He was not encouraged to go downstairs to see the bus off. He was not surprised at that. If he had become an asset in Machigi’s hands, Machigi was not going to wave temptation past armed personnel with man’chi to Tabini. It was not reasonable in his own mind that Tabini’s guard might assassinate him, but Machigi could know no such thing.
“Veijico,” he said.
“Nandi?” Instant, earnest attention—a vastly different young woman than before this situation.
“I have requested the Taisigi to look for your brother, nadi. If I can secure his safe return, I shall do so.”
A bow, a more than perfunctory bow. “Nandi.” And not a word else.
A knock came at the door, and it opened. Servants were there, along with uniformed Guild.
Things were moving uncommonly fast.
“Barb,” he said, “this will be your escort. Veijico will translate and speak for you. Let her.
You take care. Understood?”
He was afraid for a second that Barb was going to throw her arms around him. But she came and put her hands on either side of his face and just looked at him.
“Bren, please be careful!”
“I’m the soul of caution. Give everybody my regards. And get moving. They won’t wait around.”
He was unprepared for Barb to kiss him. She did, a quick kiss, and let go and went toward the door. Veijico moved with her.
Barb looked back once, in the doorway. Then she left, and Jago shut the door.
It was, on the one hand, a relief. On the other—
He couldn’t worry about it. He couldn’t let his mind go down that track.
And a man like Machigi—
Was damned hard to read. He’d gained some freedom: Machigi was undoubtedly watching him, wondering what he would do with it, and he couldn’t misstep.
It was also likely Machigi would tweak the situation to see how he reacted. But hopefully whatever Machigi did wouldn’t involve the bus. The situation in the driveway couldn’t go on for days and days—food and water, among other things, were limited—and for Barb and Veijico—
Barb was no asset in an emotional situation. Not with atevi involved. She’d just proved that.
He had around him now only those who wereassetsc those he least wanted to endanger, but that was the choice he had. He’d given Banichi orders to get out if he couldn’t salvage the situation. It was the most he could do for his bodyguard.
Except worry. And he couldn’t afford to give way to that, either.
They had just dismissed the one member of their party most likely to create an inadvertent situation with armed guards— that was Barb—and the young hothead most likely to try to be a hero—a word difficult even to express in Ragi, but Veijico’s inexperience had gotten them into this situation in the first place.
They’d also, in Veijico, dismissed their food taster.
Well, but that bus would get them to safety.
Which was a major load off his mind.
Machigi had promised him maps. He could look at the east coast, figure the possible assets, and make proposals. He could make phone callsc one of which could let him know the bus had gotten to safety.
He heaved a sigh, which encountered the solid restriction of the vest.
And he quietly unbuttoned his coat and shed it into Tano’s hands, then reached under his arm to unfasten the vest.
“Bren-ji,” Jago chided him.
“Just for here,” he said. “Only here.”
Jago helped him off with it, and Tano had gone to his room and come back with one of his ordinary coats, an informal one of plain blue cloth. He put that light garment on with a sigh of relief. It was cooler, it was lighter, it left him only the compression bandage, and that relief went a long way toward clearing his head. The painkiller still had him a little under its influence— God, he hadn’t wanted to deal with Machigi with that in his system, but without it—he wasn’t worth that much either.
Had Algini come back in? He’d lost track. It stuck in his somewhat muzzy head that Algini hadn’t come back inside the suite.
“Tea, Bren-ji?” Tano asked, and there was that chair by the fire and the little side table.
“Yes,” he said. “For all of us. Thank you, Tano-ji.”
Tano didn’t act as if anything was amiss. Maybe Algini had gone back to the rooms down the inside hall.
He sat down, a little light-headed, and Jago fixed a pillow for his back. It was a situation of fair comfort, and Tano quietly made sufficient tea for the lot of them. The door opened without a knock, and Algini came back into the room, from the outside door. He spoke to Banichi, then left again.
Maybe seeing to the bus’s departure. But nobody was saying anything. The business worried him—but there were listeners. He said nothing, just took the teacup when Tano brought it to himc and wished he knew what was going on.
Maybe nothing. He let Tano and Banichi and Jago relax for a bit in the peace of a round of tea and contemplation. He tried to think peaceful thoughts. Tried to think about the maps he needed and whether to ask for them brought here, or whether he should request to go to the sunny map room or whatever library existed here—every stately home had a library.
Algini stayed gone.
He set his cup down. So did the others.
“Since we are allowed phone contact,” he said, “if we can arrange a call to the dowager, nadiin-ji, that would probably be a good start. I also need maps of the region, of the west coast, and detailed maps of the East, including the coasts. If they can bring them here, excellent. If I have to go to the maps, that will be fine, too.”
“Yes,” Jago said, and she got up and went to the door to talk to whatever servants were stationed with the guards.
“I have a report to give to the dowager,” Bren said to Banichi and Tano in the meanwhile.
“Tano-ji, Banichi may have told you that Lord Machigi has taken the position that I am his mediator as well as the dowager’s—” He used the ancient word for the office, with all it implied. “So I shall eventually be conveying his position, so far as I know it, as his representative. As yet, I have no idea exactly what that position is, except that he has said that the dowager is generally correct in her perceptions.”
Tano nodded—and probably already knew everything he had just said, unless the local Guild had been interfering with his aishid’s communications. He was stating things for their eavesdroppers, putting the slant on things he wanted. And he smiled somewhat grimly. “They will monitor what we say. Which is expected. And since our purpose here is exactly what we said it was, we have no reason to object. We can do very little until Lord Machigi tells us what he concludes, but I also have to advise the dowager what proposals I have made, so at least we can be accurate about her position. I have some hope this negotiation will work.
There is absolutely nothing gained for anybody by another war. And a lot to be gained for the Taisigi in particular if we can work this out.”
Solemn nods. They knew exactly what he was doing.
And they knew their own business, which was to keep the situation as quiet as possible as long as possible, give no information away, and hope that even if every assumption the dowager had made was wrong, he could still talk sense to Machigi.
The lord of the Taisigi, he told himself, was young but not stupid.
Thatwas the best asset they had.
Jago came back in and closed the door. “They will bring a phone, nandi,” she said. “And the maps, with writing materials.”
“Excellent,” he said.
Algini also—finally!—came back into the room, from the hall, and cast a look at Tano, then came and picked up Bren’s teacup; when he set it down again, it weighted a piece of paper. A note.