Conspirator

“The dowager is asleep, one believes, nandi,” Jegari said, “but your father the aiji has sent two guards to stay with us. One believes they have been assigned.”

His fatherhad sent guards.

He pulled himself up to a sitting position. “When are they coming?”

“They are here, nandi. Nand’ Bren sent them in.”

He could deal with Uncle Tatiseigi’s men. He had been threatened with his Ajuri-clan grandfather’s gift of guards, which mani had said were fartoo little skilled. He had mani’s guards sometimes, Nawari and Casari and others, and they were all right: he greatly favored Nawari, who let him do things.

But somebody from his father?

He got up. “Assist, ’Gari-ji.” He could call servants to help him muster a decent appearance, but all that would have to go past whoever was waiting out there, and would indicate that he had been found withouta decent appearance. He helped Jegari find an unrumpled shirt, and he put that on, and his morning trousers were acceptable. He got into those, and put his boots on, while Jegari took out the rust-brown coat he had been wearing for breakfast, which he had not spilled anything on. It was good. He used that, and sat down and let Jegari braid his queue and tie on a fresh ribbon, the Ragi red and black.

The mirror showed him a fair figure of authority. He trusted in it and walked out to confront the latest offering from adults in charge of his life.

They were young. Not too much older than Jegari and Antaro, and one was a girl, kind of nice-looking in Guild black. But he didn’t want appearances to get past his guard. They bowed. He bowed.

“Nandi,” the girl said, “my name is Vejico. My brother is Lucasi. You are entitled to know: we are fifth-level Guild.”

Impressive. He knew that much; and was not supposed to talk about it.

“Your father the aiji has sent us, expressing the hope that you may find our service acceptable.”

No one had ever asked his opinion. That was a definite improvement.

And clearly now, in their silence, his opinion was called for. “Vejico and Lucasi, this is Jegari, and this is Antaro, out of Taiben.”

Bows all around, Jegari’s and Antaro’s that degree deeper that acknowledged authority.

“You may know,” Cajeiri said, in his father’s tones, and his great-grandmother’s, “this house is the house of Lord Bren, the paidhi-aiji, who is our closest associate, and we came under attack last night by Southerners who have taken over the neighboring estate, which belongs to Lord Geigi, who is Lord Bren’s and my great-grandmother’s close associate. Lord Geigi’s nephew Baiji is at fault for his associations, and Lord Bren and my great-grandmother have him locked in the basement, and weare supposed to visit Najida village tonight to ask the Edi where the Edi are who used to serve Lord Geigi. Baiji—my great-grandmother says he is not to be given any title—says the Edi just went away, but Baiji has lied even to my great-grandmother, so he is not to be believed.”

He left off there, not to be seen to run on with his sentences, which Great-grandmother said was a sign of poor self-control and afterthoughts. But it was a fair account. He thought he had given it well.

And he was gratified to see two deep and solemn bows.

“Nandi,” the girl said, evidently the older of the pair, “we would be honored to provide security tonight, respecting the efforts of Jegari-nadi and Antaro-nadi.”

Oh, that was nicely phrased, and polite to Jegari and Antaro, who did not have the credentials even to let them wear the Guild uniform.

“We shall see,” he said. Ultimately, he knew he was going to have to have more than Jegari and Antaro. But hehad pla

“Your father says, nandi,” Lucaso said with a little bow, “that a sense of humor is requisite for this post. And we are not to report small irregularities, only to be sure nothing is broken, no one is hurt, and that you are not locked in somebody’s basement.”

He stared at Lucaso in consternation, astonished that he had just heard anything so outrageous.

“Should you, for instance, nandi,” Vejico said, “take out on such an adventure, we shall have to report you have left the capital, but we would stay with you. We will not, however, use Guild tactics, except defensively, in abetting your escape. Your father says you should rely on your own ingenuity and do nothing in excess of what you can do successfully on your own.”

He became aware his mouth was open—and shut it. He had suspected his father of many things, but a sense of humor was not one of them.

He supposed he blushed. And then he scowled—became aware he was scowling, and decided it was what mani would do, but then he recalled something else mani had told him: when someone surprises you, rethink what you know about that person until it is not a surprise.

Mani had said his father had been difficult.

“Well,” he said as if he had always had it figured out, “one should not be surprised. We may get along. And that will make mani mad, and Great-uncle mad, and Grandfather. Everything I do makes somebody mad. So you should get used to it.”

They looked a little surprised, themselves. Antaro and Jegari were standing over against the door and met his glance with a little handsign from Jegari. All right, that meant. Jegariwas fine. Probably Antaro was.

So.

There had been no explosions from the young gentleman’s quarters. The dowager was asleep, beneficially so, Bren hoped, and no one wished to disturb her.

The arrival was, however, worrisome—not least because he wanted the meeting tonight to go well, and wanted no cause of suspicion in the interference of Ragi-directed Guild inside Najida—never mind Banichi and Jago had come from Tabini’s household: that was years past, and this was current, while Ragi Guild sat in what had been the key holding on the peninsula, namely Kajiminda. Double-crossed a dozen times in recent history, the Edi had been very specific in their invitations, were probably very upset at the fate of Lord Geigi’s estate, and he wanted to calm that situation down, and get the Edi back, not drive them further away.

Banichi and Jago had slept through the mild commotion, or at least declined to stir forth, relying on Algini and Tano to keep him out of trouble. And when they did wake, in late afternoon, their only comment on the business of the two arrivals was, from Banichi, a “Good choice.”

Well, he thought. That was encouraging. That there was still total silence from the young gentleman’s premises—that was encouraging.

“One hesitates to observe,” Tano said mildly, “that the young gentleman may now have Guild assistance in his mischief.”

Bren looked his way. Algini remained fixed on his boards, taking some sort of note, and speaking to someone, and Tano did not elaborate. Banichi and Jago had opted for an off-schedule lunch, and had gone out to see to that. So he had no word from them, either. But he gathered that the two newcomers had a certain reputation, and Algini did not bestir himself to deny it, only to say that they were very good.

Interesting, Bren thought.

Word from the dock was, currently, that repairs had a bit to go. The Brighter Daysmight be fit for sea tomorrow, not tonight. They had her hauled over so they could come at an underwater patch, and that was still in progress—besides which the disorder that made inside the boat despite closed lockers and tight storage he could only imagine.

It also meant there was no safe quarters for Toby and Barb aboard the boat.

“Get Toby,” he said, and it took a while, but Toby himself came on with:

“Hello, brother. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I hope, but I understand you’re boatless for the night and we’re bedding people in the hallways up here. Can I ask you and Barb to bed aboard my boat for the night and report up to the house for breakfast in the morning?”