“This is a beautiful home,” Hallie said, earning another smile from Cotovatre.
“I am so glad you like it. Come, I can’t leave the door for long at the moment as more people are expected, but I want to make sure you meet a few people. Or, should I say, meet again.” Cotovatre linked her arm through Hallie’s and drew her towards one of the open doors.
There was a middle-aged man - aveondkenlike Alys, Hallie noted - standing just inside the doorway with a tray of drinks.Cotovatre paused, selecting a drink for Hallie and letting Girard choose for himself before the lady continued into the room.
Hallie suspected that the room might normally be a dining room, but for tonight the space had been cleared and there were a few groups of chairs at the corners, almost all occupied by people in close conversation. The centre of the room and its thick, patterned rug had been left empty apart from a few tall stands with refreshments. Hallie remembered similar stands of refreshments at the Abbott household and wondered if it was commonplace at evening gatherings like this.
Even though Cotovatre had said that more people were expected, the room seemed uncomfortably full to Hallie. Despite the fine dress and Cotovatre’s presence, Hallie’s first impulse was to turn and leave. The last time she’d been in a room with finely dressedhochlenshe’d been insulted and then the host - Girard’s father - had arranged for her to be transported back to low city. But Cotovatre had a hold of her and, after that first glance around, Hallie saw that she did in fact know some of the faces in the room. She might not call them friends, but she was at least comfortable dealing with them.
The members of the group nearest the door were all familiar. Lord Lamorat Lucas, Hoel Buchanan and Royns Webster. The first two Hallie had last seen at Vertiger where they, along with their other fellow Conclave members, Ulfiam Vargas and the late Sagramour Webb, had been Cotovatre’s guests. Ulfiam and Sagramour had been accompanied by their spouses. Sagramour’s spouse, who had turned out to be his killer, was also dead. In her glance around the room, Hallie had noted that Ulfiam was here as well and had, once again, brought his spouse, Padarn. The beautiful young man was glowing in the candlelight, standing protectively close to his husband in a group farther into the room.
“Hallie, I know you’ve met Lamorat and Hoel before, but this is Royns Webster,” Cotovatre said, letting go of Hallie’s arm and dragging Hallie’s attention back to the people in front of her.
Lamorat and Hoel were almost exactly as Hallie remembered them, although far more formally dressed. They were an odd contrast. Lamorat was a lean man of medium height, his mid-brown hair and beard close-cropped and liberally streaked with grey, his pale grey eyes as watchful as she remembered. He’d struck her as almost frighteningly intelligent and not someone she’d want to cross if she could help it. He had on a knee-length brocade jacket in a shade that Hallie could only describe as blue smoke, with darker trousers and a shirt the same colour as the jacket.
Hoel, on the other hand, was a giant of a man with a powerful build, broad shoulders filling the deep red jacket he was wearing over matching trousers and a vivid white shirt. His white-blond hair gleamed in the candlelight, pale blue eyes almost colourless as he looked back at her. As one of the youngest members of the Conclave, he didn’t have the same sense of age and gravitas that Lamorat did, but Hallie had seen enough at Vertiger to not underestimate him.
Her assessment of the two Conclave members was interrupted by Royns, dressed in a black evening jacket and trousers and a white shirt. The sort of outfit Hallie knew was high-class evening attire for men from various television shows.
“We have met,” Royns said, smiling with every appearance of delight at seeing Hallie. She couldn’t help but smile back. Girard’s uncle - his mother’s younger brother - had been one of the good memories she had of the evening at his parents’ house. He bore a strong family resemblance to Girard, but far more so to Girard’s mother, with reddish-toned, sandy hair, bright blue eyes and a quick, warm smile. He came across as a genial, older man, but she’d learned that he was actually considereda business genius by other members of the elite, and although he was not the head of a house or a member of the Conclave, he seemed to draw at least as much respect as either of those positions. “A remarkable young lady, this one. She gave me some excellent information. And now I learn that she is your heir, Cotovatre?”
“Indeed,” Cotovatre confirmed. Then she tilted her head. “Excellent information? Now, that doesn’t surprise me, but I am curious to know more?”
“Well, it seems a little impolite to be talking about my business, but it is your house, my lady, and I’m pleased to answer you. We were having some difficulty in getting workers at the port, and Miss Talbot pointed out to me that there were a lot of potential workers in Erset with no means to get to the port.”
“So we have been discussing buses, of all things,” Lamorat Lucas put in. He favoured Hallie with a smile and a tilt of his head. “I don’t know why I am surprised that you gave Royns the idea, Miss Talbot. I don’t think he even knew what a bus was a month or two ago.”
“Well, I had certainly never travelled on one,” Royns said cheerfully.
“So, you are going to organise buses for workers to get to the port?” Hallie asked, not sure what shocked her more. That Royns had listened to her, or that he’d acted upon it, or that he’d gone so far as to discuss it with Lamorat Lucas. The shock was quickly replaced by excitement and a flare of hope that she couldn’t suppress. Low city had been devastated when the commercial port had been moved almost twenty years before. Almost all the commerce had been centred around the port, and, with it gone, the industries and the jobs that went with them had vanished. From what Royns had said, it seemed that there were plenty of jobs at the city’s port, jobs which might well help theresidents of low city. If only thekarlencould actually get there. As she’d pointed out to Royns, there was no public transport to the docks, and very fewkarlencould afford to run a car.
“We are,” Royns said, and shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe it, either. “It’s taking a little time to organise. We’ve had to import the vehicles, and then they needed to go through security checks.”
“But we should have it all put together by the end of the month,” Lamorat put in. He sounded extremely pleased, which was also a surprise, and made her wonder just how much of a financial interest he had in whatever venture Royns was putting together.
“That’s such a remarkably simple idea. And yet, no one had thought of it before now? Amazing. I’ll be most interested in learning how your venture goes, Royns,” Cotovatre said.
“Now we just need to get the word out to recruit workers in Erset,” Royns said. He shook his head slightly. “We needed to make sure we could get the bus system in place before looking for people to fill them. And so now we have the transport, but no one to take the seats.”
“Well -” Hallie started to speak, then shook her head, remembering Royns’ hesitation about talking business. “Sorry,” she said to Cotovatre. “This is supposed to be a social gathering, isn’t it?”
“You may talk about whatever you please,” Cotovatre said, and touched Hallie’s arm. “And you’ve sparked their curiosity now, you know. They won’t leave you alone until you tell them.” The mischief in the lady’s face made Hallie smile even as Cotovatre excused herself and headed back to the entrance. Glancing in that direction, Hallie saw that more people had arrived. She felt a moment’s disappointment at losing her ancestor’s attention, but Cotovatre was the host, after all. So she turned back andfound Royns and Lamorat looking at her with equally expectant expressions.
“You had some ideas about recruitment?” Royns prompted.
“There’s a text-only news network in low city - ah, Erset,” Hallie said. “It’s been adapted for messaging services on mobile phones. Almost everyone is signed up. It’s not just news, but also recruitment notices. You’d need to have someone do the actual interviews and the like, of course, but to get the word out, that’s the best way I can think of.”
“Fascinating,” Royns said. He dipped into one of his pockets and produced a small rectangle of card with some text on one side in understated black typeface. “This is my personal number. Would you be able to send me the details for this network?”
“I can and I will,” Hallie confirmed, taking the card from him. She had a feeling that he didn’t hand such details out easily and made sure to tuck the card away safely.
“I really cannot believe how much time and attention you are giving this matter,” Hoel commented. He sounded bored, and yet Hallie had the impression that he’d been listening closely, absorbing the information and discussion both before and after her arrival.
“Understanding the details of an operation or supply chain is never wasted time,” Royns said. There was nothing in his manner or his voice that suggested he was annoyed, but Hallie still somehow got the impression that he didn’t like the younger man. Which piqued her interest in turn. The impression Royns gave was that he got along with everyone, and it would certainly be prudent for him to keep on good terms with the Conclave and its members.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Hoel. On the one hand, she had an instinctive wish for younger and more diverse voices on the Conclave, rather than the traditional image of an older man like Lamorat. On the other hand, from her interactions withHoel, he seemed even more steeped in what he considered to be tradition than Lamorat was. She was quite certain Hoel was more intelligent and attentive than he appeared on the surface, and she’d also seen for herself that he was capable of swift, casual violence. Overall, she wasn’t sure she liked him at all, and found it interesting that Royns seemed to feel the same way. Despite having spent far less time with Royns, she’d formed a far more favourable impression of him. That might partly be due to the fact he was clearly a favourite of Girard’s, and Hallie trusted Girard’s judgement.
“Tell us, Miss Talbot, how does the investigation go?” Hoel asked.
