Fiona slept late the following morning, waking sharply the way she did when she was conscious of having missed some important appointment. She rushed out of her bedroom into an empty sitting room. No Sebastian waited impatiently for her to rise. Confused, she knocked timidly on his bedroom door and got no response. Surely he wouldn’t have left without her?
She returned to her bedroom and discovered Georgette had laid out clothes for her, this time dark ivory Veriboldan-style shirt and trousers with an over-robe of North blue embroidered with silver cats. That might be a nod to the North sign and shield. The robe made her feel awkward, as if she were accepting an honor not actually due her. It must have taken someone a dozen days to embroider the robe, and whoever it was thought it would be worn by an actual North. If you married Sebastian, her terrible inner voice told her, and anger supplanted awkwardness. She donned the clothing anyway. As far as anyone here knew, she was a North, and she needed to behave like one.
The sitting room was still empty when she emerged. Puzzled, she went downstairs in search of anyone who might know what was going on. The interchangeable attachés continued to ignore her, only flicking glances her way that might have been calculating or admiring or even dismissive for all she was able to read them.
“Lady North.”
Fiona turned to face Carris, who looked as unruffled as ever. “His Highness asked me to inform you he would meet you at the challenge this afternoon,” he said. “He has business in town this morning.”
“Oh.” Business? She couldn’t imagine what business Sebastian might have in Haizea. “Then I haven’t missed the challenge.”
“No, milady. The carriage will call for you after dinner.”
“Oh,” Fiona repeated. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
The way he said it, so smoothly, as if he practiced in front of his mirror every day, made Fiona uncomfortable. “Thank you, no,” she said, and retreated up the stairs to her suite without looking back to see if he was watching her. She had a feeling Carris didn’t respect her, probably because of the stunt she’d pulled the day they arrived. Well, she hadn’t been very polite to him, and maybe she should apologize…or was that another thing royalty didn’t do, apologize to their inferiors? At any rate, it was too late now, because when she reached the top of the stairs, Carris was gone.
It was late enough that even though she was hungry from having missed breakfast, it made more sense to wait for dinner. What didn’t make sense was staying in the sitting room for an hour. She decided to explore the embassy. That might also be frowned on as not something a North would do, but Fiona didn’t care. She wasn’t going to change everything about herself to fit these people’s notions of propriety.
A little poking around led her to a library, dimly lit and windowless, stocked with elderly books bound in worn leather. Two chairs matching the books for age and wear flanked an ultra-modern light Device that made the whole room look tawdry, like a set for a historical melodrama. Fiona browsed the shelves until she found something marginally newer, though it was still most of twenty years old, and seated herself in one of the chairs to read.
She’d heard talk of new Devices that would make the production of books easier, but no one ever knew more than that they were possible. Fiona couldn’t imagine how making books might be easier, unless it was Devices to carve engraved plates more rapidly than a human could, or to ink the plates more neatly. She turned a few pages. It was a history of Haran’s journey to the Eidestal, something that had coincidentally been on Fiona’s mind in the past few weeks. Maybe heaven was trying to tell her something, though Fiona didn’t think she was important enough for heaven to send her messages.
The library door opened. “Lady North,” Emory said. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you’d left with his Highness.”
“I took advantage of the late morning to sleep in,” Fiona said. “Should I not be here?”
“The embassy is open to you. I’m afraid the library isn’t much used. My staff and I don’t have much time for reading.” Emory let the door swing shut and came to take the other chair, easing into it with the air of someone whose joints pained her. Since she wasn’t all that old, Fiona found that surprising.
“At any rate,” the ambassador continued, “I’m glad to see someone getting some use from all these books.” She gestured, a weary expression that suggested the books felt put-upon at not being read.
“I’m not much of a reader, or wasn’t for years, but now I feel I have the time.” It was true, to Fiona’s surprise. Roderick had thought reading a waste of time, and Fiona had always been occupied with business responsibilities, but she’d loved to read as a child.
“I agree. I look forward to leaving this posting behind and taking up a peaceful retirement, sometime soon.” Emory leaned forward in her seat and fixed her gaze on Fiona. “You’re newly married, am I right?”
“Yes.” She hated lying to this woman, but there was nothing for it.
“I understand you were married before and divorced. That must have been a strain.”
“Yes and no. It was a relief to divorce my husband. It was a strain to endure all the sidelong looks and even outright criticism.” Fiona returned Emory’s gaze, steel for steel.
To her surprise, Emory laughed. “You mean as I’m doing now? I mean no criticism. I was divorced myself before marrying my late husband.”
“Oh.” Fiona felt as if she’d been pushing against a wall that was suddenly removed. “Was it…a good thing?”
“He found someone he preferred to me, but he didn’t have the courage to come out and admit it. So we had a couple of years of fighting and anger before I discovered the truth. It was an acrimonious divorce, but yes, it was ultimately a relief. As I’m sure you understand.”
“I guess I do.”
“And now you’ve married royalty,” Emory went on. “What a strange turn of events that must have been.”
Fiona sat back in her chair. “You know I’m a commoner. Was a commoner.”
“It was in the information her Majesty sent, yes.” Emory’s eyes narrowed. “She was subtle, but it was clear she meant me to be appalled by that fact. Forgive my bluntness, but it doesn’t seem as if your adopted family is all that happy about your marriage to his Highness.”
Fiona thought of Emily and Great-Uncle Sebastian. “Some of them aren’t.”
“That must be difficult.”
Emory sounded like she was inviting confidences. Fiona, to her surprise, wished she could share them. “Love can solve a multitude of problems,” she said instead.
“But not all of them,” Emory replied. “I won’t insult you by giving you advice, but I wish you well. You have a hard road ahead. I know what the Queen’s court is like—there’s a reason I accepted this posting. Navigating the eccentricities of the Veriboldan nobility is far easier than dealing with the nobles of Tremontane.”
“Thank you,” Fiona said, not sure what else to say. It felt like vindication, to have someone else confirm her suspicious about how the nobles would treat her. It also felt like a blow to the face. Fiona hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted someone to prove her wrong.
Emory stood, grunting softly. “You’re welcome to dine with me in half an hour,” she said. “I understand you were a trader and a frequent visitor to Veribold. I’d like your perspective, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” Fiona said.
When Emory was gone, Fiona opened her book and stared blindly at the pages. That had been unexpected. If all the nobles were like Emory, Fiona’s problem would be solved. But it sounded like the opposite was true. She made herself focus on the words. She envied Haran, who had faced danger and misunderstanding and opposition with the rock-hard certainty of faith backing her up. Fiona wasn’t nearly so confident.
She closed the book and moved to put it back on the shelf, then hesitated. She’d never thought of herself as particularly religious, but her recent experiences in the Irantzen Temple had changed that. She wished more than ever she’d been able to complete the festival. Well, maybe this book was a step in the right direction. She took it with her back to her bedroom.