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“War,” she said.
“An odd subject for a young woman.”
She smiled and felt renewed pressure of his hand over hers.
“Why are you smiling?”
Therez glanced up, then down. His gaze unsettled her. “No reason.”
“No?”
It was going badly. She could think of nothing to say to this man, and she knew she must not displease him. Therez glanced anxiously from side to side, looking for someone Galt might find acceptable. She sighted her brother near the windows, still engaged in conversation with Baron Mann and Baron Eckard. Galt followed the direction of her gaze. An odd expression flickered across his face. “Do you know them? Those men with your brother?”
“We’ve been introduced,” she said cautiously.
He nodded. Taking that as a request to join them, Therez gratefully led him toward the barons and Ehren.
Baron Mann saw them first and greeted Therez with a smile. “Ah, Mistress Therez. You’ve already abandoned me for another. Have you come to make amends?” His eyes brightened with interest when Therez gave Galt’s name, and his smile took on a curious tension, though his manner was utterly polite as he exchanged greetings.
Therez allowed herself a silent sigh of relief. The musicians had not yet begun their next piece, and she could just hear the word-linking game above the general murmur of conversation. Word. Letter. Love letter. Marriage. A predictable sequence, but the players evidently found it amusing. Then she saw Klara emerging from behind the Leffler family. She was heading toward Therez with look of barely suppressed excitement.
Ehren leaned close. “Go and talk with Klara. I’ll take care of our guests.”
She smiled in thanks and hurried toward her friend. Even before they met, Klara was already speaking swiftly. “You will never guess, Therez. Never, never. My father— Wait, let me recover.” She made a show of fanning her face. “So. My news. I am going to Duenne next summer.”
“Duenne? Next summer?”
Klara laughed. “Now you sound like my pet mynah. Yes, Duenne. Yes, next summer. My brother is going to university a year early, to study magical jurisprudence, whatever that might be. Imre explained the terms to me a hundred times, but they still make no sense. Anyway, the important thing is that our beloved father believes the connection will help our business. And because he is going, it was merely a question of convincing my mother, who convinced my father I would learn better manners by accompanying Imre to the capital. Of course I did not disabuse either of them of the notion.”
“I would not have you any different. But a season together! That means we shall have dances and theater outings …”
“… and visits and shopping. If you consider mucking about those dusty booksellers to be shopping. Now do not glare at me. We shall spend alternate days shopping for books and paints. Visit me tomorrow and we shall start the plans for our triumphs. Speaking of triumphs, who are those men with your brother?”
“Baron Mann and Baron Eckard.”
“Ah. Interesting. Very interesting. And who— Goodness, it’s Maester Galt.” Though no one stood close enough to overhear, Klara bent close to whisper in Therez’s ear. “Did you hear the rumors?”
“No, what happened?”
In a breathless tone, Klara told her. “His marriage contract. Broken off yesterday. The father insisted, even though he shall have to pay oh so many penalties. And you can be sure that Maester Galt will not offer Maester Bartos any advantages in shipping contracts for the city. So it’s odd, very odd. No one knows why he did it. Maester Bartos, I mean. And no one has seen Marina Bartos these past three days.”
Therez shivered at all the implications. That explained Galt’s dissatisfaction, the unnerving tension in his voice and manner. It also explained why Maester Bartos had sent his regrets that morning. She wanted to ask Klara where she’d heard the rumor, but her friend had drawn back.
“Beware,” Klara murmured. “They are coming toward us—all of them—even Maester Galt.”
“Telling secrets?” Mann said as he approached.
“My lord teases,” Klara said. “We are both too young for secrets.”
“Then I shall have to help you both collect more,” Mann said with a laughing glance at Therez.
Ehren smiled. Eckard shook his head. Galt was studying Mann with an odd, restrained expression on his face, and Therez wondered what their conversation had been. She wondered even more when the steward announced dinner, and Mann immediately held out his arm to her. She and Klara exchanged a glance.
“Casting about for a better partner?” the baron murmured.
Her cheeks warmed. “Of course not, my lord.”
Mann’s answer was a soft laugh. Shaking his head, he escorted Therez to her seat. Her father had decided to rearrange the seating himself, and to her regret, Klara was placed too far away for easy conversation. Instead, she had both barons across from her, as well as Theodr Galt.
