The honour guard marched down a wide entrance ramp, with torches blazing in bowls on either side. Below the rise a larger contingent of warriors met them, affording their mistress the added security she would need in the darkening streets. Arakasi said nothing until they had rounded several corners and passed the gates from the imperial precinct.
As they marched into the boulevard beyond, Arakasi murmured, ‘Lady Mara’s clansmen have made plain that she can expect a reasonable degree of support. . . assuming her alliances do not place other houses at risk. If she encounters trouble from her enemies, she’ll need to invoke clan honour to gain assistance, and the outcome of such a call for aid could not in any way be assured.’
The Midkemian’s puzzlement stayed obvious.
‘Clan honour,’ Arakasi repeated, in his manner of piercing perception. ‘You barbarians.’ The statement held no condemnation; the Spy Master thoughtfully qualified. ‘To draw her clansmen into war, Lady Mara must convince every Lord, from highest to least, that an affront to her house was an insult not only to the Acoma, but to the Hadama Clan as well.’
Kevin inhaled the incense-laden air; they were passing the temple quarter and suffered a momentary interruption as their retinue was forced aside to allow a tribute caravan to pass. The huge, leather-strapped carry cases borne on heavy poles by slaves contained metals, originally brought as plunder from the barbarian world and since dispensed by the Emperor’s High Secretary, who portioned out allotments for the temples. Kevin waited until the guarding ranks of white-armoured imperial warriors passed on before he said, ‘So?’
Arakasi tapped his sword. ‘Calls to Clan are difficult when the families who belong are as politically divided as ours are. For any attacking house is careful to make clear that it is moving against an enemy, not its clansmen. Gifts are often sent as reassurances.’ After a pause, Arakasi added, ‘Lord Desio has been lavish.’
Kevin grinned in appreciation. ‘What you’re telling me is they’re saying, “Don’t invite us unless you’re going to win, because the Minwanabi might stop sending us bribes. But if you’re sure you can destroy them, then we’ll be happy to join in, so we can take our share of the plunder.”’
For the first time since Kevin could remember, the Spy Master smiled outright. Then he loosed a chuckle that swelled into quiet laughter. ‘I would never have thought to put it that way,’ Arakasi allowed. ‘But that’s precisely what they told her.’
‘Damn.’ Kevin shook his head in amazement. ‘And I saw nothing going on except a gala.’
From the litter, Mara interjected, ‘Now you understand why I keep him around. His perspective is . . . fresh.’
Arakasi resumed his soldier’s appearance, but a gleam lingered in his eyes. ‘I agree, mistress.’
‘I don’t know that I’ll ever understand you people,’ Kevin said. He dodged to avoid a jigabird that had escaped some scullion’s cleaver. They had entered the residential quarter now, and the lamps were more widely spaced. ‘I stood and watched that entire meeting, and the only discussion that got heated enough to seem important sounded like a debate on land reform.’
‘In council,’ Arakasi said patiently, ‘what is not said is far more important: who does not approach a Lord’s chair, and who hangs back, and who is seen with whom count for more than words. The fact that Lord Chekowara did not leave his dais to personally congratulate Mara on her border treaty was revealingly significant. The clan will not follow her lead. And all of that shuffling of bodies around Lord Mamogota’s chair was proof that two factions within the clan support him, against our Lady. No one would seriously consider that nonsense about giving land to peasant farmers. The Party for Progress is without influence outside the Hunzan Clan, and Lord Tuclamekla of that clan is a close friend of Mamogota’s. This was a dead issue before the meeting began.’
‘So you presume that the intercepted message was arranged by Lord Mamo-whoever?’ Kevin surmised.
‘We hope so,’ Arakasi answered. ‘Mamogota’s at least not affiliated with the Alliance War. He might take Desio’s “gifts”, but he isn’t a Minwanabi supporter.’
Kevin shook his head in amazement. ‘You people have minds that twist like knitting. Never mind,’ he interjected as Arakasi asked after the concept of knitting. ‘Just take it that I’ll be an old codger long before I understand this culture.’
The silence between slave and Spy Master lasted until the return to the town house. Kevin entered the lovely inner garden and helped his Lady from her litter. He continued to doubt if he would ever truly know the people whose lives and fates he shared. As Mara retained his hand and smiled up at him, he looked into her dark eyes and found himself utterly lost. Tsurani life might be a puzzle to him, but this woman was a mystery and a wonder.
15 – Chaos