Naamah's Blessing

pleasures.”
    I lifted my goblet to her. “I cannot disagree on this count. But I fail to see what it has to do with giving Bao and me a house.”
    “Nothing, really.” Balthasar smiled. “But it was a good excuse to serve
chocolatl
, and set the stage for sharing our thoughts.” He dismissed the attendants before continuing. “You’re aware that Prince Thierry hopes to establish a direct line of trade between Terra Nova and Terre d’Ange?”
    I took another sip. “Yes, of course.”
    “And that his majesty was reluctant to allow him to lead the expedition after Jehanne’s death?” His tone was surprisingly gentle. I nodded. “Well, Thierry held his father to his word. While the King eventually agreed to issue a letter of decree authorizing the mission, he refused to fund it from the royal treasury.”
    “That, I didn’t know.”
    “It was kept quiet,” Gamaliel said. “Neither wanted the realm to know how acrimonious their dispute had become. Thierry was forced to seek funds for the expedition elsewhere—discreetly, of course.”
    “House Shahrizai is one of the major backers of the venture,” Balthasar informed me.
    “Along with a few lesser investors to spread the blame around should the venture fail,” his uncle added.
    I inhaled the aroma of the
chocolatl
and took another sip, letting it linger on my tongue. “I trust it was more than a love of
chocolatl
that motivated you.”
    “It might be enough,” Bao commented, his nose deep in his goblet.
    Balthasar laughed. “Oh, there’s more! More exotic foods and spices; jade, feathers, gold. If Thierry can succeed in breaking the Aragonian monopoly on trade with the Nahuatl Empire, there’s a world of profit to be made.”
    “But House Shahrizai is already wealthy,” I said, thinking out loud. “And I still cannot see what this has to do with giving us a house, which is a gesture quite contrary to acquiring profit.”
    He shrugged. “As I said, it’s a modest house. It was used for private entertainment.”
    “They’re courting the prince’s favor, Moirin,” Bao said, lifting his head from his goblet and glancing around the table. “
That’s
why you backed the venture in the first place, isn’t it? And you haven’t forgotten that the prince was more than passing fond of Moirin. You think he’s likely to side with his father’s choice of her, and that he will look kindly on you for having supported her.”
    Celestine Shahrizai gave him a look of approval. “Now, see? There’s a clever young man.”
    “What is it you want from Prince Thierry?” I asked.
    “It’s a small matter.” Balthasar made a dismissive gesture. “Merely politics. But for hundreds of years, despite the considerable influence House Shahrizai has wielded, the Duchy de Morbhan has been the sovereign duchy in Kusheth. We would see that changed.”
    “Why?” I asked him.
    It was Celestine who answered, steel in her voice. “Because Kushiel’s line throws truer in House Shahrizai than any other! The right of sovereignty in Kusheth province should be
ours
.”
    The air seemed to shiver at her words. I toyed with the iron key. “You do not even know for a surety that Thierry
will
side with his father’s choice. And I cannot promise to advance your cause if he does. I know far, far too little of the politics involved.”
    “Nor are we asking you to do so, Moirin.” Balthasar smiled at me. “This is a gamble, nothing more.”
    “You set no conditions on your gift?” Bao inquired.
    “None.” Balthasar shook his head.
    “There is, of course, the risk involved with accepting the support of the notorious House Shahrizai,” Josephine added in a silken voice. “But as my cousin notes, you come from notorious stock yourself. And…” She gestured idly around the empty dining room. “As you have seen tonight, we are not without our admirers.”
    I ignored the latter comment. “Your infamous kinswoman Melisande Shahrizai’s blood runs in the veins of House Courcel, does it not?”
    “It does indeed,” Balthasar agreed. “But while they are quick to claim her son Imriel de la Courcel as an ancestor, they are not so eager to acknowledge his maternal parentage.” His expression was serious. “History casts a shadow over the Shahrizai name as surely as it does the Maghuin Dhonn. But I know Thierry de la Courcel well, and loyalty counts for a great deal with him.”
    “Bao?” I asked.
    “Hmm?” His head came up; I’d lost him to