‘Then what is your surmise?’
Silent a long moment, Arakasi replied, ‘Tasaio is in command, I would wager. He has a mind as devious and keen as any I’ve encountered. He served Lord Jingu well in the obliteration of the Tuscai.’ All, save Kevin, knew the fallen house was the one Arakasi served before coming to Mara’s service. ‘Tasaio is a very sharp sword in his master’s hands. But working under his own direction . . . it is hard to judge what he would do. I think Tasaio probes. His warriors could have been ordered to die so that he might test something about House Acoma. I judge it a gambit.’
‘For what?’
‘If we knew, mistress, we would be planning counter-measures, instead of pondering possibilities.’
Mara paused through a tense moment. ‘Arakasi, is it possible we have a spy in our own ranks?’
Kevin watched in curiosity as the Acoma Spy Master subsided once more into stillness. Close scrutiny revealed that the man had a knack for arranging himself in a fashion that caused him to blend with his surroundings. ‘Lady, since the day I swore oath on your natami, I have instigated diligent checks. I know of no traitor in our midst.’
The Lady made a frustrated gesture. ‘But why attack a thyza caravan between the estate and Sulan-Qu, unless somebody guesses what plans we have afoot? Arakasi, our next grain shipment is to conceal our new silk samples. If that was information the Minwanabi sought to discover, our troubles might be grave indeed. Our cho-ja silk must take the merchants at the auctions by surprise. Revenue and standing will be lost if our secret is discovered beforehand.’
Arakasi inclined his head, conveying both agreement and assurance. ‘The raid by Desio’s soldiers might have been coincidence, but I concur with you. We dare not presume so. Most likely he probes to discover why we arm our caravans so heavily.’
‘Why not give them a red herring?’ offered Kevin.
‘Herring?’ snapped Keyoke with impatience. By this time, Mara’s Force Commander had grown resigned to the barbarian’s out-of-turn remarks; he could not be made to think like a slave, and the Lady at some point, and for reasons of her own, had decided not to enforce protocol. But Arakasi and the Midkemian had never encountered each other previously, and the impertinence came as a surprise.
The Spy Master’s eyes glinted in the shadows as he looked at the tall man who stood behind Mara’s shoulder. Never one to entangle his intellect with preconceptions, he discarded both the man’s rank and his insolence as irrelevant, and fastened what proved to be an almost frighteningly intense interest upon the concept behind Kevin’s suggestion. ‘You use a word for a species of fish, but imply something very different.’
‘A ruse of sorts.’ Kevin accompanied his explanation with his usual expansive gestures. ‘If something is to be hidden in a thyza shipment, confuse the enemy by burying wrapped and sealed packages in every wagon that carries goods. Then the enemy must either spread his resources thin and intercept all outgoing caravans, and thereby make plain his intentions, or else abandon the attempt.’
Arakasi blinked very fast, like a hawk. His thoughts moved faster still. ‘And the silk samples would be in none of these shipments,’ he concluded, ‘but concealed somewhere else, perhaps even in plain sight, where silks might ordinarily be in evidence.’
Kevin’s eyes lit up. ‘Precisely. Perhaps you could sew them as the lining of robes, or maybe even as a separate shipment of scarves.’
‘The concept is sound,’ Mara said, and Arakasi nodded tacit agreement. ‘We could even have servants wear under-robes of the fine silk beneath their usual travelling robes.’
That moment, someone outside knocked insistently at the screen. Arakasi faded into his corner as if by reflex, and Mara called an inquiry.
The screen whipped back to admit the dishevelled Acoma First Adviser in a red-faced state of agitation. Keyoke settled back on his cushions and loosened his tense hand from his sword hilt as Nacoya descended upon her mistress, scolding even as she made her obligatory bow.
‘My Lady, just look at your clothes!’ The former nurse turned her eyes heavenward in despair.
Surprised, Mara glanced at her lounging robe, draped open in the heat, and showing dust about the collar from her earlier visit to the cho-ja hive.
‘And your hair!’ Nacoya ranted on, now shaking a wizened finger in reproach. ‘A mess! All tangles, when it should be shiny-clean and scented. We’re going to need a dozen maids, at least.’ Then, as if noticing Keyoke’s and Arakasi’s presence at the same time, she clucked in renewed affront. ‘Out!’ she cried. ‘Your mistress must be made presentable very quickly.’