Kushiel's Chosen

smiling back at Severio, mayhap a D'Angeline malcontent dropping Alban trade in Marco Stregazza's lap will do the same, Well, my young lord, you are not so canny as your parents, but you play well into their scheme. And this is all very interesting, but it does not answer me one thing.
    Where in the seven hells is Melisande Shahrizai?

THIRTY-FOUR
    I thought myself skilled in court intrigue, but after a day-one day!-in La Serenissima, my mind fair reeled. I have always thought that the notion of a Republic is a noble one, dating back to the glory days of Hellas, which all D'Angelines regard fondly as the last Golden Era before the coming of Elua. Now, seeing it in action, I was not so sure. At any rate, I took to my bed at an unwontedly early hour. It has been my experience, faced with a bewildering perplexity of information, that sleep is an excellent remedy for confusion. My recent excursion to Gentian House only confirmed it.
    Whether it is true or not, I awoke feeling refreshed, and better able to face the tangles of La Serenissima. Over the breakfast table, we plotted our strategy.
    "Fortun," I said gravely. "Of you, I ask the hardest chore. I have dropped word into the ears of Marco and Marie-Celeste Stregazza, and I am minded to see if it spins out any thread that might lead to Melisande. It may be too late, indeed, but I would be pleased if you would keep an eye on the Doge's Palace, and follow any Stregazzan retainers where they might go."
    "Of a surety, my lady," Fortun said quietly. I had chosen him because I knew I could rely on him, for obedience and discretion alike.
    "Philippe." I eyed TiPhilippe thoughtfully. His nose looked rather like a burst strawberry, which didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. "The Immortali seem passing fond of you. Learn what you may of these clubs, and the candidates they endorse. If any espouse enmity to Prince Benedicte and the Little Court, it would be worth knowing. He is the only force in the city who would seek to oust Melisande on principle; for the rest, it is a matter of benefit.
    Anyone seeking to bring down the Little Court might well be her ally."
    "And what benefit might a hunted D'Angeline traitor offer?" Joscelin asked quietly.
    I knew he was merely trying to offer the voice of reason; nonetheless, I looked hard at him. "Joscelin, I saw Skaldi in the Great Square the day we arrived. Marco Stregazza is ready to sell his son into wedlock if it will secure him trade with Alba; what price would you set on Skaldia? If Melisande had an agreement with Waldemar Selig, like as not she had other contacts in Skaldia as well. I would not be surprised to learn she could deliver a trade agreement with one or more of the southern tribes."
    "Mayhap," he said gently. "And mayhap you are haunted by ghosts of the past."
    I could bear anything but compassion from him. It was hard enough, believing I was not wraith-ridden, without Joscelin's quiet censure. I turned to Remy. "You," I said, "I will send to the Little Court, to gain admittance if you may, with a request for audience with Prince Benedicte. He may not entertain it, if gossip has reached him-it had obviously reached the Stregazza-but learn what you may of the Little Court nonetheless."
    "Aye, aye, my lady!" Remy grinned, and gave me a crisp salute.
    Would that I could have accepted it at face value, but I saw the glances they exchanged when they thought I was looking elsewhere; I knew full well that my chevaliers were of the same opinion as Joscelin. They were merely less open in voicing it, and more willing to go through the motions of a hunt for the sport of the thing.
    "One more thing," I said, more sharply than I'd intended, playing my trump card. "This is a matter I did not wish to press with the Stregazza, lest I give our hand away. Find out for me who is the astrologer to the family of the Doge. Whoever he is, he is the conduit. Gonzago de Escabares' friend called upon this man; on the following day, he was visited by Melisande. All of you, inquire as you may. When we find the astrologer, we find the trail."
    It did as I intended, giving them a tangible quarry. I wrote out the letter for Remy to carry-shocking Leonora yet again with my perverse literary quirk-and dispersed my chevaliers to their various errands.
    "So." Joscelin looked at me. "You have the lay of the land, and a Serenissiman lordling begging for your hand. What shadows will you set me to chasing before you wed him, Phèdre nó