking a moment to recover her confidence. “As I said, your remark about me being a woman in your care was to the point. Only a few weeks gone, I might have been just such a forlorn creature, sent with you to marry your lord, like… like a bit of tribute. Do not forget, Lord Dawet, you come here as the ambassador of our enemy.”

“You have greater enemies than my master Ludis, Highness. And I fear you also have friends who are even less trustworthy than me. But forgive me—I have interrupted you. Again, I am unforgivably rude.”

He had flustered her again, but the anger gave her something to grip, a certain leverage. “It is finally time for the crown of Southmarch and the March Kingdoms to return an answer to your master, the Protector of Hierosol, and his offer of marriage. While my older brother was regent, there might have been a different answer, but now, as you may guess, the answer is no. We will ransom my father with money, not my maidenhood. If Ludis wishes to beggar the northern kingdoms, then he will find that when the Autarch comes to his front door, Hierosol will get no assistance from the north. Rather, though we hate the Autarch and would not ordinarily wish to see him gain even a handful of Eion’s soil, we will rejoice at the defeat of Ludis Drakava.” She paused, slowing her breath, making her voice firm. “But if he sees another way—if King Olin might be released for something less than this exorbitant amount of gold, for instance—then Ludis might discover he has allies here that will stand him well in days ahead.” Dawet raised an eyebrow. “Is that the message you wish me to give him, Princess Briony?” “It is.”

He nodded his head slowly. “And do I take this to mean that I am no longer a prisoner? That my escort and I are free to go back to Hierosol?”

“Do you doubt my word?”

“No, Highness. But sometimes things happen beyond the echo of a prince’s voice.” “Avin Brone, the lord constable, knows my wishes… our wishes. He will return your men’s arms. Your ship is prepared already, I think.”

“Your castellan was kind enough to arrange that no harm should come to it, and that I could keep on it a small crew to see that things stayed in order.” Dawet grinned. “I confess that although I will in many ways regret leaving, it is good to know I will have my freedom again, even though you will be one guest the less.”

“Guest, indeed. Whatever you believe, Lord Dawet, I do not think you can say we treated you much like a prisoner.”

“Oh, a valued prisoner, at the worst,” he said. “But that is small solace to one who has spent years of his life living on horseback, never sleeping in the same place twice.” He stirred. “Do I have leave to go and begin the preparations?”

“Of course. You will want to sail before the weather turns for good.” She was oddly disappointed, but knew this was happening as it must. He and his Hierosoline company were a distraction in the castle; they attracted rumor and hostility as honey drew flies.Yes, he was a very distracting presence, this Dawet dan-Faar. Now that Brone had convinced her and Barrick beyond doubt that there was no way the envoy or his company could have been materially involved in her brother’s murder, it made no sense to keep them and feed them through the long winter. He bowed, took a few steps backward, then stopped. “May I speak frankly, Highness? Princess Briony?” “Of course.”

He glanced at the guards and her ladies-in-waiting, then came back and sat on the bench beside her. This close, he smelled of leather and some sweet hair oil. Briony saw Rose and Moina exchange a look. “I will take you at your word, Mistress, and hope you have played me fairly,” he said quietly. “Listen carefully to me, please.

“I am glad you did not accept the suit of my lord Ludis. I think you would not have found life at his court very enjoyable—mostly, I suspect my master’s interests and amusements would not have been to your taste. But I hope someday you can see the southlands, Princess, and perhaps even Xand… or at least those parts of it not choking under the Autarch’s control. There are beauties you cannot imagine, green seas and high mountains red as a maiden’s blush, and broad jungles full of animals you can scarcely imagine. And the deserts—you will remember I told you something of the silent, stark deserts. You may become a great queen someday, but you have seen little of the world, and that seems to me a shame.”

Briony was stung. “I have been to Settland and Brenland and… and Fael.” She had been only a child of five when her father took her to visit Merolanna’s relatives—she remembered little except a great black horse given to her father by Fael’s lord as a present, and of standing on a balcony above the sea watching otters at play in the water below.

Dawet smirked—there was nothing else to call it. “Forgive me if I do not count Settland and Brenland among the gods’ greatest triumphs, my lady.” Abruptly the smile dropped away. “And my wish for you to see more of the world is in part an idle and selfish wish… because I wish I could be the one to show these things to you.” He lifted a long, brown hand. “Please, say nothing. You told me I could speak honestly. And there is more I would tell you. “ His voice dropped all the way to a whisper. “You are in danger, my lady, and it is closer to you than you think. I cannot believe that Shaso is the one who killed your brother, but I cannot prove he did not either. However I can tell you, and tell you from knowledge, that one who is much closer to you than me means you ill. Murderously ill.” He held her gaze for a long moment; Briony felt lost, as though she were in an evil falling dream. “Trust no one.”

“Why would you say such a thing?” she whispered harshly when she had found her voice again. “Why should I believe that you, the servant of Ludis Drakava, are not merely trying to stir unhappiness between me and those I trust?”

The smile returned one last time, with an odd twist to it. “Ah, the life I have led means I deserve that many times over. Still, I do not ask you to act on my words, Princess Briony, only to consider them—to remember them. It could be that the day will come when we can sit together once more and you can tell me whether I wished you ill this day… or well.” He stood, donning his guise of easiness again like a cloak. “I hope you will be more suitably dressed, of course.” He took her hand in a most ostentatious manner, brushed his lips upon it. Everyone else in the room was staring openly. “I thank you and your brother for your generous hospitality, Princess, and I grieve for your loss. I will give your message to my master in Hierosol.”

He bowed and left the cabinet.

“I am quite sick of watching the two of you murmur,” Briony growled at her ladies-in-waiting. She didn’t quite know what she was feeling, but it was not pleasant. “Go away. I want to be by myself for a while I want to think.”

* * *