“You know what I mean.”
Her father said nothing and Diani knew that no good would come of arguing the point further.
“Those men who attacked me today were not Brugaosans,” she said again. “I’m certain of it. It was the conspiracy.”
To her relief, Sertio didn’t ask her for proof. “Which one do you think is the traitor?”
“That I don’t know. But I think we should assume the worst.”
Sertio winced. “Kreazur?”
Kreazur jal Sylbe had served as Curlinte’s first minister for six years, and as second minister for three years before that. In truth, though Diani had never cared for the man, she didn’t want to believe it either. He had been her mother’s favorite among all the Qirsi in the castle, and while others, Diani’s father among them, had urged her to look outside the castle for a new minister when Kreazur’s predecessor died, she had insisted on promoting the underminister. Just considering that he might have betrayed Dalvia’s trust in this way made Diani tremble with rage.
“Perhaps it’s not him,” she said weakly. “In which case we’ll try the underministers.”
“But we start with Kreazur,” her father said. It was hard to tell if he was acquiescing to her wishes or acknowledging his own doubts.
“I think so.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Summon him. When he gets here, tell him that you expected me back hours ago and that you’re concerned for my safety.”
“Where will you be?”
She scanned the chamber briefly. She had been in this room thousands of times, but it had been years since she and the other court children played find-the-wraith. There was a small space beside her father’s wardrobe in the far corner of the room. During the warmer turns, when the windows were open, it would have been a poor place to hide. But today, in the cold of the snows, with the shutters locked, the space was only dimly lit.
“There,” she said pointing. “By the wardrobe.”
Her father nodded. “All right. What do you expect him to say?”
“I’m not certain,” she said, shrugging. “I suppose I’ll know when I hear it.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to wait until we find the archers?”
“We may not find them.”
Sertio nodded, still looking uncertain.
She stood and walked stiffly back to the wardrobe. Her entire left side ached still and her thigh was throbbing. It would be days before she could ride again.
Sertio crossed to the door and spoke quietly to the soldiers in the corridor. Then he returned to his table and sat, holding his head in his hands. Diani hadn’t given much thought to him since waking from her ordeal. Seeing her bloodied, with arrows jutting from her body in all directions, must have struck at his heart. They had just recently lost her mother, and for at least a moment he probably thought that he was about to lose his daughter as well.
The knock at his door came sooner than Diani had expected. Her father glanced quickly in her direction, then faced the door again. He looked frightened and she could see his hands trembling.
“Enter,” he called.
She heard the door open, but couldn’t see it from where she stood.
“You summoned me, my lord?” The first minister’s smooth voice.
“Yes, Kreazur. I’m wondering if you’ve seen the duchess since midmorning. I expected her to return from her ride long before now. I’m. . I fear for her.”
“I haven’t seen her, my lord. But I doubt there’s cause for concern. She’s an accomplished rider, and she handles a sword well.” A brief pause. “She learned from the best.”
Her father gave a thin smile. “Thank you, Kreazur. Just the same, I wonder if we shouldn’t send out a party of soldiers.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, my lord. I’m sure she’ll be returning shortly. You know how the duchess loves her rides. No doubt she’s simply enjoying the last few hours of daylight.”
Sertio looked down at his hands, his eyes flicking in her direction for just an instant. Diani wasn’t certain what to do. Even if Kreazur had betrayed them, she realized too late, he would have been expecting to have such a conversation with her father. If they wished to surprise him, they would have to let him see her.
Her father glanced at her again and she shook her head.
“You’re probably right, First Minister,” Sertio said, standing. “Thank you.”
The Qirsi stood as well. “Of course, my lord.” He walked toward the door. “If you need me, I’ll be in my quarters.”
“Very good, Kreazur. Again, my thanks.”
She heard the door open and close, but still Diani waited a few moments before stepping out of the shadows.
“Perhaps it’s not him,” her father said, sounding relieved.
“I’m not convinced of that. We’re going to wait a short while and then summon him again. And this time when he comes, I’ll be sitting right out in the open.”
“Let him see a wraith, eh?”
She grinned.
They waited until the tolling of the twilight bells. Once more Sertio sent the soldiers for Kreazur, and once more they hadn’t long to wait. His knock came just a few minutes later.
Diani had seated herself just beside her father’s table, facing the door, so that she would have a clear view of his face when he saw her.
“Yes, my lor-”
He hesitated at the sight of her, his eyes widening slightly. “Duchess,” he said, mild surprise in his voice. It was the first time he had called her that; she had rarely heard him address her mother that way. Always “my lady.”
“You didn’t expect to see me, Kreazur?”
“Not here, my lady. The guard who summoned me said only that the duke wished to speak with me. To be honest, I feared that you still hadn’t returned. Your father has been worried.”
“Perhaps you thought your assassins killed me on the moor.”
“Assassins? On the moor?” He glanced at the duke. “Are you saying there was an attempt on your life?”
“You knew nothing of this?” Sertio asked.
“Of course I didn’t, my lord.” He looked at Diani again. “Were you wounded, my lady?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m touched by your concern.”
The Qirsi narrowed his eyes, bright yellow in the candlelight. “My lady, I don’t understand. Are you accusing me of being in league with these men?”
“Does it surprise you that I should have figured it out?”
“There is nothing to figure out! I didn’t have anything to do with this!”
He appeared genuinely alarmed, which only served to make his deception that much more galling.
“You deny being party to this conspiracy wreaking havoc across the Forelands? You deny paying these men to kill me?”
“I do! My lady, I have served your house since you were but a child, years from your Determining. I never gave your mother cause to doubt my loyalty. What cause have I given you?”
“Today’s attempt was cause enough.”
“You’re certain it was the conspiracy?”
“Of course it was!” She propelled herself from the chair angrily, gasping at the pain in her shoulder and thigh.
“You were wounded.”
She said nothing, refusing to look at him.
“She was struck by three arrows,” her father said. “Two near her shoulder and one in the leg. The healer who attended her says she’s lucky to be alive.”
Kreazur exhaled through his teeth. “I’m sorry, my lady. Truly. And I swear to you, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”
She faced him, schooling her features. “What if I told you that we’ve captured the men, that they’ve already confessed to working on behalf of the Qirsi, and that they named you as the man who paid them?”
“I’d say they’re lying.” His voice didn’t waver, nor did his gaze. Not that she should have been surprised. He would have had to be an accomplished liar to have managed to fool her mother all these years. Or perhaps he just knew that she was lying.
“You expect us to believe you over them?”
“Yes, my lady, I do,” he said, pride and anger in his tone. “These men have just tried to murder you, while I have served House Curlinte faithfully for nearly ten years. How is it that they’ve earned your trust and I haven’t?”