"We could dispatch search parties," Tazi said when the bald major-domo finished.
"We will," Erevis replied, "but first, let's try to discern exactly what's going on. Master Tamlin, please, tell us about the ambuscade."
Tamlin nodded and gave them the tale. Talbot assumed it was factual in its essence, though embellished to make the teller seem more of a hero. For could his self-centered popinjay of a brother truly have slain a troll single-handed, or, when already free of the trap, ridden back into dire peril to rescue a retainer? To say the least, it was unlikely. At one point, Talbot elbowed Tazi, and the pair exchanged ironic, skeptical glances. Still, there were weightier matters to consider than their elder brother's mendacity, and their shared amusement lasted only an instant.
"It's far from certain that these two situations actually have anything to do with one another," observed Talbot at the story's conclusion. "Mother and Father left the mansion of their own volition, they haven't been gone that long, and there are any number of reasons why they might be slow in returning."
"With all due respect," said Brom, "as I mentioned before, Lady Uskevren's manner seemed odd."
"Still-" Talbot began.
Tazi lifted her hand. "There's something about Mother that none of the rest of you knows. A little over a year ago, when she and I went to hear the Hulorn's opera-"
"There was harmful magic woven into the music," said Tamlin, impatiently, "and you and Mother had to snatch away the conductor's baton or something to halt the performance and break the spell. We do know. We've heard the story."
Tazi glared at him. "You haven't heard all of it. Stopping the opera was more difficult than anyone knows, and in the course of it, Mother took up a sword and battled statues come to life, fighting as well as anyone in this room. She also scaled a wall, jumped off a roof into a tree, then climbed through the branches nimbly as a squirrel. Through it all, she was grinning and joking like a different person, an adventurer who relished risk and didn't care a rotten apple about decorum."
Tamlin snorted. "That's absurd. Mother doesn't like weapons. I doubt she ever handled any implement more formidable than an embroidery needle in her entire life."
"I swear to you, it happened," the black-haired girl retorted, her level tone so convincing that Talbot realized that, although her assertion was indeed "absurd," he believed her. Apparently everyone else did as well, for the hall fell silent for a moment as they tried to assimilate what they'd heard.
Erevis gazed at Tazi. "You might have told someone before today," he said, a hint of reproach in his voice.
To Talbot's surprise, his sister, who never accepted blame or rebuke from anyone, flushed and lowered her eyes. "She asked me to keep her secret."
But why would you, Talbot silently wondered, when you and she were always at one another's throats? Then he realized that his mother had probably been in a position to reveal some secret of Thazienne's as well.
As if he'd arrived at a similar inference, Jander scowled and said, "There have always been too cursed many secrets in this household. I don't know what most of them are, but I sense they exist, and I always feared one of them would rear up and bite us on the arse someday."
"If this one has," Tamlin said. "I'm not certain it did. How is it Mother knew how to fight, and what has it got to do with what's happening now?"
Tazi grimaced. "I don't know," she admitted. "She never would explain herself. But I suspect there's a connection." "Perhaps," said Erevis, frowning, "but I for one don't understand it, just as we have absolutely no clue as to what's become of Lord and Lady Uskevren. Perhaps we should focus on the situation we know more about: the attempted assassination. Let's think about who might have been behind it."
"My guess is that the masked wizard was leading the attack," said Tamlin. "But that doesn't mean he was the instigator. He could have been acting for someone else."
"I agree," said Erevis. "The question is, who? The Foe-hammer knows, the Uskevren have made their share of enemies over the years. But there are five rival Houses that wished the family ill long before you three were even born, and all remain inimical to this day."
Tazi ran her fingers through her hair, a sign that she was pondering. "Soargyl, Talendar, Baerodreemer, Ithivisk, and Malveen."
Tamlin frowned. "Gellie Malveen is a friend of mine." Tazi gazed at him with withering scorn. "Let's hope that our fears are groundless, and no one has murdered Father. If an idiot like you is now head of the family, we're doomed." Tamlin flushed. "If I am in charge-" "Please!" said Erevis, and Tamlin fell silent. The heir had never been fond of the butler the way his siblings were, but perhaps he'd come to respect him after the events of last winter, when undead marauders had attacked the mansion, and, to everyone's amazement, Erevis had demonstrated that he knew how to fight.
As, apparently, did Mother. Talbot sighed, for Jander was right. Every member of the family, except, he supposed, his feckless brother, harbored secrets, and in consequence their lives were complicated and strange. Not for the first time, he imagined how pleasant it would be to abdicate his position here and become a simple player. But he knew he never could, not when he might one day need his House's resources to rid himself of the beast within.
"I believe that what Mistress Thazienne was trying to say," Erevis continued, "was that while young Gellie may indeed be your friend, it's always been the way of Selgaunt for nobles to trade and socialize one day and attempt to destroy one another the next. Moreover, however your crony feels, it's unlikely that his opinion would soften the animus of the elders of his House."
"Think about it," Tazi said. "Your precious Gellie knew you meant to ride from Stormweather Towers to Argent Hall this morning. He and the other Malveen would have known where to set the trap."
"It doesn't matter," Tamlin retorted. "There are plenty of other ways that an enemy might have learned of my plans."
"Yes," Erevis said, "in point of fact, there are. We haven't shortened our list of suspects at all, and therefore, Masters Tamlin and Brom, I ask you: Did you observe anything that might enable us to do so?"
The heir and the magician frowned, thinking, then finally shook their heads.
"Wonderful," said Tazi, in a tone that left no doubt that she thought there must have been a clue right in front of their eyes, had the two men only had the wit to notice. She turned to Brom. "Can't you use magic to discover who attacked you, and to find out what's become of Father and Mother while you're at it?"
Brom's thin face colored. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a hand at divination. No wizard can learn every spell in existence, and I've concentrated on other areas."
"Of course you have," said Tazi sardonically. "Moon above, I wish that old Cordriwal was still with us." Brom's predecessor Cordriwal Imleth, who had perished not so long ago in the Uskevren's service, had been an accomplished diviner.
"Don't belittle Master Selwick," Tamlin snapped. "He saved my life today."
"Don't worry," said Tazi, "I won't hold that against him." Her brother scowled. "As I started to remark before, if something has happened to Mother and Father, and I am the head of this House, then I shall demand to be treated with respect. The insolent just might find themselves out on the street."
Talbot pushed his seat back from the table and started to rise. "How would you like a bruise on the other side of your face?" he asked his brother. "That way, the two halves will match."
"Stop it!" Brom bellowed, and at that startling roar, emerging from such an unassuming fellow, the siblings jerked around to stare at him. The wizard paled and swallowed. "Uh, that is to say, I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to raise my voice, but your squabbling isn't helping."
Tazi's mouth tightened. "No, it isn't, and I don't mean to make things difficult. It's just… the last time I saw Mother, we quarreled as usual. Now, I wish we hadn't."