"Vam!" Emriana shouted and jumped up to pull her brother inside.

Jaleene scowled and said, "Master Vambran, you shouldn't approach Milady's chambers unannounced. It's not proper."

Vambran gave the handmaiden a low bow. "Of course not," he said, "but I hope you will forgive me in this one instance. I had a feeling she would pop if I didn't come here immediately upon returning."

Jaleene rolled her eyes.

"You don't know the half of it," she muttered, but she dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand. "So long as you don't make a habit of it," she insisted, to which Vambran bowed again, more deeply.

"Oh, stop with the formalities and tell me what you found out!" Emriana demanded, guiding her brother to a single chair in the corner before moving to sit on the bed opposite him.

Vambran glanced sidelong at Jaleene, but Emriana shook her head.

"It's all right. She knows most of what you were doing already," the girl explained. "And besides, good luck getting her to leave. She's terrified I'm going to sneak out again."

"And shouldn't I be?" Jaleene retorted. Then the handmaiden grew serious. "Mistress Emriana, Master Vambran, I must tell you both that it makes me terribly nervous, what you're doing. If Master Dregaul finds out, there's going to be a firestorm in this house."

Vambran returned the woman's look with a grave one of his own.

"I understand," he said, "but do you know what it is we're trying to do? A woman was killed the night before last because some very powerful people wanted her out of the way. Just like that"-and he snapped his fingers-"because she was a commoner. I mean to see to it that they don't get away with it."

"I know, sir, and I admire that about you. You and Mistress Emriana, the whole Matrell family, have always been very good to me, and I respect my good fortune. I would just hate to see something awful happen to either one of you."

"There's always that risk," Vambran conceded. He set his jaw and continued, "But I am going to see this through to the end, and I think Em feels the same way."

Emriana nodded solemnly and said, "I have no intention of giving Denrick Pharaboldi any reason at all to think there's a future between us, but I want to know for sure just what he's guilty of before I tell him to his face."

"And you will. I promise," Vambran replied. "Tonight, I think."

"So, what did you find out?" Emriana asked, leaning forward. "Did you meet with Jithelle's mother?"

Vambran sighed.

"I did," he said. "It broke my heart, too. Did you know that Jithelle also had a sister?"

"No. Did you meet her, too?"

"I did. Her name is Mirolyn. I sat and talked with both of them for a good long time."

"And?" Emriana asked. "What did they say? Anything useful?"

"I don't know if I would call it useful, exactly, but I did learn one very important thing."

"Spit it out!" the girl insisted. Her brother's stalling was making her crazy.

"Jithelle was pregnant with Denrick's child," Vambran said.

Emriana sucked in her breath in shock when she heard her brother's words. It took her another moment to fully register them in her head, to make sure she understood what he was telling her. She finally let out a long, slow breath and clenched her hands together to keep them from shaking from her anger. She glanced over at Jaleene and saw that her handmaiden was crying, a single tear trickling down the woman's face from glassy eyes.

"We must make him pay," Emriana said finally. "It's more than just breaking off my relationship with him. He must understand how base he is, how utterly cowardly a person he really is."

"Assuming he was in on it," Vambran cautioned. "We don't know that for certain."

"Then we find out, once and for all, tonight," Emriana said. "At the party. It will be our best chance to confront him, when he's not hiding behind the guards on his estate."

"All right," Vambran said, nodding. "You will maneuver him into a private corner, and I will drop in on the pair of you and have a nice long, pointed conversation with the young man."

"I can do that," the girl said with conviction. "I can do that very easily."

Vambran walked with a purpose as he entered the barracks of the Sapphire Crescent, which were bustling with activity. It surprised him. It was obvious that troops were preparing to depart, packing gear and standing in groups, talking in that excited way when they know they're about to go on an assignment. Vambran frowned, wondering what might be up.

The lieutenant's steps were quick, his demeanor businesslike, but he still offered a wave or arm clasp for those men who knew him and greeted him as he went by. Those men were professional soldiers, but many of them, like Adyan and Horial, had become friends. He wondered if, put into a position of having to make a choice between doing their duty to the temple or following him out of personal loyalty, they would aid him. He hoped he wouldn't have to find out, but he feared that such a moment might be drawing near. If things came to a head with the conspirators behind the murders, Vambran might need men he could trust to fight for him. He prayed it wouldn't come to that, but he was smart enough to anticipate and plan for the worst.

In the meantime, he had an appointment to keep, one for which he was very late. Captain Vertucio, Vambran's commanding officer, had sent a summons to him while he'd been visiting with Nimra Skolotti and her daughter. The lieutenant had not received the message immediately, even after returning to the Matrell estate, because of two things. The first, of course, was the fact that the entire household was in something of an uproar, preparing for Emriana's birthday party. The second reason was because Vambran had been careful to avoid being seen by too many people, particularly the rest of the family, when he'd returned from his excursion to the east side of the city. The less Uncle Dregaul knew of his whereabouts, the better.

Vambran made haste to the captain's office, hoping the meeting would not last long. It was already growing late in the day, and Emriana would be devastated if Vambran wasn't in attendance for the beginning of the party. He'd promised to be her escort during her presentation to the guests, and he had no intention of letting her down. If he could be in and out of the captain's offices in only a few moments, he should still have plenty of time to get back, clean up, and be ready to go.

Vambran rounded a corner and nearly stumbled into Grand Trabbar Lavant, who was coming from the opposite direction.

The lieutenant stopped himself from scowling and stammered, "I-oh! Grand Trabbar!'' He bowed and continued, "You don't make your way down here into our part of the temple very often. What brings you here today?"

The Grand Trabbar looked Vambran over with a critical eye, and the mercenary began to grow uncomfortable under the high priest's gaze. It was apparent that the older man was studying him, and Vambran knew that Lavant was aware of his involvement in the aftermath of Jithelle's and Hoytir's murders. He wondered if the Grand Trabbar was on to him, if the high priest knew that Vambran had continued to seek out answers even after Kovrim's warning to be subtle.

Finally, Grand Trabbar Lavant smiled and said, "Vambran Matrell, I was just beginning to wonder if you were going to appear at all today. Your captain sent that message out quite some time ago."

Vambran sucked in his breath and replied, "My apologies, sir. I was indisposed for most of the morning, and tonight, my House is celebrating my younger sister's sixteenth birthday. You can imagine what sort of chaos is taking place today as everyone in the household prepares."

"Yes," the Grand Trabbar said coolly. "I had, in fact, heard that. Well, we must be quick. There's no time to waste."