Page 33 of Enchanted Net
That wasn’t an angle Vitus had thought about directly. “Huh. You mean the language about why you should pick this device over that one?”
“Like that. What vocabulary they choose, it, what’s the word?” Thessaly looked up, visibly thinking hard. “If you listen to the hawkers, they describe common fantasies, common desires. A lot of illusion work is based on that, how to satisfy the eye one way or another. I suspect it’s the same for talismans, yes?”
“Yes.” Vitus could hear the calls of the men and women in the vast barn full of booths. Certain words enticed, particularly, and those booths would be ringed by people listening and buying. Selling a talisman didn’t work the same way, but learning to describe what was on offer more that way might well be worth doing. “That’s going to give me a lot to think about. If you know when you’ll be wandering through the halls, perhaps we might meet up, if it’s convenient?”
“I’ll have to check the diary and the schedule for the Faire, of course.” Thessaly said. “But I’d like that. Mama finds it tedious and lower class, but she admits it’s not actually a problem that I enjoy the booths. Naturally, if we see anyone of our sort there, the standard line is being aware of what new items might be helpful for the housekeeper and staff, though I don’t really have an excuse there, it’s not like I’d be running my own household once I’m married. Never mind, I can claim I’m scouting things for Aunt Metaia’s staff. Company would be delightful.” Then she lifted her hand again. “Perhaps we might go in and dance again? I should probably be visible.”
“Dressed as you are, more people should have the opportunity to admire you, yes.” Vitus offered it with as much gallantry as he could manage, then held out his arm to escort her. As they were coming in, the music picked up a waltz, which was well within his dancing skills and not too energetically demanding. They swung into the patterns of the music, passing other couples. Thessaly was beaming. Once they’d made a turn around the dance floor, there was an honest joy at the physical pleasure of it she wasn’t hiding at all. Vitus felt triumphant that he could be so close to it, that he hadn’t marred it for her, with some awkward comment or misstep, with either foot or tongue.
It was a long waltz, longer than he’d expected, and when they finished, he offered his arm again to escort her from the dancing space. She glanced around, then frowned. “Do you see any of the Fortiers?”
Vitus looked, first faster, before he made himself settle to the steady view that didn’t skim over knots of people in the crowd. The hall had thinned out a bit, some people gone to side rooms for quieter conversations, some gone home. But no, he didn’t see any of them. “Your aunt, yes. Your mother and father, there.” They were tucked in a corner behind several other people. “My mama will have noticed. Shall I go ask her?” He hesitated. “Bring you some punch back, as an excuse?”
“I’d appreciate both, thank you.” She took several steps further out of the way, and she was fidgeting slightly. It was noticeable because normally she didn’t do that sort of thing. He’d noticed all her gestures were normally deliberate. It went with the illusion work or maybe with the duelling training. As Virtus went, he made a note of who was still there. Magistra Landry and Alexander, but not Philip. None of the Fortiers he could see, though he saw Jacinthe and Amalric Howard talking with several people from Amalric’s year at Schola. He could see Hannah Morris, no gentleman hanging on her attention, and Ilanit Rosen. He couldn’t see the two men in the group. They had their backs to him.
“Mama.” He bent to whisper in her ear. “Have you seen where the Fortiers went? Thessaly Lytton-Powell wanted to know.” His mother was seated in one of the chairs at the side.
“Left, I am guessing for the portal, I don’t know. Ten minutes ago? Rather early for them, and none of them stopped to say their farewells. Lord Clovis, Lady Maylis, their sons, and Dagobert and Laudine Fortier too. I think Bradamante’s still around somewhere, and I’ve seen both the daughters I expected to recently.” The eldest of Bradamante’s daughters had moved to France with her husband a few years ago, and thus no one factored her into the social calculations the same way. His mother sniffed slightly. “Abrupt, but I don’t know if anyone commented about it.”
“Thank you, Mama. I’ll bring you some punch in a minute, shall I?” He kissed her cheek, then went to gather up a glass for Thessaly, bringing it back to her. “Mama says they left, all together, perhaps ten minutes ago. A bit abruptly, she thought, but no idea why.”
He was about to hand the glass to her, when she was in fact wringing her hands, little twists that moved the gloves against her fingers. “Oh. Oh dear. I, no, I promised Childeric a dance, of course. Do you think they were angry? Does your mother mean angry, when she says abrupt?” Then her hand came up to her mouth. “Pardon. I’m...”
“You don’t want Childeric to be angry at you.” It came out of Vitus’s mouth before he could stop himself from overstepping. He managed to stop before asking why she was afraid of that, why she thought he’d be angry at her in particular. “Here, may I escort you back to your mother? Or your aunt seems to be on her own at the moment.” He rather thought her aunt was far more soothing than her mother, from what he’d gathered so far.
“Aunt Metaia, please. You are kind.” She didn’t speak again as they circled around to where her aunt was.
Vitus made a slight bow, then said, “Thessaly was a trifle concerned that the Fortiers had left with little notice. May I fetch you punch as well, Council Member?”
Her aunt tsked, gently. “Thank you, no, but you are most considerate for offering. Please, don’t let us keep you, I will reassure my niece.” It was a kind dismissal, but a clear one, and it was obvious to Vitus that Thessaly was in sensible hands now. He made his bow, and turned back toward the punch table, so he could keep his promise to his mother.
Chapter25
JUNE 21ST AT THESSALY’S HOME
“Thessaly, wake up.” A moment later there was a hand - Mama’s hand - shaking her awake. They hadn’t returned from the Council Keep until well past one. It had taken more time for the evening gown to come off and her hair to be brushed out and braided for sleep. It had taken far longer for her to actually fall asleep, not until perhaps three.
Thessaly rolled onto her back, tangled in the sheet and light blanket. “Mama?” Then her mother’s face came into focus, not just the face but the rest of her. “What happened?”
“Your Aunt Metaia is missing, and they want someone to come do the tests to find her, a blood relative. Will you get dressed quickly, and come? You know more about where her things might be, if the Guard have questions.” Her mother looked incredibly pale, as if she knew already that the answer to whatever had happened was not likely to be good.
“And I’m also on the warding. She was meeting someone. Wasn’t it Thirza Remmerton? Or was it Alice Bovey-Potts? No. Thirza.” Thessaly pushed up on her elbow. “I’ll get dressed as quickly as I can. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen.”
Her mother nodded once, sharply, and went off. Presumably she was going to put on something other than the wrapper she’d pulled on over her nightgown. The wrapper sufficed to speak to one of the Guard who had called, but not for outside the house. One of the maids appeared as she was leaving, bustling about to find a suitable frock. “The blue, please, I think. It’s clean, and…” And it would do for whatever this was, if they ended up waiting at the Temple of Healing or something. Thessaly refused to let herself think about other things.
“Yes’m.” Twelve minutes later, she was in the frock. Her hair was coiled in a simple braid and bun and firmly fixed with both hairpins and charms. Thessaly took a moment to gather up a book and a reticule in case they were stuck waiting somewhere. Her reticule sensibly held the sort of minor portable apothecary set that might be useful to have on hand.
She met her mother in the foyer. They shared a portal with four or five other magical households nearby, and fortunately, it was much closer to them than the others. Mama nodded once, approving, and then they went out, set the portal for Aunt Metaia’s, and walked through.
The portal on the other end was near the ancient castle, now mostly ruins and a bit of tower, near the grove and the duelling meadow. The space around the portal was rather crowded, and there was a certain amount of purposeful chaos involved. Thessaly wondered at first why they weren’t at the house proper. The portal stood perhaps three hundred feet away, and down the hill. But of course the warding would have kept them out.
“Magistra Lytton-Powell, Mistress Lytton-Powell. We appreciate your time. I am Captain Euphemius Farrow. We would like to begin with access to the property, through the warding, if you can provide that, and then a few drops of blood for a location charm. I also have some questions to help the process overall.” He said the last few words a little awkwardly, as if he’d usually put some other phrase there, like ‘assist our investigation’.
“Of course, Captain.” Mama said. “In what order would be best?”
“If we might have the blood for the charm first, that takes a few minutes to prepare, and the ambient magics in the house might interfere. But then we would like to see the house, if you are willing.”
“And you are - worried my sister is missing?” Mama asked, her voice catching, most unlike her.
