“Yes. You go back first.”
“Don’t fall off.”
“I won’t.”
She watched him go with a kind of wrench, as though he was already back in her father’s office. He had never admitted it, but she knew Feodor had sent him to the Haze to spy on her. Tyr bridged two worlds.
For a few moments she let herself surrender to the strangeness of the night. Scorpio and Lupus glimmered brightly. She imagined the scientists upstairs training their telescopes. The dryness in her throat, heightened by outdoor air and milaine, reminded her that she must return to her guests. She was no longer worried about getting caught; quite the contrary, she knew that she and Tyr were too clever for that.
When she got back to the party Minota was in the middle of recounting the same anecdote about the goose and the lover to a giddied circle. A mirror was on the table. Tyr lounged on the other side, his long legs stretched out, laughing. There were new arrivals. The apartment was heaving, most people now standing, many dancing.
“There you are, Adelaide!”
It was Jannike, with two glasses of pink punch. Jan’s hair supported a spectacular headpiece that curled over her forehead in a furry cerise tail. Adelaide had a flashback of Axel two years ago, solemnly fixing a dried seahorse to Jan’s head and assuring her it was the latest trick.
“Darling, the most incredible party!” said Jan. “You really have surpassed yourself this time, absolutely everybody’s here. I met this rather handsome but most peculiar boy outside your bedroom. Said he was a biker, but Udur doesn’t know him. And Linus! What a surprise!”
The mention of her brother distracted Adelaide from Jannike’s previous comment.
“Linus? He’s not here?”
“Yes, over there. How on earth did you lure him out?”
“He never said he was coming.” Adelaide scanned the room until she found her brother. He had clearly come straight from work, dressed in a formal suit with no flair to it at all. People moving in his direction swerved away when they clocked who it was. Adelaide was not surprised. Linus was hardly stimulating conversation and besides, everyone knew the siblings shunned one another. “What does he think he’s doing here, Jan?”
“Well, darling, he was chatting away-maybe not chatting exactly, but when I asked him something he responded with words. Maybe there’s hope for him yet, what do you think?” Jannike pursed her lips, assessing the situation.
“I suppose I ought to talk to him.” Adelaide stared at her older brother with equal fascination. Yes, she had sent him an invitation, but that was a long running, only half funny joke between them. She could not work out whether to be angry or amused.
“Give him a line,” Jannike suggested. “Say, he doesn’t even have a drink. I’ll get him one, what does he take?”
“Get him a Rose Infusion. He needs sweetening up.”
“Never fear, angel. Janko will come and save you in a minute.”
Skirting the window-wall, Adelaide managed to cross the room unmolested. Linus caught her eye as she reached the halfway point. His eyes creased with amusement. She reminded herself that the Rechnovs were game players; his presence must be approached as a challenge.
“Evening, Adelaide. Made it through the hyenas?”
“I’d prefer jaguars, if Osiris had any,” she said. Reaching up to his collar, she undid the necktie, pulled it off, and tossed it onto a nearby plant. “Better. Don’t you know it’s cabaret night?”
“I thought it was rose night.”
“Rose night, cabaret theme. Anyway, this is a rare sighting. What brings you to this end of town?”
Linus looked bemused, perhaps by the disappearance of his necktie. “You sent me an invitation, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but you chuck my cards in the recycler.”
“Not always. Sometimes I find a more appropriate use for them.”
Adelaide gave him a suspicious look.
“Tell me,” said Linus. “How much does it cost you to host these things? Or should I say, how much does it cost us?”
“Why, does the bottomless pit of family bank have a previously undiscovered floor?”
“Not as far as I know. Dmitri guards the accounts. If he gets in touch, you’ll know bankruptcy is imminent.”
“I’ve not seen Dmitri for months.”
“Then I dare say you have a few more parties’ worth.” Linus retrieved his necktie from the plant. He rolled it into a neat snail shell and tucked it into his jacket pocket. Adelaide frowned.
“I hope you aren’t going to be admonishing tonight. I’d have to effect your removal.”
“I promise to behave,” he said. “If only because I’m too scared of your security detail.”
“I thought I sensed a latent air of terror about you.”
“I like the decor, by the way. Very dramatic. Although I can’t help feeling a little sorry for all the women getting second-rate flowers, now that you’ve used up a month’s worth of rose stock.”
Adelaide scoffed. “Old World values.”
“So why did you choose roses for tonight?”
She looked at him. Was he serious? “Aesthetics.”
“Your Rose Infusion, sir.”
Jannike stood before them, grinning. She held aloft a selection of cocktails balanced enticingly on a tray. The tray was angled, with the pink concoction sloping towards the rim of its glass and Linus.
“Oh-thank you, Jannike.”
“You’re welcome.” Jannike performed a curtsy. The tray skidded away, skimming over the tops of heads like an adolescent flying saucer. Adelaide and Linus watched.
“So. Did you like your gatecrasher?”
“You heard about him? Did you, by any chance, send him?”
Linus smiled. “Now why would you think that?”
“Nobody else would give away an invitation.”
“Well, I might have.”
“Rude of you, dear brother. But he was evicted quickly.”
“Did you listen to anything he said?”
The sudden switch in conversational direction annoyed Adelaide. She had been rather enjoying their backhanded banter. Now she had a strong urge to put Linus in his place.
“Why would I want to listen to one of your spies?”
Linus extracted a rose petal from his cocktail and looked for somewhere to put it. Crossly, Adelaide held out her own glass. He dropped it in. “Don’t be absurd. Vikram is trying to encourage the Council to put through a few reforms for the west. You have influence, I thought you might help him.”
Adelaide’s laugh rang out. Several people glanced over as if they might approach, then seeing Linus, retracted the impulse. His presence was beginning to dampen her party. She needed him gone. “Linus, you have a very odd idea about my priorities.”
“You wouldn’t like to annoy the Council?”
“Even if I did, I have other things to think about right now.” They were talking without looking at one another, but his next words changed that.
“Like getting into Axel’s apartment?”
Her eyes narrowed. “So now we get to it.”
“Get to what?”
“Why you’re here. Did Feodor send you?”
“Nobody sent me, Adelaide.” Linus dropped his voice. “I decided to come and talk to you. This investigation is a delicate thing. People are making accusations. The Daily Flotsam has even suggested we’ve done away with Axel ourselves because he was an embarrassment.”
“For all I know you might have done,” she said distantly.
