The Diplomat (23 page)

“Please do.”

Rema followed Muhan to the lower deck, where they stood in the shade of a sail. Sailors worked around them—and one above, too, in the rigging—but they paid no attention to Rema and Muhan. It was impossible to enjoy such privacy with Elise present, for no matter where she stood, she drew the attention of every man on deck.

“What’s Bannon done?” said Rema. From the moment of boarding, Bannon had been as elusive as he was menacing. He had a cabin but never seemed to be in it, and sailors complained he roamed the deck at night, scaring them with his unblinking eyes. He never helped on deck, ate alone, and was often seen aft at evening, gazing in the direction of the land they’d just fled.

“Nothing more than is usual. I merely have mustered the courage to ask you a question that has long dogged me.” Muhan pressed his hands together as he spoke, a typical Ulati custom when broaching a sensitive topic. “Rema, are you threatened by this man?”

“Threatened? How do you mean?”

“I understand you won him from his former master with promises of wealth, but do you fear reprisal if you abandon him?”

Understanding dawned. “Are you offering to dispose of him for me?”

“Accidents can happen at sea. I am not disposed to lethality, but I fear for you when I see the way he stares. Violence has marked that man as its own.”

“His appearance is a mere accident of nature. I’ve known many a good soul with an unhappy visage. Whereas Calan could be said to be handsome, but he was as squalid a person as any I’ve met.”

“He and Bannon are not the same manner of fiend. I have encountered men like Bannon throughout this world, and women too. Though he has never spoken to me, I know it is not from malice but simple disinterest. And I have learned to fear the kind of man in whose company I might spend a fortnight, yet will never once be bid a good morning. They are the kind who never tremble, show mercy or even understand human goodness. The kind whose lives are decided only by the edge of a blade.”

“I understand, but I have to fulfill my obligation. Just ignore him. When we arrive in Arann, he’ll simply become one of many mercenaries.”

“There are mercenaries, and then there are devils.” Muhan shrugged. “As you wish. Merely remember my words to you. How goes the princess? Does she still torment you?”

Rema chuckled. “Yes, she does. I suppose I deserve it.”

“She has expressed to me an almost frantic desire to have a private conversation with you. It frustrates her immensely, and I don’t believe her thinking to be entirely lustful. She has many fears to share, Rema, and very little time in which to share them.” Muhan smiled. “Thus I have arranged a conjuring act for this evening. The crew will be in attendance, bar an unlucky few. Take opportunity of it to give her the comfort she craves.”

His point, though discreetly put, had a bite to it. It wasn’t as if Elise would forcibly ravish Rema, after all. If she remained vigilant and remembered her purpose, why should she fear a little intimacy? Wasn’t it only right that she offer Elise solace and reassurance?

“I take your meaning,” said Rema. “Thank you, Muhan.”

“I wish only the best for you, poet-born.” Muhan bowed with his hands clasped to his chest. “I must now offer my assistance to the crew. How fortunate for them that I am here, given they lost three hands in Danosha.”

“I’m only amazed that any sailor would choose to abscond to Danosha, of all the ports in the world.” Rema returned the farewell gesture. “Take care, Muhan. And don’t mind Bannon.”

“I can no more ignore him than I would ignore a viper inside my own tent.” Muhan strode across deck, rubbing his palms together.

After a moment’s consideration, Rema returned up the stairwell. Elise remained where she had stood before, but she had slumped against the railing, her cheek pressed to the wood. “Elsie.”

It turned out that Elise was half in slumber. She murmured as she opened her eyes fully. “I thought I’d try dozing.”

“Why not read in your cabin?”

“My cabin is too hot. And if I read on deck, the gulls befoul the pages.” At the mention of gulls, Elise bared her teeth. “They’re hideous rodents.”

“I have an invitation for you. Come take the air with me this evening. We’ll meet here and watch the sun set. I have reason to believe the crew will be distracted elsewhere.”

“Oh!” Elise stood bolt upright. “How romantic. Will there be more of your tales, or may we finally talk candidly?”

“Candidly.” It was a tough concession, yet Elise’s delight made the word worth uttering. “At sunset, remember.”

Elise laughed. “How could I forget? Well, now you’ve told me this, I’ll keep watching the waves. Given my sudden luck, perhaps a white porpoise truly is near.”

“I thought you said they weren’t lucky or unlucky.”

“I can’t know, though, can I? I’m willing to be proven wrong.” Elise clutched the railing as she leaned forward to look more intently at the ocean. Rema resisted the urge to pull her back to safety; the one time she’d done so, Elise had thrown a spectacular tantrum. “I’d be even happier to see a whale, but Muhan says there are none in these waters.”

“Did he now? I’ve heard of whales being spotted in these seas.”

“Truly?” Elise’s smile widened further. “Then I’ll watch for whales as well. Do you know what I like about the ocean, Rema? It’s unconquerable. Warlords like Calan think they can have dominance over all that there is, but they forget this. The lands beneath the sea, the odd animals that call it home. My books say that people live down there, walking in cities of coral, staring up at a shimmering canopy of water they call the sky.”

“Perhaps someday, my business will take me there.” Rema touched the back of Elise’s hand briefly, the most contact she dared. “I shall see you soon.”

“Yes, yes.” Elise sighed as she slumped back to the railing. “But already I’m bored again.”

To shake thoughts of Elise and Bannon, Rema retired to her cabin. Its single porthole was obscured by a piece of netting, and it reeked of varnish. She checked on her trunk—still safely stowed in the corner—before reclining on her hammock with a book. This was one of the titles from Elise’s great library, but a book on history, not magic. It detailed the Danoshan nobility, dwelling especially on the royal Danarian line. It had been written some decades ago, and it ended its timeline with the young Cedrin Danarian, who had apparently come to reign at the age of ten.

As fascinating as the subject of Elise’s forebears was, weariness found Rema somewhere amid the pages. She awoke under a reddish glow. Not quite sunset, but near enough that she risked missing her appointment. Without a single twinge from her knees, she rose, put her book safely away and stepped into the hall outside her cabin.

The ship was riddled inside with narrow halls, the floors of which often tilted with its movement. Rema navigated with as much certainty as she could—her cabin had been changed from the first voyage, and she had spent some time reacquainting herself with a new route to the lower deck. She passed by a galley occupied by sailors, and soon encountered three more walking together. Two of them appeared animated, full of mirth, and a quick glance revealed why—they were supporting the sailor who had boasted that he would defeat Muhan. It appeared he had instead secured himself a bruised forehead and a look of despondency.

“No luck?” she said.

The sailor only muttered. His companions sniggered, and one gave Rema a friendly smile. A few of the sailors still held to the superstition regarding women on deck, but in the eyes of most, an imperial diplomat was not a female at all. Besides, Rema’s appetites were no secret in Arann, and most of the crew were aware that Rema had bedded more women than any of them. Oddly, that fact seemed to win her a certain amount of respect.

The lower deck was abandoned. The sun had dipped to the horizon, caressing the ocean with the last of its light, and a faint sprinkling of stars decorated the sky above it. As Rema walked by the mast, a board creaked to her left, and she turned. She had half-expected Elise, impatient to see her. Instead, she met Bannon’s malignant gaze as he emerged from around the corner of the wheelhouse.

His hood was down, and he wore a leather cloak that trailed behind him. The dagger in his belt seemed to have been placed there deliberately as a reminder—it was not quite in its sheath, exposing a meaningful hint of metal—and his smile, as ever, was charming in design but utterly cold. “Your princess is at the prow,” he said. “Looking as expectant as a maiden in a moonlit garden.”

“I suppose you want me to thank you for not pushing her over the edge.”

“It’d be a hell of a splash.”

Rema scowled. Her patience was considerable, but this man had a unique knack for testing it. “I don’t care for your jokes, Bannon.”

“Tell me a better one, then. What did that Ulati want from you earlier? Is he angling to break my neck?”

“Muhan didn’t mention you.”

“Then why did he say my name?” Bannon smirked. “I can read lips, Rema. You don’t get to be the kind of man I am without mastering a few covert arts.”

“And what kind of man is that?”

“A still-breathing one. Do him a favor and warn him that I’m not a sailor to be wrestled. I don’t have any reason to see him dead, so personally, I’d prefer not to have to dispatch him.”

Rema sighed. What was the point of lying to a man who cheerfully admitted to his own atrocities? “He was concerned for me, but I warned him off. I know very well that Muhan couldn’t kill you, even if I wanted him to.”

“That’s perceptive of you. I suspect he knows it too, but alas, he’s noble to a fault. Do you think he fancies you?”

“I very much doubt it.”

Bannon took a step back and drew his cloak shut, concealing his dagger. “Lady Elise isn’t dressed for ocean weather. I fancy she’ll freeze up there. Unless you’ve plans to keep her warm.”

“Why don’t you go spend time sorting through the lobster nets? You might find one of your relatives.”

“I bet you’re fun with a few glasses of wine in you. I heard the sailors talking about how you’re the most powerful woman in Arann.”

“I’m hardly the most powerful woman, even at court. The Emperor’s sister takes that title.”

Bannon’s grin spread without a trace of humor entering his eyes. “I don’t believe that in the least. I have to say, I love that you can’t lie to me. It disconcerts you, doesn’t it?”

“You disconcert me, yes. And I have no desire to lie to you on that score. I prefer you to know it.” Rema advanced, and Bannon took another step back. “Good evening.”

Chuckling, Bannon returned to the shadows—somewhere he rightly belonged.

Elise was waiting, her body outlined by radiance of the setting sun. Rema held her breath as she drew near. She had experienced the company of so many women, one would think her capacity to be infatuated might have lessened, yet Elise still made the air shiver in her lungs. Her silhouette against the sky defined those captivating curves that Rema longed to traverse, as well as the untamed hair that matched Elise’s temper so well. Her face was upturned, and she seemed lost in thought.

“You’ve come,” she said, before Rema could speak a word. “And look, no sailors.”

“No sailors.” Rema leaned against the railing and examined Elise in profile. “Your diplomat has arrived, as promised. What troubles you, Elsie Danarian?”

“I’m in love.” Elise gave Rema a coy sidelong look. “If you can call that trouble.”

“And who are you in love with?”

“A very handsome individual. I’d daresay the most handsome being alive. But they tell me it’s a scandal, because the object of my heart’s desire is a woman.” Elise ran her finger along the grain of the rail, tracing a splintered line. “But I refuse to believe my heart can be wrong.”

The cool breeze fluttered over Rema’s blouse, cooling the skin of her neck. She put her hand over Elise’s, and Elise reddened. “It’s not wrong.”

“The way you act toward me, one would think you find it shameful.”

“Never. I assure you, it’s only your diplomatic importance that sees me so hesitant. I’m proud to love women. All in my court know it.”

“It’s hard to believe.”

“But true. Certainly some disapprove, but none can argue the subject against me without seeming a fool. Arann is kinder to us women than many other cities. There are even taverns where we can flirt freely with one another.”

Elise pressed her hand to her lips as she looked away. “Don’t tell me this. It hurts my heart knowing such impossible things will be on the other side of my prison.”

“Please keep hope.”

“You do so well at discouraging me from it, though.” Elise’s blush spread. “Will you tell me how you came to know about yourself? How young were you when you understood what your heart and loins most wanted?”

“I might have a tale. But first, let me ask the same of you.”

“I’ve known forever. My mother would point to a prince and tell me how handsome he was, and I would only stare at him in the way a fly might look at a frog. But every time I saw a pretty woman, my body would jolt. The maids who attended me, the servant girls who I passed in the corridors, the visiting princesses I was forced to play with…I wasn’t attracted to all of them, of course, but I had many, many longings left unfulfilled.”

“And those you did fulfill?”

“I only ever dared to lay with servant girls. I was fourteen when I first kissed the handmaid who always seemed to linger when she bathed me. She was sixteen, a girl from the city. Curly brown hair, a sweet mouth always fixed in a playful smile, gentle blue eyes. Small-breasted, like you, but ample-hipped. The way she responded when I kissed her…” Elise laughed, her blush flaring all the way to her neck. “I awoke hunger in her. I felt powerful. Yet, when we were done, she cried and wept for forgiveness. She thought I would tell my parents, that I would have her dismissed. She was so confused.”

“What happened to her?”

“She didn’t return. It was always the same. I would befriend some girl from the court, flirt with her, win her affection, kiss her, bed her, and then either Father would find out or the girl would lose her nerve. Once, a girl swore she loved me, and I was overjoyed. A month later, she married a young blacksmith. She told me that our love wasn’t ‘real love,’ not like the love one held for a man. I still don’t know whether she spoke in sincerity or fear. In any case, she was soon with child.”