“If he does, my people will take care of it. Besides, with the Conquerors breathing down his neck, he will be highly unlikely to send more killers. Too risky.” Solentine picked up a box from my shelf, looked into it, and pulled a bar of soap out. “Is this the soap you gave to the Garden?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll need a big box. At least twenty-five bars.”
“What in the void are you going to do with that much soap?” Everard demanded. He sounded irritated. His Grace really didn’t want to leave me unsupervised.
“I’m going to send it to her mother.”
“Why?”
“Because when a woman makes soap, perfume, embroidery, or any other home-related craft, she will gift it to her mother first. If someone comes to Demarr to confirm her identity, the soap will seal the deal.”
“You can have that box,” I told him. “It’s our sampler.”
Solentine picked up the box. “I will pick you up tonight, Ramond.”
Everard waved him off.
Solentine gave me a long look.
Right. “Let me see you off,” I said.
I got up and we walked together down the stairs and across the yard.
We were almost to the front door when he said, “Under no circumstances must you allow him to get you onto a drezmur. No matter what he says, do not go near it, or you will wake up tomorrow in Selva.”
“Understood.”
“Good. Ramond isn’t the only one who has to leave the capital. I’ve received orders to escort my father to the joedurar in person.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did you do something to alarm Sauven?”
“I’ve done absolutely nothing. I don’t know what he is scheming, but I will have to make a public exit tomorrow. That means that neither Ramond nor I will be here for almost three weeks. You will have the protection of my people, but without my presence, you will be vulnerable. Do you want to make the trip with me?”
“I can’t. I have to stay here and finish what I started.”
He nodded. “I thought as much. I will respect your wishes. We will talk more tonight, after he leaves.”
He knew I’d seen him shaking his head when Everard asked me about a drezmur. I’d ignored him, but he didn’t chide me. He didn’t criticize, he just moved on to mitigate the damage. That’s how he handled his siblings’ messes. He’d explained it in the books once. He saw no point in berating his brother and sister for their mistakes. He trusted that they were smart enough to realize when they blundered. Only fixing it mattered.
In this moment Solentine was treating me the way he did family. It was . . . touching.
“I promise not to get onto the drezmur.”
“If you do, I won’t be able to get you off it.”
“I understand.”
I opened the door for him. “One last thing, before you go. Who did Sauven send as the messenger to the Selva Dukedom?”
Solentine grimaced. “Joris. His new favorite dog.”
Oh no.
