‘This…’ I struggled to say words I’d hardly let myself think about. ‘This isn’t a fancy. I’m not her distraction.’
‘Is she willing to present you to the Court?’ Mama asked. ‘She’s trying to find a husband.’ I knew Mama’s harshness masked worry for me, yet it still hurt.
‘No. But she’s not happy about it.’ I hesitated. ‘Matthias and I–’
‘Matthias!’ Mama exploded. ‘Of course he’d have something to do with this–’ She groped for Lord Martain’s hand.
‘Being close to the Queen isn’t advisable right now,’ he said, unknowingly mirroring Rassa’s warnings; I shivered. ‘She and Lord Vigrante disliked each other. The Court will be hard-pressed to believe she isn’t connected to his death.’
‘We’re Fifth Step,’ Zola said. ‘The Queen’s favour can only bring us fortune.’
‘If she contains Vigrante’s murder,’ Mama said, ‘and keeps authority over the Court. Association with a disgraced Queen could destroy us.’
‘We could hardly be worse off than we used to be,’ I said, more bitterly than intended.
Mama snapped her fingers, forcing me to look at her. ‘There is always further to fall.’
I’d foolishly hoped, despite knowing better, that they’d be happy for me, as if only my feelings mattered. Mama and Lord Martain wouldn’t simply accept my association with Lia. Mama had clawed her way up from Third Step to Fifth, risen from no family holding, no husband, no alliances to the fondness and security provided by Lord Martain. She wouldn’t put our family in jeopardy unless Lia proved she could provide more and better.
The ticking clock stopped the silence from turning unbearable. I wanted to run until my chest hurt and I could cry somewhere in peace.
But only a child ran away to cry.
‘I want to meet her.’ Mama ignored our astonishment. ‘You’ve always been sensible, always cautious when Zola was indiscreet’ – Zola yelped – ‘Of course I knew about your infatuations.’
Mama eyed me, still grim. ‘You wouldn’t fall for the first person who complimented you, not unless you respected each other. It’s… unfortunate it’s the Queen, but we should meet before I condemn her.’
Only Mama could act like a Queen should request her approval to love her daughter.
It took hours before Mama left me alone in my rooms, and we argued when she tried to take my keys. I could understand her fear that I’d entangled myself in dangerous things, but couldn’t assure her everything was fine because it wasn’t.
I waited, furious, then finally slipped out. I needed to see Lia. Protecting her as Whispers had been a matter of professional pride; now it was far more. If she died – no. The coppery tang of fear filled my mouth. I wouldn’t allow it.
A servant approached from the opposite direction, and pressed a note into my palm as she rushed by. I ducked into a small empty room, tucked myself into a corner so I faced the door, and cracked the seal.
I translated the note as I read. A dispatch had been left in the passages for me. A discreet mark at the corner of the paper meant urgent. I was supposed to drop everything to read it immediately.
I hurried to a quieter hall and slipped into the passages.
At the drop spot, I eased out the hunk of rock hiding the dispatch and gritted my teeth at every scrape and crumble of stone. The packet, battered and worn smooth, had passed through many hands, but the seal was unbroken. There were the usual marks for stealth and caution, written in my network’s code, and again: urgent.
My hands shook as I unfolded the layers of paper. I leaned against the wall, using its wavering light to read.
My most experienced Farezi agent, the one whose theatre booklet I’d deciphered to stay calm after Brenna and Naruum’s deaths, had sent the dispatch two weeks after Rassa left for Edar, then run to ground. Her security had been compromised. I wasn’t surprised it had taken so long to arrive; in these situations, extra caution prevented interception.
The agent would get in touch again when it was safe. I’d have to retire her. But the end of the letter made panic race over my skin.
One of Farezi’s spymasters – called the Shadows, as I was Whispers – was in Rassa’s entourage. My agent didn’t know who they were, or what they looked like. When she’d tried to find out, she’d roused the suspicions of the wrong people.
I hoped she was still alive.
I still believed the man in the passages was an assassin, not a spy – his ultimate goal had been to kill me, not gain information – but the Farezi Shadow could have hired him if they suspected I was more than one of Lia’s ladies. I’d only been Whispers since spring, now up against an experienced spymaster.
This also further complicated Vigrante’s murder, and the attack on me. Were they linked?
And why would a Farezi Shadow accompany Rassa here?
My expression went still and hard. ‘You’re doing exactly as Vigrante would.’
‘Yes,’ Lia said. ‘I must maintain control until we know what to do.’
I tried to curb the feeling of betrayal. ‘You don’t have the money nor means to fulfil any promises.’
‘Of course I don’t,’ she said, almost wearily. ‘But I need to stop them from turning on me. We must investigate Vigrante’s death. The Court and Parliament panicking won’t help that. I’ll deal with the promises later.’
This was completely unlike her. She knew better than to make promises she couldn’t keep. I’d planned to tell her about the Farezi spymaster, but her demeanour made the words stick in my throat. She seemed brittle, yet coiled to lash out at the same time.
Instead, I said, ‘I’ve chosen Lariux Bisset to help investigate Vigrante’s death.’
‘You value Lariux as an agent,’ Lia said. ‘Are you certain?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Assuming he agrees.’
‘Of course,’ Lia murmured, but drummed her fingers. I tamped down a spark of irritation. Lariux had been associated with my family long before I’d met her. He was my responsibility. I wouldn’t throw him into Court intrigue unawares.
‘I’ll make him a baron when this is done,’ Lia said. ‘Third Step. A decent beginning.’
A lovely bait. I almost wanted to refuse on Lariux’s behalf, but we needed someone connected to me in place quickly. A bloody image of Vigrante’s end flashed in my mind. I shoved it away.
‘You should go,’ Lia said regretfully. ‘Matthias wants to see you.’
About Lia’s promises to the Court and Parliament, no doubt. I hoped it wasn’t just so he could vent over her mistake.
We kissed before I left. Lia had taken an hour for herself – for us – before returning to her frantic Court. She was trying to continue as normal so they’d remain calm, while Matthias offered bribery on her behalf. Tomorrow, she’d meet Vigrante’s successor.
I hurried through the passages towards Matthias’s office, but stopped at the voices through his wall. Why was Coin here?
‘This doesn’t put you in the best of circumstances, Master Coin,’ Matthias said coldly.
‘How quickly your opinion changes. I’d hardly present my treason in neat rows of figures.’
‘If you were bluffing, yes, you would,’ Matthias said. ‘You’re ideal for such deceptions.’
‘True,’ Coin said, ‘except you assume a situation exists where I’d collude with Vigrante.’
I stiffened.
‘Oh, you’d never willingly collude with him,’ Matthias said. ‘But you’re not immune to blackmail.’
‘If you’re referring to that wretched clerk who can’t decide if his hair is red or blond,’ Coin said, ‘I knew he was Vigrante’s within his first hour.’
‘You fed Vigrante false information.’
‘Of course. The King gave him too much. I’d hardly allow him to swindle more.’ Coin sounded like he still wanted to throttle Vigrante, dead or not. ‘I suspected he lied about his personal wealth, but... not this.’
A crackle of paper being flicked through. �
��I agree,’ Matthias said. ‘The discrepancies point toward treason.’
Treason? Proof now, finally?
‘With that amount of money, no wonder he kept everyone happy.’
‘Can you tell me your source?’ Matthias asked. ‘You hardly stumbled upon this, or you’d have already fired the entire Treasury.’
Coin had, in fact, fired people before for misplacing papers. His system was chaos, but organised chaos.
A long silence.
‘I suppose I can tell you now,’ Coin finally said, ‘since she’s dead.’
Brenna? It had to be.
‘Brenna,’ Matthias said, unknowingly echoing me. ‘You never forgave her family for turning down your job offer.’
‘She could have been Master, eventually,’ Coin said. ‘So much wasted talent. She visited the Treasury several times. She wouldn’t admit it, but I knew Vigrante had trapped her. If I’d known what she and Naruum planned…’
‘You only received these papers recently?’ Suspicion tinted Matthias’s voice. If Coin had proof of Vigrante’s treachery all this time and kept it to himself…
‘Brenna’s parents emptied her bank vault last week,’ Coin said icily. Six months after her death, but they could probably only do it now without publicly succumbing to grief. Mama had opened Papa’s only a few weeks after his death, driven by money worries, and cried in her room afterwards. ‘They found a Treasury box marked for my attention.’
‘And they didn’t open it?’
‘They couldn’t. I gave the box to Brenna, and she returned the key to me before… she died. This pile of discrepancies is only the first I’m certain of.’
Brenna had worked against Vigrante with Coin. Had she come to Coin for help during my lesson in the Treasury? He had been surprised to see her. Had she turned against Vigrante because she’d known Naruum and herself were doomed?
‘You failed her,’ Matthias said.
‘She – she hoped I could protect her,’ Coin said. ‘But the King was dead, and the new Queen untested against Vigrante. I begged her to go to Rijaan – I could recommend her to any bank – but she refused.’
Before now, I would have said Coin occasionally manifested paternal instincts for the younger Treasury staff. I hadn’t thought his voice could hold so much pain for one of us.
Perhaps Matthias felt he’d overstepped, for he said, ‘I must pass this on to Whispers.’
‘I’ll finally meet him, then?’
‘Aren’t you thrilled?’
‘Hardly. You could be him, for all I know.’
‘I’m not Whispers,’ Matthias said. ‘I don’t have enough time.’
As if I did.
‘You’re more than capable, from what I’ve heard.’ A creak as Coin stood, groaning. ‘I’m too old for these games.’
‘They’ll pry the Treasury from your cold, dead hands.’
‘It’ll take time to properly examine the rest of the tampered records,’ Coin said, ignoring the flattery, ‘but I’ll report back to you – and Whispers, of course, once we’ve been acquainted.’ He left before Matthias could reply.
I counted heartbeats, now reluctant to enter, but knowing my luck, Matthias would hear if I tried to sneak away. I opened the panel and stepped into his office.
‘Eavesdropping is rude.’
‘Should I have stuck my fingers in my ears? What did he give you?’ If Matthias could ignore Coin’s display of emotion, so could I, for now.
He held out the papers. ‘Brenna hid Vigrante’s true financials in her bank vault. Presumably he never knew, or he’d have killed her himself. They don’t quite match Coin’s official records.’
Coin had become a Master from being good at his job, not from powerful connections. Once he found a mistake, he didn’t stop until he found them all.
I trailed a finger down the rows of columns, frowning. ‘So she knew before she died.’
Matthias’s mouth curled in disgust. ‘Yes, apparently she didn’t fully betray Vigrante. A pity she didn’t hide them somewhere that relied on her family discovering them earlier.’
‘She probably assumed Coin would tell Lia, no matter what he promised,’ I said, still focused on the numbers. ‘And she wanted to protect her family from Vigrante by putting the records somewhere they wouldn’t touch until months after her death.’
‘Whatever Brenna felt,’ Matthias said, ‘Vigrante still stole from Edar, and it was carefully, beautifully done.’
‘Discrepancies in Vigrante’s personal accounts doesn’t mean he did that.’ I almost didn’t want it to be true – it was the perfect way to destroy Vigrante, and he was already dead. There was little justice for Papa in this.
‘Perhaps,’ Matthias said. ‘But Coin knows numbers and balances as intimately as he knows his husband. He reopened the old King’s account records.’
The atmosphere grew jagged edges.
‘They were tampered,’ Matthias said.
Like the mistake Lord Frijian had bullied Terize about. I’d tried to see how far Frijian’s mistakes went, but the files were far above my access rank. Because of Coin, I avoided unnecessary attention to myself at work, and I hadn’t sought Treasury informants. Quietly copying Farezi reports was one thing; breaking into secured files I had no business going near was another.
When had these ‘mistakes’ started? How many people did it involve? Coin had sniffed out many of Vigrante’s spies over the years, but a Sixth or Seven Step noble, like Frijian, would be careful and intimidate others into silence.
If I’d been less cautious – less indebted to Coin for the chance he’d given me – maybe I would have known about this before Vigrante was murdered.
I massaged my temples. ‘If the Court finds out–’
‘We should be more worried about Parliament. Those who got nothing from Vigrante will scream about this. Now that he’s dead, they’ll blame Lia and Coin for not stopping him sooner. If they turn against her, Lia will never have true authority again. At best, she’d be a puppet Queen. At worst, they’d end the monarchy.’
‘Her promises mean nothing,’ I said.
‘They know they’re worthless,’ he said. ‘She wanted to look strong, decisive, but now they know she’s worried. She’s shown her hand. They’ll reject her if the right person replaces Vigrante.’
This was what had bothered me about Lia’s rashness: how quickly she’d acted like Vigrante without thinking it through. Gambles had worked for him because he’d backed up his bribes with knowledge and secrets.
‘Why didn’t you stop her?’ I asked.
‘She’d already succumbed to panic,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t happen often, but the last time it did, years ago, she didn’t speak to me for three months. She’s Queen now. If I argued like before, she could remove me from her service. Better to minimise the damage instead of losing access to her.’
‘And now we’ve a bigger mess to handle.’ As if I could scorn him, while keeping quiet about the Farezi spymaster. I’d find out their identity, actually do what was expected of me, then tell Matthias. Even when we knew, we’d still have to be careful. Lia could hardly publicly rebuke Rassa about it.
Matthias rubbed his eyes. ‘Yes, I made a mistake, is that what you want to hear?’
‘No.’ I wanted to know how to fix this.
‘I knew we’d come up against treason sooner or later,’ he said, ‘but against Lia, not the entire country.’
‘Isn’t it the same?’
‘Not when it involves her uncle’s accounts.’
I hesitated. This was a gut feeling, fuelled by my dislike of Rassa and my fear of his spymaster. But I still asked, ‘How likely are the discrepancies to lead back to Farezi accounts?’
‘Don’t bet on those odds,’ Matthias said.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lia
Mother buried her face in her hands, trembling. When she looked up, I almost recoiled at the fury in her eyes.
‘I know this isn’t–’
�
�How dare you do this to me? To your father?’
Of course she’d use him against me. As if I didn’t already torture myself about his expections of me. ‘Father is no longer with us,’ I said gently. ‘We’ll never know what he would think.’
Her expression flickered with disgust, contempt: things she’d never directed at me before. ‘Is it easier, now, to use his death as justification?’
‘Remember to whom you speak.’
‘My daughter. Queen or not, my dear, I gave birth to you. You have my blood as much as your father’s. He sacrificed so much for you. He loved you.’
I surged out of my seat. ‘He would not be horrified that I love a woman!’
‘Of course not!’ Mother snapped, as I paced. ‘Have as many mistresses as you want. What you do in private with that Third Step girl–’
‘Fifth Step–’
‘Through her mother’s remarriage! What you do in private doesn’t concern me. But you’re a Queen. You must marry and conceive an heir.’
‘If they know I was with her last night, the Court won’t speculate about my involvement in Vigrante’s murder.’
Mother waved a hand dismissively. ‘If the Court believes you had him killed, they’ll fear you, and you can use that against them. And by that logic, if you had him killed, then why are others who oppose you still alive?’
‘Killing everyone who disagrees with me isn’t subtle.’
Perhaps it was how I spoke, matter-of-fact instead of exasperated, but fear flickered over Mother’s face before she controlled it.
She’d never looked at me that way before, either.
When I returned from visiting Mother, Matthias and Isra were glaring at each other over his desk.
‘Princess Isra,’ I said, instead of screaming at another problem showing up, ‘how unexpected. Matthias, stop trying to set her on fire with your eyes.’
Queen of Coin and Whispers Page 19