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tension showed in the faces of the Tsingani and the driver gathered his reins, but they stood their ground.
    “You saw the child the Didikani described?” I asked Kristof.
    “There was such a boy, a gadjo pearl, with black hair and eyes like the deep sea. Yes.”
    A shudder ran through me. “Kristof, who were the men? Where were they bound?”
    Once again, his gaze slid away onto the distance. “We did not know, when we met them. It was spring. We only heard the words of the Didikani two days past. These men, they wished to buy our wagon.” His mouth curled in contempt. “We did not sell it.”
    “Kristof,” I said desperately. “Please. Who were they?”
    He didn’t answer me, jerking his chin at Millard Verreuil. “You, D’Angeline lord! Are you like the others, who say the Tsingani lie and cheat, and steal gadje children?”
    “I have heard these things said,” Millard replied steadily, returning the Tsingano’s regard. “I have heard them said by members of my own household. I have not said them myself. If I have wronged your people with my silence, I am sorry for it. But it is the Lady Phèdre who asks, and I have heard with my own ears that she is quick to defend the Tsingani name.”
    “You.” Kristof looked at me. “You travelled the Lungo Drom with Anasztaizia’s son.”
    “Yes.” I understood, then, the unspoken price of this information and spoke the words he wanted to hear. “ Tseroman , I travel it still. Until Hyacinthe, Anasztaizia’s son, grandson of the Tsingan kralis, is free, I walk the Long Road for him. He has seen it. And this one,” I touched Joscelin’s arm, “travels with me.”
    “If the dromonde has spoken, it is so.” He drew a long breath. “The men were Carthaginian slave-traders. They were bound for Amílcar, in Aragonia.”
    “Carthaginian!” Luc exploded. “What would Carthaginians be doing wandering Siovale? If you’re lying, Tsingano, I’ll have your head for it!”
    Kristof smiled with his mouth; his eyes were flat and black. “What do you know of trade, tall gadjo ? There are people who will pay good money for a D’Angeline slave-child. If the Aragonese forbid it, Carthaginians are cunning enough for greed. Where better to hunt them? If one child disappears in the mountains, you gadje will say it is a wolf or a bear, or,” he added, “filthy thieving Tsingani.”
    With that, he turned to go, his companion following, the driver twitching the reins and clucking to his team. I took a step after him.
    “You knew. You could have reported it then, Kristof.”
    The Tsingano headman stopped, looking over his shoulder. “I knew,” he said softly. “Who should I have reported it to? One such as him?” He nodded at Luc. “He will go to Amílcar, and if he does not find Carthaginian slave-traders, he will come looking for me with his sword in his hand.”
    “No.” I shook my head. “The Queen’s justice protects Tsingani as well as D’Angelines. I would stand surety for it with my life.”
    “It may. But Elua’s City is far away, chavi , and even a Queen may believe a lie. It was not worth my life to test it. Perhaps one day it will be different, when we have a Tsingan kralis again.” Kristof raised one hand. “Phèdre nó Delaunay. I will speak your name and remember it.”
    “And yours, Oszkar’s son. May the Lungo Drom prosper you.” I stood and watched them go, heedless of the muttering behind me. The sun had cleared the mountains and blazed full on the courtyard, splendid and golden. I watched the dusty little kumpania until they were out of sight around the first bend, then turned around to face the gathered inhabitants of Verreuil’s estates. “Well.” I considered them. At my side, Joscelin gave an inaudible sigh. “Who wants to go to Amílcar?”
    It took only a couple of hours to make ready our departure, and most of that spent in arguing among the members of House Verreuil. For my part, I had my things packed in short order and used the balance of time to write a missive to Ysandre, couching recent developments in subtle language. In the end, it was Luc who accompanied us, along with two men-at-arms and a groom. It had been Mahieu’s turn for adventure, by his father’s reckoning, but he ceded his place to his elder brother. I daresay Jehane would have come-I saw the yearning in her eyes-but she was scheduled to depart for home in a few days’ time. I half-wished she would throw caution to the winds and accompany us,