“Indeed,” agreed the Mother of the House warmly, clearly pleased by Taudde’s praise. “I will indeed, as you request it. Too much praise can spoil a young keiso’s good nature, but I doubt that is a concern in this case. Moonflower is a modest child. No doubt she will only assure me that there are at least seven girls in Lonne who surpass her, as she has so many sisters.”
“Seven sisters!” Taudde murmured, raising his eyebrows, as the woman evidently expected some such exclamation.
“Oh, yes.” The Mother smiled at his surprise. “Natural sisters, I mean; not the many keiso of the House. Indeed, one of her sisters is apprenticed to one of your guests of the previous evening: Mage Ankennes. A family that owns diverse gifts, one surmises.”
Taudde thought he managed some appropriate, vacuous phrase. He hoped he had. He was momentarily too stunned to know what he said, or even to be sure he spoke at all. Moonflower’s sister was Ankennes’s apprentice. Pieces of a puzzle he had barely glimpsed fell suddenly into place, like an unforeseen harmony resolving a long-standing discord. Thus Moonflower still lived, though Miennes was dead. Though was it the sister or Mage Ankennes himself who had protected the young keiso?
Taudde took a deep breath, collected himself, and since he was still in Cloisonné House made himself turn to the remaining part of his purpose. He rapidly found that he had been quite right: The keiso House was an excellent source of information. Through a few moments of inconsequential converse, Taudde discovered that Miennes was known to have died, but that there was no rumor of sorcery tainting his death; that there was a slight stir within the Laodd but no one knew precisely what had caused it; that only an hour previously Prince Tepres had sent a request for Moonflower’s company for an engagement the following evening.
Taudde could not, unfortunately, manage to discover anything useful about Ankennes’s current activities or future intentions, but then he had not really expected to. The slight disturbance in the Laodd was promising, however. He thought he might try to get out of Lonne as soon as he left Cloisonné House and discover by that trial whether or not Ankennes was currently otherwise occupied.
“If I may,” he murmured at last, as he took his leave. He tried to give the impression of a man struck by a sudden thought—since he was just that, it was not difficult. “The other evening, the keiso were all extremely charming—all that I had been led to believe, I assure you. But I know the servants of this House also worked very hard to make the occasion a success, as you’ll understand was very important to me. In Miskiannes, it’s the custom for a man of means to offer a gratuity to servants who render good service. Of course, I understand that Cloisonné House cares well for all its dependents. But I wonder whether you might permit me to indulge my custom, even if it is not the custom of Lonne.”
The Mother of the House appeared surprised but approving—indeed, she was probably accustomed to being charmed by most of the desires and eccentricities of Cloisonné’s clients. He continued, as though casually, “The head of the servants on that evening seemed to me to be a young woman. I believe her name is Leilis? I would like… that is, I wonder if I might impose upon a moment of her time, on behalf of all the servants who assisted on that evening?”
“Yes,” the Mother of the House agreed readily. “That would be Leilis. She is a very competent young woman; Moonflower is fortunate to have gained her good opinion. I’m sure Leilis would be pleased by such a request. I shall pass on to her your intention, and any gratuity you should kindly offer, but I regret that Leilis herself is not within the House this evening.”
Taudde’s heart sank even before he’d ever consciously realized what Leilis’s absence from Cloisonné House on this particular day might mean for him—especially if she was a particular friend of the young Moonflower. Then, as he truly understood what the Mother of the House had said and what it might mean, he paused, reordering his immediate plans once again. Then he extricated himself with careful haste from the Mother’s company and from Cloisonné House entire and called for Benne.
Benne brought the carriage up as Taudde emerged from Cloisonné House, and leaped down from his high driver’s seat to place the step. Taudde took his place within the carriage and leaned forward to say in a deliberately absent tone, “Let us go down to the shore, if you would, Benne. Where the cliffs come down to meet the sea, near the Nijiadde Falls.”
The big man nodded and touched the reins, and the horse tossed its head and started forward.