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castle, stitched upon it. He looked considerably tidier and more fastidious
than his master.
Orico finished the letter, and sighed. Royina Ista upset, was she? he said
to Cazaril.
She was naturally disturbed to be parted from her children, said Cazaril
cautiously.
I was afraid of that. Can t be helped. As long as she is disturbed in
Valenda, and not in
Cardegoss. I ll not have her here, she s too . . . difficult. He rubbed his
nose on the back of his hand, and sniffed. Tell Her Grace the Provincara she
has all my esteem, and assure her that I have concerned myself with her
grandchildren s good fates. They have their brother s protection.
I plan to write to her tonight, sire, to assure her of our safe arrival. I
will convey your words.
Orico nodded shortly, rubbed his nose again, and squinted at Cazaril. Do I
know you?
I . . . shouldn t think so, sire. I am lately appointed by the Dowager
Provincara to be secretary to the Royesse Iselle. I had served the late
provincar of Baocia as a page, in my youth, he added, by way of
recommendation. He did not mention his service in dy Guarida s train, which
might well trigger the roya s more recent memory, not that he had ever been
more than one of the crowd of dy Guarida s men. A little unplanned disguise
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was surely lent him by his recent beard, his gray-flecked hair, his general
debilitation if Orico didn t recognize him, was there a chance that others
also might not? He wondered how long he could go here at Cardegoss without
giving his own name. Too late to change it, alas.
He could remain anonymous a little while longer, it appeared, for Orico nodded
in apparent satisfaction and waved his hand in dismissal. You ll be at the
banquet, then. Tell my fair sister I look forward to seeing her there.
Cazaril bowed obediently and withdrew.
He chewed worriedly upon his lower lip as he made his way back to the gate of
the Zangre. If all the court was to attend tonight s welcoming banquet,
Chancellor the March dy Jironal, Orico s chief staff and support, would not be
absent; and where the march went, his brother Lord Dondo usually attended upon
him.
Maybe they won t remember me either.
It had been well over two years since the fall
shameful sale
of Gotorget, and longer than that since the unpleasant incident in mad Prince
Olus s tent. Cazaril s existence could never have been more than a petty
irritation to these powerful lords. They could not know that he had realized
his sale to the galleys had been calculated betrayal and not mischance. If he
did nothing to draw attention to himself, they would not be reminded of what
they had forgotten, and he would be safe.
A fool s hope.
Cazaril s shoulders hunched, and his stride lengthened.
BACK IN HIS HIGH CHAMBER, CAZARIL FINGERED HIS SOBERbrown wool robe and black
vest-cloak longingly. But, obedient to the orders sent down from the floor
above via a breathless maidservant, he donned much gaudier garb, an
eggshell-blue tunic with turquoise brocade vestments and dark blue trousers
from the old provincar s store, still smelling faintly of the spices they d
been packed with as proof against moths. Boots and sword completed a
courtier s attire, even if it lacked the wealth of rings and chains.
At Teidez s urgent behest Cazaril stumped upstairs to check if his ladies were
ready yet, there to discover that he was part of an ensemble. Iselle was
arrayed in her finest favored blue-and-white gown and robes, and Betriz and
the lady-in-waiting wore layers featuring turquoise and night-blue
respectively.
Someone in the party had come down on the side of restraint, and Iselle was
decked in jewels befitting a maiden, mere diamond sparks in her ears, a brooch
at her cleavage, one enameled belt, and only two rings. Betriz displayed some
of the rest of the inventory, on loan. Cazaril stood straighter and regretted
his resplendency less, determined to hold up his part for Iselle.
After only some seven or eight delays for last-minute exchanges and
adjustments of clothing or decoration, Cazaril herded them all downstairs to
join Teidez and his little entourage of rank, consisting of dy Sanda, the
Baocian captain who had guarded their journey, and his chief sergeant at arms,
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