They – whoever they were, if it was not the Guild – might not send this same man after her, but if they did, she would know. And the next time she encountered him, he would not get away from her, and he would answer her questions about why he was following her.
Her fright was subsiding. The experience had steeled her, and a part of her marveled at her newfound confidence. Yvienne had never been afraid of knowledge. On the contrary, knowing had always given her a sense of security. She wouldn’t rest until she knew everything; why had the Guild destroyed her family, and why was she being spied on?
The answers were in Treacher’s head. She would also ask him about the ginger man when she went to see him that night.
“Did you see him?” she asked Mathilde, her voice still raspy. She added more honey and lemon to her tea and sipped. The sweet warmth was soothing balm to her abused throat. She would have to tell her family that she was coming down with a cold.
“I caught a glimpse of him, nothing more,” Mathilde said.
“If you see him again, let me know. Don’t approach him, don’t follow him. Just tell me.”
Mathilde raised one eyebrow with calm surprise. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
Probably. “I don’t think so,” Yvienne said, hoping she sounded convincing. “I think they just want to keep an eye – on my family.” Probably there was a tail on Uncle as well, and one on Tesara. It wouldn’t require much to follow her parents, since they rarely left the house.
Mathilde didn’t look convinced.
“I’m not worried, I’m angry,” Yvienne said, still trying to reassure her.
“Well, for goodness sakes, don’t let your anger lead you into danger,” Mathilde said.
“I won’t,” Yvienne said, at the same time formulating another plan. The man appeared to have lured her into a trap by giving her what she wanted. That had been very educational. “Do you think I should just let it be?”
“Yes,” Mathilde said decisively. “Until you know what you’re getting into, I think it’s best if you stick close to home. You were lucky today, Yvienne.” She smiled her lovely smile. “You know you can rely on me if you need any help.”
Yvienne sipped her tea, trying to keep her expression bland. Ever since that morning she had been wrestling with a suspicion of Mathilde. A treasure indeed, and to be sure, she had revived Brevart’s spirits, and that was most gratifying. But why would the best housemaid in Port Saint Frey work for the disgraced Mederos family? Hiding her distrust, she smiled back.
“Please don’t worry about me. I spent six years in the wilds of Romopol in a girls’ finishing school. The streets of Port Saint Frey don’t mean much to me.”
Mathilde laughed a little. “Goodness, you are stalwart.”
Again, there was something in her tone that made Yvienne hesitate. Then she laughed too, accepting the teasing.
“You have no idea,” she said dryly.
“All right,” Mathilde said. She poured the rest of the tea into Yvienne’s cup from the brown betty on the table. “But if, say, you wanted me to check on anything, I could do it without raising any attention. They wouldn’t be following me.”
“Perhaps,” Yvienne said noncommittally. It was good she didn’t live in, because trying to sneak past her at night wouldn’t be easy. She tried to imagine the housemaid following her, and couldn’t. Mathilde wouldn’t be able to stop her.
She sipped her tea and looked longingly at the sandwiches, which had gone untouched. With absolutely no furtiveness, Mathilde took the napkin from her market basket and wrapped up the sandwiches, tucking them inside.
“For your mother and father,” she said. “It just means I won’t have to make their dinner tonight.”
This time the lump in Yvienne’s throat had nothing to do with her bruised windpipe. “I’ll repay you,” she croaked. “I promise.”
“Stuff,” Mathilde said bracingly. “Let’s go home; I’ll see if I can find a flannel for your throat.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tesara waited out the morning bustle, staying out of the way of her family. She heard her mother calling for Yvienne and giving orders to Mathilde for the marketing. Her father had made much of the fact that he intended to go down to Æther’s that morning, but for all his loudly stated intentions he remained in the parlor.
He’s choosing his prison, she thought. It saddened her. Her father had been distant and focused when she was growing up, and they had become strangers over the last six years. Now the man who once owned much of the city and commanded respect wherever he was, had become too frightened to walk out of the small room in the small house on a small street.
She, on the other hand, had to escape.
In the fortnight since they returned from exile, Tesara had been restless, at odds with her parents. They had changed so much; she had changed so much. Alinesse had always been brittle and hard-edged, but now she was apt to turn her sharpness on everyone around her. Even Yvienne wasn’t immune. So, each morning Tesara stayed out of the way until she could make her exit.
She walked for hours, avoiding her inevitable return and the conflict she would find there. If I had any skill, she thought, I could bring in money, help the household, even as Yvienne was doing. Her sister could be a governess, but Tesara didn’t see how she herself could be anything, not even a scullery maid. One look at her hand, and no prospective employer would hire her, a cripple.
Tesara stood at the front gate, taking in the fresh,
