24
Neptunalia; Kalends of Saturnalis
There were many things wrong with the sight of Livilla on Velody’s doorstep, but the fact that she apparently didn’t spend the daylight hours hanging upside down by her ankles somewhere (or, to be fair, curled up in a basket) came as something of a surprise.
Livilla wore a glittering cocktail dress that most definitely did not suit the occasion. She posed, as ever, like she expected a chorus line of men to carry her from place to place, lighting her cigarette and kissing her feet. She also looked worried. That was new.
‘I suppose you’d better come in,’ said Velody, standing aside.
She was alone in the house. Delphine was out doing something stupid to prove how over Macready she was, and Rhian was just gone. She came and went as she pleased, and while Velody would never get used to that, she had grudgingly accepted it. The world was different now. Everything was different. Rhian and Delphine had, after all, accepted what she’d had to do when she was Power and Majesty. This was no different, except that it was Rhian and it was all Velody could do not to wrap her in a quilt and drag her home from wherever she was.
Livilla graciously stepped into the kitchen, and looked around once as if wondering how people could actually live in such a hovel. ‘I need your help,’ she said.
‘Shouldn’t you ask your Power and Majesty for that?’ Velody couldn’t help saying. ‘That’s what he’s there for.’
Livilla turned on her, unsmiling. ‘My Power and Majesty has abducted a thirteen-year-old courtesa and is holding her prisoner in the cage. You know the cage I mean.’
Velody kept her face as composed as she could. ‘What is it you expect me to do? Go to war against Garnet for the sake of one courtesa?’
‘I expect you to live up to your promise,’ Livilla snapped. ‘Heliora believed in you. Ashiol believed in you. You were supposed to change everything for us, and what have you done so far?’
‘You walked away from me,’ Velody accused. ‘You turned your backs and ran to Garnet the first chance you got, every single one of you. You left me bleeding on the ground. Why should I be loyal to you after that?’
‘Because,’ said Livilla with a shrug, ‘you’re nicer than me.’
Hard to argue with that.
‘I can’t fight Garnet alone, you know that,’ Velody warned.
‘Well, then,’ said Livilla. ‘We’d better get Ashiol back, hadn’t we?’
Velody had visited the Palazzo several times before, as the Duchessa’s dressmaker. This was altogether different. She was passed from secretary to secretary, none of whom was prepared to answer her question about the whereabouts of the Ducomte d’Aufleur.
It was hard to tell whether the presence of Livilla helped or hindered. Her casual, moneyed air did indeed make Velody feel more confident about being here, but on the other hand there was the possibility that she might start screaming randomly or breaking things and that was enough to make anyone nervous.
‘I don’t see why Ashiol should be the one to live in a Palazzo,’ Livilla drawled during one of the many gaps between secretaries. ‘He doesn’t appreciate it. Not in the least.’ She moved to the window and let the thin muslin of the curtain swish over her hand. ‘All these fine things. This would make a dreamy dress.’
Velody laughed suddenly. ‘I thought I was the only one who wanted to strip this place of its furnishings and make them into frocks.’
They shared a startled look of mutual appreciation.
A young, rather stuffy factotum in a bright cravat stepped into the room and regarded Livilla with distaste. ‘Demoiselles, I regret to inform you that the Ducomte is unavailable.’
Livilla let the curtain fall from her fingers. ‘Do I remember you? That spotty little face seems familiar.’
The factotum screwed up said face, which was indeed rather mottled. ‘It would be for the best if you left, demoiselle. Immediately.’
‘No,’ Velody said quietly. The man had barely acknowledged her presence. ‘I’m afraid we can’t leave until we’ve spoken to the Ducomte.’
‘The Ducomte is away,’ said the factotum between his teeth. ‘He accompanied my mistress to Bazeppe on a diplomatic mission.’
‘Your mistress returned for the games,’ said Velody, still calm and reasonable. ‘Word in the marketplace is that the Ducomte returned with her.’
‘I cannot be expected to respond to what is said in the marketplace,’ he sneered. ‘The Ducomte is not available to you.’
Velody despaired, just for a moment. This ridiculous petty bureaucracy was so unnecessary. She needed Ashiol, and if this ridiculous man wouldn’t give him to her, she was going to have to try another way.
She reached out blindly for the nearest object and her hand closed around the cool surface of a vase. Animor swelled up under her skin. Velody had barely used it for so long, but there it was, an old and reliable friend.
‘You stand there, so smug and self-satisfied,’ she said. ‘As if keeping me from the Ducomte is some kind of achievement. The city could fall and burn if you don’t help me. It’s my job to save it.’
The glass of the vase crumbled into powder. The floor rippled under their feet. Plaster peeled from the ceiling. The glass-drop beads of the chandelier above their heads began to pop, one after another.
Livilla giggled.
‘How … are you doing that?’ said the factotum with a gulp.
Velody smiled. ‘I very much wish to see the Ducomte. If you won’t bring him to me, I’ll have to call him. I think he’ll recognise the tone of my voice.’
The window broke, one pane at a time. Livilla threw up her own animor and the glass hovered around her like a cloud of interesting flies.
‘You could warn a demme before you do that,’ she grumbled.
‘No time,’ said Velody, eyes on the factotum. ‘I’m sorry, did you say you were bringing Ashiol right away?’
He turned and fled.
‘At least being thrown out of a Palazzo by a horde of lictors will be a new and exciting experience,’ Livilla mused, clearing away her halo of broken glass with a flick of her wrist.
‘At the very least,’ said Velody. She sat down to wait.
Ten minutes later, the Duchessa d’Aufleur entered the room. She was alone. No secretaries or lictors to protect her. No Ashiol, either.
‘Is this how you behave in your world, dressmaker?’ she demanded of Velody. ‘If you cannot have what you want, you break things like a child throwing a tantrum?’
‘That’s a pretty accurate summary,’ said Livilla.
Velody stood up. ‘I’m sorry your factotum was distressed, high and brightness. I’m sorry your room was damaged. But my cause is rather more important than correct paperwork and I trust you understand that.’
Isangell stared at them, every inch the Duchessa. She seemed more confident for her trip away. ‘I understand that you believe your cause is just. But those of us who have to live in the daylight world do not take kindly to visitors who track mud and broken glass through our homes like ill-bred peasants.’
‘I need Ashiol,’ Velody said simply.
‘You cannot have him,’ said the Duchessa, just as simply. ‘He did not return to Aufleur with me.’
This was a blow, but Velody rallied. ‘When will he return? He is needed here.’
‘My cousin is not returning from Bazeppe.’
The words fell like screechbolts around Velody. ‘Never?’ she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
‘He believes that the place is healthier for him, and I agree. I am to marry the son of the Duc-Elected of Bazeppe, and Ashiol will remain there as my emissary. An ambassador, of sorts, between our two cities.’
The Duchessa’s voice was cool, as if she was dismissing one of Ashiol’s many mistresses on his behalf. Livilla began to laugh, softly, in the background.
Velody felt hot and cold all over. ‘He is needed here,’ she said.
It was true. So true. She couldn’t take Aufleur back from Garnet without him, and what was her other option? To join with Garnet and take part in his ridiculous sacred marriage? No, that was beyond imagining.
‘Ashiol will not survive Aufleur,’ the Duchessa said firmly. ‘I know that now. There is something about this city that tears him into pieces. He is glad to be useful elsewhere.’
‘Useful?’ Velody said furiously. Useful. As if anything was more important than Ashiol being here, fighting the sky, dragging Garnet from power, saving the souls of the Creature Court. Useful.
‘Thank you for telling me,’ she said finally, forcing her anger down, resisting the urge to flay the Duchessa’s skin from her body. ‘I won’t bother you again.’
The Duchessa nodded. ‘I enjoyed your dresses very much. I will recommend you to my friends among the Great Families.’
‘So kind,’ said Velody, and left the room in a rush, dragging Livilla behind her.
Ashiol wasn’t coming back. It was just Velody, four wounded sentinels and the craziest of all the Lords. Oh, and a mad Power and Majesty who wanted to marry her.
‘What do we do now?’ Livilla asked as they walked away from the Palazzo. She smiled toothsomely at a passing maidservant. ‘If you want to burn the place to the ground, I know some people.’
‘Not today,’ said Velody, her mind working fast. ‘We’re going to have to do this without him.’