Page 19

“I am well.”

“Good. That’s good.”

The flames snapped in the hearth. The balcony doors were closed, and it was already quite warm. Perspiration gathered at my temples as I thought of my promise to Valentina.

“Do you see much of Valentina?” I asked tentatively.

He frowned. “No, not really. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Only, when we first met, the two of you were walking together. She’s really very beautiful. She’s everyone’s favorite.”

“I find that having seen the tirae of this house, my interest in anyone else is greatly diminished. You, in particular, are a very lovely girl. The very jewel of Corlivo, I must say.”

“Thank you.” I was at a loss as to how to keep that thread of conversation going.

After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’d enjoy hearing more about my great discovery.”

His grating arrogance had diminished my interest in his tale, but conversation was certainly better than silence. “Yes, of course.”

He smiled and settled back in his chair but then leaned forward again quickly. “Have you—have you heard about the journey from anyone else?”

“From anyone else? How could I have?”

“It was a rather well-known discovery.”

“I see. No, I haven’t heard about it from anyone.”

He cleared his throat again like someone beginning a speech. “At our recent dinner, you expressed surprise that I wasn’t the leader of the expedition. Understandable. You’ll be more surprised still to learn that the Archidux, whose propensity for violence was on full display last night, was the nominal leader of the expedition.”

“The Archidux?” The tale instantly became more interesting. Given their obvious dislike for one another, it hadn’t occurred to me that the two men had traveled together. Sebastianus hadn’t mentioned a word about it. How strange.

“Ah, yes. I see that you are surprised. Of course, the position was given only because of his connection to the Imperator, and not because of his qualifications. It’s true that he has a flair for languages and navigation, but my ability to relate to people is far more valuable on an expedition of that sort.”

He stood up and began to pace around the room with his thin arms clasped behind his back, telling the story as though he had recited it many times before. “We were far, far to the north, in Vendel, where it is very cold. A land of barbarians—men with hair and beards as fierce as their natures. The expedition was a disaster from the start. The poor judgment you saw on display yesterday was evident from the moment we arrived in Vendel. We had difficulty procuring supplies and finding local men to accompany us. We needed furs to keep us warm, and meat, more horses, you can’t imagine how many different things. Sebastianus expected us to make do with very little, and he expected the local people—wild, primitive men— to be able to tell him the location of the caves. Ha! If they had known their location, they would have discovered them years ago.”

At his mention of wild men, I thought suddenly of the tiger, with its wild nature, and of a silver knife lodged in its eye. It had grown uncomfortably warm in the room. “Excuse me, sir,” I interrupted. “Might I have a cup of water?”

“What? Oh. Yes, refreshment would be welcome.” He rang the bell.

After a minute, a house servant entered. “A cup of dark fruit wine for me, and water for the tira.”

The servant nodded and departed.

Clemens Fabius seemed to have lost his place in the narrative.

“Sir, you were telling me how the Archidux interacted with the local people in Vendel.”

“Oh, yes. He knew the language and seemed to think it gave him an advantage. Regrettably, I’ve never had the opportunity to learn it.” He paused, perhaps remembering what had occurred. “Disaster after disaster beset us. We ran low on all sorts of supplies—clearly the result of poor planning. I took a few men into my confidence. Very few of our company trusted him, you see. That blind, empty eye makes everyone nervous.”

The servant arrived with the drinks. I sipped the water gratefully and blotted at my temples with the edge of my sleeve.

Clemens Fabius held his cup of wine as he continued pacing. “After much hardship, we arrived at our destination to find only a few small caves, none of which could be the legendary cave city.”

“Oh, how disappointing,” I said. “But your adventure continued?”

He nodded. “Indeed, my dear. I realized that the series of hills we were exploring must be part of an old fault line running north. I suggested that we continue our expedition to see if the caves we sought could be farther on. He consulted the barbarians and determined that we should return, that there was nothing more to be found. Ridiculous. We must take risks in life, mustn’t we?”

“I suppose so.”