She scrunched into the narrow space behind the tub, probing for a hidden catch. Someone bounded down the stairs, opened the two bedchamber doors, then ran through the salon into the scalderium.
‘Tali?’ said Tobry
She was hidden behind the tub and did not answer. He cursed and ran out again.
Something had moved where Tali had cracked her head — one of the foot-square travertine tiles. She pressed her hands flat on it, pushed up and down and sideways, and it moved again. She dug her fingertips into a join concealed under the overhang of the tub, tugged and the tile rotated inwards, revealing a space. She wriggled into the humid dark, careful not to dislodge any dust from inside which might reveal her.
Her heart was thumping very fast. Dust stuck to her sweaty hands.
‘The chancellor’s here too,’ Rix hissed. ‘Where’s Tali?’
‘Don’t know,’ said Tobry. ‘I’ve looked everywhere.’
Footsteps advanced down the hall. Many footsteps.
Rix swore. Tali pushed gently on the tile, which slipped back into place, leaving her in Cythonian darkness.
‘Where is she?’ said a commanding voice, the chancellor. ‘Search the other chambers and the studio tower, all the way up to the roof. Put a watch on the doors and windows. Allow no one in or out until I give the word.’
She caught a whiff of a cloying musk and cinnamon perfume. Booted feet clattered up the stairs. Tali could imagine what Rix must be thinking — since a determined search must find her, wouldn’t it be better to reveal that she was in his rooms? If he did, she could not blame him.
Someone came into the scalderium, moving softly, rapping knuckles against the walls, the floor and then the sides of the tub. She put the flat of her hand against the swinging tile so it would not sound hollow and held it firm in case the catch was located.
‘Nothing here, Chancellor,’ a woman said after many long minutes.
‘Check the bedchambers.’
‘What have you done with her, Rixium?’ said Lady Ricinus in a voice that sent shivers up Tali’s spine. She had never heard anyone so cold.
Tali could not make out Rix’s reply.
‘I’ll deal with this,’ said the chancellor. It sounded as though they were sitting in Rix’s salon, next door. Tali pressed her ear to the tiny gap at the top of the tile. ‘I want Thalalie vi Torgrist, and I want her now.’
‘She hasn’t been here,’ said Tobry.
They were protecting her, at great risk to themselves, and it brought tears to Tali’s eyes. How could she have doubted them?
The silence lasted for a full minute. ‘Tobry Lagger,’ said the chancellor. ‘The last disreputable scion of a depraved and fallen house. But you can fall further, sir.’
‘I plan to,’ Tobry said lazily, and Tali was amazed at his self-possession. She was close to wetting herself. ‘I’m going to leave no depth unplumbed before I go.’
‘That might be sooner than you think.’
‘I’ve been expecting it since the terrible choice I had to make when I was thirteen. You can’t frighten me.’
‘But I can threaten you, sir. A word from me and you’ll be in the front lines.’
‘I have no fear of death. I stand ready to serve my country.’
‘Death isn’t the only thing to fear in the front lines. Life there will soon curb your insolence. But I did not come here to bandy words with a penniless layabout. Get out, Lagger. And you too, Lady Ricinus — if you would be so kind,’ he ended mockingly.
‘The heir to House Ricinus is not yet of age, Chancellor,’ said Lady Ricinus. ‘It is my right and duty to represent him.’
‘This is not a trial,’ barked the chancellor. ‘And in time of war, when the enemy is within the city walls, all rights are bestowed, and taken away, at my discretion.’
‘They’re in Caulderon?’ cried Lady Ricinus, shrilly. ‘Who allowed the savages in? The general in charge should hang.’
‘They swarmed up into Tumulus Town an hour ago, through rat holes we did not know were there. I dare say they’re attacking other suburbs as well. I received the news on your very doorstep, Madam. Go! Close the door behind you, and look to the defences of the palace — if it’s not too late. You should have listened to your son when he pleaded to defend it.’
‘How — how did you know that?’
‘My spies tell me everything. Go!’
She went. No one spoke for some time, then the chancellor said, quietly, ‘Lord Rixium, great challenges lie ahead. I need the best men in the land at my side, and I’ve had my eye on you for some time. We greatly appreciated your news about the caverns at Precipitous Crag and the mysterious activities at the Rat Hole the other day, not to mention your insights into the enemy’s new weaponry and tactics. Few men could have done what you did, nor rescued the Pale girl in the face of such odds, then gained her confidence.’
Rix gave no audible answer and the chancellor continued.
‘Your deeds do you honour, and House Ricinus too. They will not be soon forgotten, but …’ He paused, then went on. ‘This house stands in grave need of honour, after the depraved antics of your father which have caused so much offence.’
‘Father is not … not a well man,’ said Rix hoarsely.
Tali imagined sweat running down his handsome face.
‘I know more than I care to about Lord Ricinus,’ growled the chancellor. ‘Don’t apologise for the scoundrel.’
‘I do not. But I do owe Father a duty of respect.’
‘Quite so. Your mother, however, is in full command of herself.’ The chancellor finished with a whip crack.
‘I don’t take your meaning, Lord Chancellor,’ said Rix.
‘She has given mortal offence.’
‘I cannot see that, sir,’ Rix said weakly, ‘and I must defend her.’
‘That is your duty as a loyal son, but do so judiciously or you too may be tainted. I’m a realistic man — I allow for a degree of favours and douceurs. Many of the lesser hangers-on at court would be bankrupt were it not for their bribes, extortions and petty monopolies. But your mother, sir, assumes that everything is for sale — and everyone. She has gone too far and, should House Ricinus fall, it will be she who has brought it down.’
‘She can be a trifle abrasive, Lord Chancellor,’ said Rix, and Tali could hear the strain in his voice, the conflict. ‘Sometimes she strives too hard in her quest to serve our house, but — ’
‘Ricinus hangs by a thread, Lord Rixium. Were it not for your own valiant deeds, and your father’s prodigious and sorely needed gift of the Third Army, I would have nudged your house off the precipice myself.
‘But the gift has been made, gratitude is due and in war we need unity, not discord. Give me the girl and your house will survive. It may even rise to the absurd heights of Lady Ricinus’s ambition. Who knows? In the past, equally villainous rogues have clawed their way to the top, loudly pronounced themselves noble, and even become noble, in time.’
‘Why do you want Tali?’ said Rix.
‘Her knowledge of the enemy, and Cython, could win the war for us.’
‘But you already have Rannilt,’ cried Rix.
‘Who told you that?’ snapped the chancellor.
‘I too have my spies.’
‘No matter. Her knowledge of Cython was certainly useful, but full of gaps, and she sees things through a child’s eyes. Besides, she’s proven obdurate of late.’
Tali smiled at that. How she missed the child.
The chancellor dropped his voice. Now she had to strain to hear what he was saying, but the power of his voice was all the greater.
‘I want Tali, and I’m going to have her. Satisfy me on this and you will realise your dreams.’ He paused for a full minute. ‘But if you fail me, Lord Rixium, if Thalalie vi Torgrist is not delivered to me by the night of the Honouring, I swear that I will cast House Ricinus so low that a thousand years will pass before you can aspire to shovelling muck. From tonight, you have three days.’