He probably didn’t think Alicia would realize that the guardposts are worthless, Emily thought, as she touched the wards as gingerly as she could. I wouldn’t have known without the sergeant hammering lessons into my head.
She glanced back at the boys, just to make sure they were there, then cast a handful of obscurification charms on herself. She wouldn’t be entirely invisible, but someone would have to be looking for her–or someone–specifically if they wanted to see through the glamour. The wards thrummed around her as she started to climb the walls, trying to convince her to leave. Her stomach churned before she got a grip on her growing unease, reminding herself–sharply–that it was nothing more than an aversion ward. She was surprised that whoever had designed them had been so nice. But then, the people who lived near the estate were actually important. Randor wouldn’t be pleased if a half-drunk nobleman was killed by Alicia’s wards.
Her magic grew stronger as she slowly picked her way through the wardlines. The inner wards, as she had expected, were sharper, snapping and snarling at anyone foolish enough to ignore the outer wards. Emily worked her way through them gingerly, bending them around her rather than trying to break them…hoping, desperately, that Alicia didn’t have someone monitoring the wards directly. They didn’t feel as if they were connected to a living mind, but that meant nothing. Someone with enough skill could easily hide their presence.
The last of the wards bent around her, allowing her to slip into the garden. It looked almost inhumanly perfect, from a grassy lawn to a pond and a handful of trees reaching towards the skyline. Emily felt a moment of envy for Alicia and everyone else who’d grown up in the mansion, even though she knew it came with a price. Alicia had been destined for a political marriage long before she’d unexpectedly become the heir to the barony. She glanced from side to side to make sure that none of the guards were in view, then hurried towards the mansion, careful to stay within the shadows. The darkness seemed to grow deeper, somehow. She kept a wary eye open for traps as she reached the rear wall. Someone would have made sure that footpads couldn’t get into the house itself.
Although the wards would keep out common thieves, she thought, as she inched along the walls. And anyone with the ability to get through would have more tempting targets elsewhere.
She found an open window and peered into the semi-darkness. A maid was kneeling over a large tub of water, her back to Emily as she scrubbed her mistress’s clothes. Emily felt a stab of sympathy for the young woman–she looked too young to go to Whitehall, even if she had the talent–and then froze her with a spell. It was more complex than the standard freeze spell, but it was necessary. The poor girl wouldn’t be aware of anything, even time passing, until the spell broke. She might not even realize that something had happened.
Poor girl, Emily thought, as she scrambled through the window. I’m sorry.
She felt a twinge of guilt. She’d seen enough to know that household servants lived in a very strict hierarchy–and scullery maids were only one or two steps above the bottom. The girl probably slaved all night, while her mistress danced with the king and her superiors took the credit. And if someone realized that Emily had sneaked through the window, the girl would probably be blamed. She couldn’t have stopped Emily–she couldn’t even have screamed–but no one would care. She’d be lucky if she was only cast out into the cold night to die.
Emily took a long breath, modifying the obscurification charms before sneaking out of the scullery and up the servants’ staircase. Anyone who saw her would think she had a perfect right to be there, as long as they didn’t focus on her specifically. A household rarely slept completely, even in the middle of the night. Emily wouldn’t be surprised to discover that a few dozen servants were still awake, frantically preparing for the next day. They’d sleep during the day and work at night.
She couldn’t help looking around with interest as she headed further upstairs. She’d never been in the mansion before–and, even if she had, she wouldn’t have been shown the passageways that the servants used to keep out of sight. Their lords and masters wanted their servants to work, but not to show themselves. Emily’s lips twitched at the thought. How did they expect people to work without being seen? But then, the mansion was immense. The servants had plenty of rooms to clean without their masters going anywhere near them.
And there will be some rooms that are completely off-limits, Emily thought. She had a set of offices, at Cockatrice, that had been hers and hers alone. The servants had been told not to enter on pain of dismissal. Alicia and her husband will each have a private study.
She reached the top of the stairs and frowned. If the mansion followed the same general idea as the others, the master bedroom would be right at the top of the building. Emily had no idea if Alicia and her husband actually shared a bed–it was very much a loveless marriage–but if they didn’t, Lord Burrows would be quite close to her. Jade had his own suite, coming to think of it, even though he shared Alassa’s bed. Her lips twitched in cold amusement. The man cave was alive and well in Zangaria.
A sound echoed behind her. She froze, just for a second, as she heard footsteps coming up the staircase. They didn’t sound urgent, but that meant nothing. Someone could have heard her, despite the charms, and come to see what she was doing. She pressed her back into the wall and waited, slowing her breathing as much as possible as the source of the footsteps came into view. A middle-aged woman, moving like someone far older. People aged quickly on the Nameless World, unless they were magic…Emily tried hard not to feel pity for the older woman. A housekeeper–she looked like a housekeeper–would rule her subordinates with a rod of iron.
The housekeeper showed no sign of seeing through the charms. She walked past Emily and headed down the corridor, passing through a concealed door into the real corridor. Emily counted to ten, then slipped down to the hidden door. There was a tiny peephole hidden within the wood, allowing her to peer into the corridor. Emily concealed a smile as she checked it was empty, then opened and stepped through the door. The aristocrats were clearly unconcerned about their servants spying on them.
Alassa didn’t care about being naked in front of a lower-status man, she reminded herself, wryly. And besides, it’s not like they can see into their bedrooms.
The corridor would have been beautiful, Emily thought, if it hadn’t been covered in tasteless artworks and endless rows of portraits. Alicia’s ancestors had been quite distinguished, she thought, but she didn’t think they were that distinguished. The portraits seemed designed to convey the impression that Alicia’s ancestors had done everything, with the kings and the other barons as little more than helpless spectators. Emily knew that Alicia could trace her family line back for generations, but still…
They were never part of the elite, she thought. The Empire’s upper levels had been practically wiped out by the wars that had destroyed it. The Barons were quite low on the totem pole before the pole was shattered by the wars…
“Hey,” a sodden voice said. “Who…who are you?”