Before she could respond, the family steward blew into the room like a storm-tossed scarecrow. Arilyn had never seen the servant in such dishabille. His shirt was untucked, the sash and emblem that proclaimed his position was askew, and the strands of his sparse sandy hair stood up like bits of straw. A slight puffiness of his upper lip lent his mustache an asymmetry that, on any other man, might have been mistaken for a wry and roguish grin.
"Lord Gundwynd to see you, Sir, Madame," he announced with stiff dignity and slurred diction.
"Not now, Yartsworth," all those present said in rare and perfect unison.
"He is most insistent," the steward observed, gingerly touching his fingertip to his swollen lip.
Cassandra took note of this, and her indignation rose to another stage. "Show him in."
The small, gray man burst into the hall. Before he could sputter out a word, Lady Cassandra bore down on him like a prevailing wind.
"This is beyond the pale, Gundwynd! You might mistreat your own servants and suffer no ill for it, but do not presume to abuse any person in my employ."
Lord Gundwynd fell back a step, some of the wind knocked from his sails, but quickly recovered his pique. "Your choice of words is telling," he said coldly. "You have heard of my trouble, but then, who has not?"
"Thann had losses as well," she pointed out.
"If only the loss ended with the ambush!" he exploded. "All the elves in my employ have left. Do you know how difficult it is to find riders for aerial steeds? As if that weren't enough, there is the threat that all those of elven blood in the city—and beyond, for all I know—will refuse to use Gundwynd transport and will not buy or sell goods carried by my family. Elves are few enough, thank the gods, but this scandal could mean my ruin!"
"My sympathies," Danilo said in flat, ironic tones. Arilyn noted that he shifted a step closer to her, wordlessly—and perhaps without thought or design—declaring his allegiance.
The lord whirled on him. "You will be sorry soon enough! I would not be surprised to hear that this whole affair is somehow your doing, you and that elf you keep company with. This one too, for all I know," he added, looking wrathfully at Arilyn. "Well, the truth will come to light. I will bring suit against Thann and Ilzimmer and let the Lords sort the thing through!"
A long moment of silence followed this pronouncement. Lord Rhammas turned so pale that Danilo feared he might faint.
Cassandra took a step toward her husband, as if her near presence might serve to bolster him. "Idle threats, Gundwynd. You have too much to lose to take such action."
"My family faces ruin, disgrace! If it comes to that, do you think I care who falls with me? I will know how this came about, mark me."
Danilo saw a pattern emerging. According to Bronwyn, the dream spheres had left Mizzen's shop the very day Gundwynd's caravan returned to Waterdeep. She had reported to him the malfunction of her bag of sending, and the small crystal orb that had remained in the magic bag. Lilly, who had sold a ruby stolen from the caravan, had had a dream sphere in her possession when she died. It seemed certain to him that the answer to his sister's death was entwined with this string of events. Without thinking of possible consequences, Danilo reached into the hiding place in his boot and took out the dream sphere Arilyn had found in Lilly's room.
"Were there any such items among the lost cargo?"
Lord Gundwynd's face turned a deep shade of puce, and his eyes slid guiltily toward the suddenly wary Cassandra. He puffed and hmmphed for a few moments, then admitted there had been.
"We had an agreement," the noblewoman said coldly. "None of us would support the sale of these toys!"
"Arrangements for this delivery were made well before that agreement," he argued. "This was between Mizzen Doar and Oth Eltorchul. Take it up with either of them." His eyes narrowed into slits as he regarded the ball in Danilo's hand. "Where did you get that?"
"In an alley behind the bazaar," Danilo lied smoothly. "The thieves must be an efficient lot—the goods have already reached the streets."
The merchant snorted in disbelief. "I knew it!" he exploded. "The Thann family are behind this—you lot, and the elf lord with you. So much for your agreement, my lady! I'll see you all ruined before this is through." He sliced the air with one hand in a gesture of finality—or possibly execution—spun on his heel, and stalked out.
Cassandra took a long, calming breath and turned to her son. "Danilo, I am going to ask the same question Lord Gundwynd posed. Where did you get that infernal thing?"
"It was in Lilly's possession," Danilo said bluntly. "In light of Oth's death, it is reasonable to assume that the dream spheres at least in part led to Lilly's fate."
The noblewoman turned white. "Have you any idea—any at all!—of what you have done?"
"I know that I had a sister, that she was in danger and in need of my aid. I know that I failed her. Now she is dead, and I intend to know why."
"Sentimental nonsense." Her angry blue eyes settled on the watchful half-elf. "Can you talk no sense into him?"
Arilyn merely shrugged.
Cassandra hissed a sigh. "Let me paint the picture. Many caravans are waylaid. Pirates, bandits—these are hazards of the trade. This theft was unusual, but we could have quietly worked the matter through to its conclusion. For whatever reason, rumors are turning it into a parlor guessing game, in which all those involved are suspect. By presenting that . . . thing . . . while Gundwynd was ranting about the ambush, you gave him fuel for his fire. What do you suppose he will conclude when he learns what you've brought to the family villa? Do you think the pieces will not be put together? By your actions, you made it appear that Rhammas's little bastard was involved in this theft!"
"That was hardly my intent," Danilo began.
"Intentions seldom matter. Impressions, on the other hand, matter a great deal. This may well put the Thann family in an untenable position. Once this new scandal comes to light—and it will, for you've made sure of it!—no one will believe that the girl acted without the complicity of the legitimate clan."
"How can any reasonable person draw that conclusion?" protested Lord Rhammas. "I did not even know the girl existed until after the attack! From our scant acquaintance, I would venture to say that she could not possibly have had a hand in that sordid affair."
"Oh, and I'm sure all Waterdeep will accept your word as if Ao Himself had finally spoken," the noblewoman retorted. Her angry gaze traveled from her husband to her son. "You are a pair of children, blinded to the larger issues by a worthless trollop!"
"That is remarkably callous, even for you," Danilo said with equal heat.
"Think what you like, but obey me in this. The matter dies with the girl. You and Arilyn have already stirred up more trouble than the pair of you can possibly charm, buy, fight, or spellcast your way free of."
Danilo studied his mother for a long moment. "Forgive me, my lady, but I must observe that your words could be construed as a threat."
"Could they now?" Her thin smile was as sharp as a dagger. "I am gratified to hear you say so. Evidence at last that you are not such a fool as today's events would suggest!"
"But—"
"Enough," she said in cold command. She suddenly changed tactics. "Would you be content if we acknowledged the girl as family and buried her in the Thann tomb?"