“Very true,” Hallie said, painting a smile on her lips. “The lady is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met.”
“I wanted to meet you, Miss Talbot, to express my thanks for keeping my husband safe,” Yselda said, catching Hallie’s attention again.
“Please call me Hallie. And I am not sure I did that, not really,” Hallie said. She remembered that Lamorat had been injured in the confrontation with the killer at Vertiger.
“Hallie, then. The way Lamorat tells it, you were the one responsible for uncovering the killer and seeing to it that she could not hurt anyone else,” Yselda said. There was an overlay of lightness in her voice, but Hallie could hear the sincerity behind it.
“The forensic team, medical examiner, and Investigator Abbott deserve credit as well,” Hallie replied.
“It was such a shock to all of us,” Olwyn said, the laughter gone from her face. “We all knew Clarine for years. To think she’d been hiding such a terrible secret.” Sagramour Webb’s third wife, Clarine, who had apparently been far younger than him, had turned out to be not only very much older than she appeared, but also a deadly shape-changer.
“I still don’t believe it,” Reggie said, glaring at Hallie. “She was the gentlest of women.” Hallie was trying not to judge Reggie too quickly or too harshly, butgentlewas not a word that came to mind about Clarine. But then, the shape-changer had beenmasterful at adopting her disguise as a younghochlenwoman. So perhaps Reggie had seen her as gentle.
“I think she was a terribly sad person in the end,” Hallie said, remembering the pity she’d felt, kneeling on the floor next to the dying woman in Cotovatre’s library at Vertiger. “Quite lonely, actually.”
“And also a killer?” Olwyn asked, brow wrinkling.
“Also a killer, and needing to be held accountable for that,” Hallie confirmed, and shrugged. “People can be extremely complicated and are rarely one thing or another.”
“That’s true,” Yselda said.
Lamorat Lucas came back at that point, a server with him bearing a large tray with tall glasses of pale, cloudy liquid.
“The lady had some extra lemonade made especially for you, my love,” he told his wife. “She remembered how much you liked it.”
“Now, isn’t that just like Cotovatre?” Yselda said, with obvious delight. She accepted a glass from the server, then lifted her face up to her husband. Lamorat bent slightly and brushed a kiss over her mouth. It was the briefest of touches, and one done without self-consciousness or for show. They had a deep, mutual respect and affection for each other, Hallie realised. She’d seen Lamorat’s side of it in Vertiger, and now she could see the whole of it. It reminded her of the quiet, deep bond she could sense between Cotovatre and Emmet. She wondered if she and Girard would ever reach that level of closeness and comfort, and silently hoped it might be true over time. It was a deep and profound wish that had unfolded in her slowly since she had met Girard, and come to know him better. Having spent most of her life focused on gaining her freedom and working single-mindedly towards that goal, this other wish felt precious and fragile.
Turning back to the group, she caught an unguarded, ugly expression on Reggie’s face. The woman was jealous. Halliecouldn’t tell if it was because Lamorat and Yselda cared for each other, or because Cotovatre had remembered that Yselda liked the lemonade, or for some other reason that Hallie could not begin to guess at. Olwyn on the other hand was looking between Yselda and Lamorat with quiet affection of her own. A true friend, Hallie realised, and then wondered what Rosalia was doing at that moment. Of the two of them, Rosalia was much better suited to being at a fancy party.
The server made his way around the small group, handing out the glasses he had brought. Hallie accepted one in exchange for her barely-touched drink and took a sip, immediately understanding why Yselda was so fond of it. It was cool, refreshing, with just the right blend of tart and sweet.
“Is there anything else you need?” Lamorat asked his wife.
“Nothing for now, thank you, darling. I am sure you have plenty of important matters to attend to,” Yselda said. From another woman the words might have carried a bite to them, a hint of being neglected. There was nothing of that in Yselda’s voice or manner. She seemed proud of her husband and happy to support him in his work. In fact, as Lamorat moved away, she turned back to Hallie with every appearance of being perfectly content with where she was. “May I say what a beautiful dress that is, Hallie, and how well you wear it.”
“Oh, thank you,” Hallie said, not sure what the proper response was.
“Easy to be well-dressed with Cotovatre’s resources,” Reggie put in. Hallie paused and took a long look at the other woman. There was bitterness there, but Hallie heard what might have been a hint of sadness underneath it, as if the woman was mourning something.
So instead of an angry or biting reply, Hallie inclined her head a little. “The lady has been extremely generous.”
Her calm seemed to take Reggie by surprise, her brows lifting a little. What looked like a more genuine smile crossed her face. “You don’t have much interest in fashion, Miss Talbot?”
“Call me Hallie, please. And no, not really. I have spent most of my days chasing down fugitives so a good pair of boots and a leather jacket are far more important than fine cloth,” Hallie said, keeping her voice light.
“Oh, that’s right, you have a job,” Reggie said, as if Hallie was some exotic creature she had never encountered before. “How ever do you find the time?”
“Well, I enjoy it, for one thing,” Hallie said, and smiled. “I find it interesting to be out and about, meeting new people. No two days are ever the same.”
“Is that so?” Reggie said. The hard edge had softened and Hallie was beginning to see why Yselda and Olwyn might tolerate her.
“I am afraid we are about to lose you,” Yselda said, drawing Hallie’s attention. Her eyes had gone past Hallie’s shoulder. She turned to find Emmet coming towards them.
“Good evening, ladies,” Emmet said. “I apologise for disturbing you, but need to steal Miss Talbot away.”
“Of course, Emmet. It was a pleasure to meet you, Hallie, and I hope we will meet again soon,” Yselda said.
Hallie managed a thank you and said her goodbyes to the other women, getting up and following Emmet. To her surprise, he kept going through the room, which seemed even more crowded now, and out into the hallway.
