Battle: The House War: Book Five (43 page)

Jewel stared at him for a full fifteen seconds before she turned back to Duvari. “Out of the question.” Duvari clearly expected this.

“She is, in fact, renowned for her skill in gardens across the Empire.”

“At her age?”

“Even so. She is only two years older than you, yourself, and you are now known as the ruler of the most powerful of The Ten.”

“The gardening staff is decided upon by the Master Gardener.”

“I wish you to introduce Birgide to that Master Gardener—and allow him to make his own decision with regard to her employ.”

“Duvari, you have at least three members of your
Astari
in various positions in my House. Why—why on earth—would you now plant a fourth here as a
gardener
?”

Avandar coughed into his hand.

Birgide lifted her chin. “It was not the request of the Lord of the Compact,” she said. Her voice was low, but it was musical. “It was entirely my own; he has reservations.”

“Yours?”

“Entirely. I am aware that the
Astari
form part of the Household Staff for any of The Ten—as you yourself are. I am not considered martial enough to join the Kings’ Swords.”

Jewel folded her arms across her chest and raised a brow.

“I don’t do my best work in heavy armor. Until last week, I worked on the edge of the Empire’s border, near the Free Towns.”

“And you are here now?”

“I heard, of course,” Birgide replied, “Of the
Ellariannate.
I wished to study them.”

“I’m surprised Duvari cared.”

“Strictly speaking, he does not. I will not be forced upon your House. I have brought a resume, and a few samples of my work, and I am willing to approach the Master Gardener with only an introduction and no pressure on your part.”

Jewel almost pinched herself, she felt so dumbfounded. “The grounds here are unusual,” she finally said. She turned to the Lord of the Compact. “This is the sum total of the reason you are now in this office?”

“No, Terafin. It is an adjunct of little significance. I am here to deliver an invitation.”

“Invitation?”

“A royal command. Tomorrow, in the morning, you are to present yourself to the Kings in the Hall of Wise Counsel in
Avantari
. The Exalted will also be present; they have chosen to allow the concerns of the Kings to outweigh their demands for your presence. If you are once again severely indisposed, the Kings have chosen to take the unusual step of visiting you, within the Terafin audience chambers.”

Jewel let the words settle into a stiff silence before she held out her left hand. Duvari placed a heavy scroll case in the fold of her palm; she twisted it open and removed what lay within. It was parchment, but its texture was more cloth than leather, and it bore two seals, both of which were instantly recognizable to anyone standing in the room. She broke those seals, and to her great surprise,
heard
the command; it was spoken as she unfurled the scroll.

It was also written, but the written words were like an afterthought. The voices were undeniably those of the Twin Kings. Duvari had not exaggerated; his only tendency in that regard he saved for the Kings he served.

Duvari waited. Jewel was content, for the moment, to let him wait; it was the only way to signal theoretical defiance.

“Birgide,” she said. “Why did you not simply approach the Master Gardener directly? Why did you choose to accompany Duvari at all?”

“The choice was not mine. It is my belief that the Master Gardener would be willing to accept my work. I believe that Duvari has some hopes that you will deny my petition.”

“I . . . see.”

“And if you do not, you will have a clearer understanding of the ways in which you might support me should support be required. I do not understand the change in your grounds, but I believe they are extensive.”

“And my acceptance of your employ in this regard would be a concession to the concerns of the Lord of the Compact.”

Birgide’s smile was wry; it transformed her face, an acknowledgment of the fact that no concession would address the concerns of that man. It made the
Astari
difficult, for Jewel. If the
Astari
were all like Duvari, dismissing them out of hand would be a simple matter of introduction. Devon was not like Duvari. Inasmuch as a man could devote his life and his intellect to two masters, Devon had. She had no doubt at all that he would continue to do so, providing only that the interests of Terafin did not clash directly with the interests of the Kings.

Jewel admired the Kings; she honored them. She had no difficulty believing that men and women of integrity and intelligence would choose to do the same. Nor did she have any difficulty believing that those men and women might dedicate the whole of their lives to the Kings, as the Chosen did to The Terafin. She had some issues with some of what the
Astari
purportedly
did
in that service, but as that was hearsay, she attempted to suspend judgment. Birgide’s wry smile made it easier than it should have been.

She exhaled. “Lord of the Compact, you may offer my acknowledgment of the Kings’ command, and my acceptance of their right, as sovereigns, to command me. I will, barring a situation not of my own making, present myself before the thrones in the Hall of Wise Counsel directly after the early breakfast hour in the morning, if that is acceptable.” She turned to Birgide. “The Master Gardener is extremely important to the House—and extremely particular. If you are willing to meet him on short notice, I will take you there myself.”

* * *

Birgide had not lied; she had several baskets of different weight and textures which required attention; the walk to the Master Gardener’s office was not particularly brisk. As Birgide insisted on carrying a clay urn of some weight in her own arms, Jewel slowed her customary pace to walk by her side. “How is it,” she asked, “that Duvari, a man who defines the absence of charm, has managed to gather people who exemplify it to his service?”

Birgide chuckled. “We obey Duvari,” she said, the lines around her mouth clearly marked, over time, by that smile. “But we serve the Kings. We are aware—in a way that Duvari will never openly acknowledge—that your interference in
Avantari
preserved the lives of the Princes of the Blood; you served as the only effective defense of the future Kings we will
also
serve, should we survive to do so.

“It is why,” she added, the smile fading as her expression became much graver, “word of the . . . changes . . . in the physical structure of
Avantari
itself have been minimized where possible. Had those alterations occurred in
any
other circumstance . . .” she failed to finish the sentence, and because she carried something heavy in both hands, also failed to shrug.

Jewel accepted the implied shrug in its place. “I know you probably can’t answer this, but I haven’t been to
Avantari
. I wasn’t technically there the day the changes occurred, either.”

“That is part of the concern,” Birgide replied. “Your question?”

“How . . . notable . . . are those changes?”

Birgide raised a brow. “You really haven’t traveled to the Kings’ palace since then.”

“No.”

“And you were not informed?”

“I was informed that some structural changes had occurred at the end of the battle; I was also told that they were, architecturally, superior. They strengthened the halls, rather than weakening them.”

“But you were not given a sketch of the actual differences?”

“No. This may come as a surprise to you, given the import of House Terafin, but I have not spent most of my adult life traversing those halls. I am familiar with the Trade Commission’s offices, and with the galleries and the halls that lead to—and from it—but I have seldom entered the Hall of The Ten. I was not right-kin.”

Birgide raised brow, no more; to reach the Master Gardener’s offices, they had to pass by the large doors that led to the main terrace. Jewel paused there, and Birgide turned as well, to look out on the trees that she had correctly named: Ellariannatte.

“So,” she said softly. “It was not mere rumor.”

“No.”

“I had some thought that the trees were misidentified, but one of my sources was impeccable.” Her eyes were wide and unblinking as she lifted her gaze, exposing the whole of a surprisingly long throat to do so. She lowered her head slowly, and turned. “You do not know how these trees came to be here.”

“I don’t understand the mechanics, no.”

“A subtle difference.”

Jewel nodded.

“The changes within
Avantari
are not as immediately striking—or were not, to me, but architecture is not my area of specialty. To some, however, they are the same; some of the pillars are notably different, and one section of wall has been reworked in a way that has been difficult to suppress. There are apparently two rooms that have undergone large changes, but those rooms did not see heavy use; I do not know if you will be required to view them. They are the most significant transformation, however, and I believe access has been extremely limited since then. Thank you,” she added, nodding, as she pulled her gaze from the height of those trees. “Where it does not come into conflict with my duties and my oaths of allegiance, Terafin, I will repay courtesy with courtesy.”

* * *

Jewel introduced Birgide to the Master Gardener with some stiffness; she found the Master Gardener about as easygoing as the Master of the Household Staff, and she was very careful about how she impinged on either’s territory. Birgide, however, was Birgide Viranyi, a name which meant nothing to Jewel, and apparently a
great
deal to the Master Gardener. When Jewel informed him that Birgide wished to be considered for employ on the Household Staff, she thought his eyes would fall out of their sockets. He could not safely enthuse in front of The Terafin of course, but indicated that he wished to waste no more of her precious time, and all but ushered her out of his interior office.

Avandar was amused, but he was grave as they once again walked the halls that led back to Teller’s office. “You will, of course, have a new gardener on your staff before the day is done.”

“I know.”

“You accepted her.”

“In part, because Duvari didn’t like it.” Jewel glanced back over her shoulder. “And frankly, I’m relieved that I did; I cannot imagine what the Master Gardener would have said—or done—had I dismissed her and word reached his ears.”

Avandar raised a brow.

“And in part, yes, because I liked her. I believed her; she wanted to work on our grounds and in our gardens, and she wanted it the way—the way makers want to make. I personally don’t care for plants I can’t eat; I have learned, at some expense, to appreciate some of their names and their finer qualities because it’s
expected
. But something about Birgide makes me want to learn about them from
her
. They’re not about status, to her, and not even just about beauty. She sees something in them that I don’t.”

“That can be said about many people, and many things.”

“Yes. Hopefully, one of them won’t be politics.”

* * *

The meeting with The Ten was to occur two hours after the start of the meeting with the Kings. Jewel was certain that the Exalted, Sigurne Mellifas, and possibly the Bardmaster of Senniel College would also be in attendance. She glanced at a message delivered from House Araven and grimaced.

“How long do you feel the Council meeting will last?”

“Given The Kalakar’s letter? It may well last until the following morning. It won’t be the first time The Ten have met, recessed, and reconvened the following day. I’m slightly more concerned that the audience granted me by the Kings—”

Teller gestured in colorful den-sign
.

Jewel laughed, although it was grim. “I know. But I don’t want to clash with Duvari about the timing of the Council meeting.”

“If the gods are called,” Avandar interjected, “time is less of an issue for anyone who is not otherwise involved in their discussions.”

“You think it likely?” As he raised a brow, she nodded. “I’m concerned about the rooms.”

“That was deftly done,” Avandar said, surprising her. “While I feel your role as Terafin requires a rigid formality, your instincts are good. Birgide’s information was useful. Why are the rooms of concern to you?”

“I’m . . . not certain. But they are. I have no intention of contesting the Kings’ sovereignty,” she added, as if it were necessary. Given Avandar, it probably was.

“You will take Teller with you to the Council meeting.”

“He is right-kin. Yes.”

“Will you consider the inclusion of Lord Celleriant?”

“No. You’ll be there, and I may second Meralonne APhaniel as House Mage, if only to keep him from Sigurne’s side.”

“I do not consider that wise.”

“He’ll worm his way in regardless. I may have some say over his behavior, this way.”

“Your natural optimism is not, in this case, commendable.”

“Thank you, Avandar.”

They left the right-kin’s office and entered the external office. Barston, seated behind his desk, rose instantly, which was never a good sign. He tendered a perfect, but brief bow. “Terafin. A possible difficulty in the Household Staff has arisen—”