“Nandi,” Bren said, and bowed and searched the bottom of his resources for compliments. “Your quickness and your forbearance with a young and mistaken person were very apparent to everyone.”
“His foolishness was apparent, nand’ paidhi!”
“He cast himself between you and expected harm, knowing your great importance to the aiji. Unfortunately—he lacks the grace and the mass of the Guild.”
“Importance to the aiji, is it, nadi? With my niece in bedwith the upstart of Taiben! And the dowager no better—attaching herself to humans and astronomers.”
“I fear my regard in your eyes must be far less, then, since I regard the people you name with great respect and must defend them.”
“Humans! Makers of machines! Polluters of the good air! Defilers of the land! The ether of space itself isn’t safe from you!”
“Not defiled by mywork, nandi. Notby my work.” The lord of the Atageini had raised his voice to him. He came back in kind, which might be a misjudgment, but the dowager apparently got along with this man, and Ilisidi backed up for no one. “I hope for the good of atevi andhumans to come from the work I do, lord Tatiseigi. So does Jase, who wearsno bulletproof vest. Good evening, nandi.”
Tatiseigi went so far as to seize his sleeve. Unprecedented, and commanding his attention at a disadvantage of size and strength. Atevi eyes reflected, catching the light just so, and Tatiseigi’s shimmered gold.
“Defilers, I say.”
“No, lord of the Atageini. And still bearing good will to you despite your attacks.”
“Why? Are you a fool?”
“No, nandi. I do so because of the aiji-dowager, who has defended your interests to the aiji and to others and advised meto do so.”
“Oh, the aiji-dowager, is it? Do her tastes run so small!”
No ateva in a polite setting had ever delivered him an insult of that kind, not on a personal level.
“I am devastated,” he said with all the coldness he could muster. “She spoke well of you.”
“Impudence.”
“Nadi.” He had never envisioned addressing a lord of the Association in that style of hostile equals on the field, either. But he did. Nor had Tatiseigi once let go of his sleeve. “You will disappoint your niece.”
“How?”
“Because shealso has spoken well of you. I assure you the ship-paidhi thought only to rescue you. That the cameras caught it was either unfortunate oran opportunity. Ibeing a representative of governments advise you, nandi, to take your security, visit the reporters, and conduct the interview in the dining room. Such a report will air as often as the other, it will still be within these perimeters, it will often be rebroadcast because it will show yet another room of this historic residence. And, and, I advise you speak well of nand’ Jase in order to erase the memory of a mutual indignity before millions. Play the part instead of a lord protected by one of the paidhiin at risk of his life!”
There was utter silence. The music played. The conversation continued around them.
“Impudent, I say.”
“For the dowager’s sake, I give you my advice unasked.”
“For her sake I consider it and not the source.” Tatiseigi let him go and stared at him. He stared back, having to look up to do it.
Then he became aware, to his utter consternation, that Tabini was and had been behind him.
“I also counsel you do so, lord Tatiseigi,” Tabini said. “Your niece will stand beside you. So will the ship-paidhi.”
In support of her uncle. A thunderbolt. Perhaps made necessary by what Jase had done. But a solution, all the same.
He looked for Jase, who occupied the same corner beside the door as before, with his security, but with a small cluster of guests near him. He asked his leave, and went over to Jase and explained the situation.
Jase didn’t say much, except, in Mosphei’, “I thought he was in danger. What do they wantfrom me?”
“A good appearance,” he said. “The lord is willing.”
“I can’t do this,” Jase said in a tone of panic.
“Yes, you will,” Bren said. “You will, Jase. You have to.”
“No,” Jase said quietly, and at that moment Jagocaught his attention.
“Nand’ paidhi,” Jago said, attracting his attention, and he went aside, next to the porcelain lilies’ most extravagant display, the north wall, one of those sections that had remained largely untouched, and where a large potted plant afforded a buffer from the crowd and a quiet place for whispers. “Nand’ paidhi, I dislike to bring another matter to you, but the boy from Dur has come a second time into the subway.”
“Oh, damn!” He’d spoken in Mosphei’, having done it with Jase, and for a moment went blank.
“The boy,” Jago said, “is in very serious trouble with the Bu-javid guards. He was warned. He saw the news coverage, apparently from a hotel down the hill. He has checked into three.”
“What, hotels?”
“His behavior, nand’ paidhi, has been entirely suspicious. The boy has checked into three hotels to throw security off his track.”
“A boy that young—”
“I have not met him. He is not Guild. The moves he is making are provocative of very serious consequences.”
“How serious?”
“There was gunfire, nand’ paidhi. He did stop when ordered, for which one is very grateful. I understand he was hit by a masonry chip and that blood was drawn. Damage was done to the ceramics in the station and to a subway car, for which he will be held accountable. I haven’t been down there. But I have asked them not to charge him yet, knowing your involvement. What do you order us to do?”
“Am I qualified to judge? Have I causedthis boy’s reckless behavior, Jago-ji?”
“Nand’ paidhi, I think the fault is, as Banichi is wont to say, fartoo much television. The boy is ashamed to go home without the plane and without your release from feud. To him, at his age, this is great tragedy. To his father, this latest incident will be a disgrace that willindeed harm him in his dealings. The boy is coming to realize this and, being young, is now trulydesperate.”
“If I write the boy a card, with a ribbon, will he go home?”
“I hesitate to reward such foolishness but, if you will write it, nand’ paidhi, I will send it down with one of the juniors. I will not have this boy’s death attached to your name, nadi-ji, and some of the guards imagine him as Guild. Three hotels, paidhi-ji.”
“But you know definitively he isn’t.”
“Not in remotest possibility.”
“I’ll sign the card.” The lady’s office had the more traditional wax-jack. The security office had a highspeed device that didn’t require live flame. He started toward the door.
And missed Jase. Who was not where he’d been.
“Has Jase gone to the interview area?” he asked Jago, who talked to her pocket com.
“The lady’s office. He’s attempted to use the phone, nadi.”