did. The other courteso, the man, had refused even to come inside, claiming he was guarding the exits.
‘Livilla let you out for the day, did she?’ the Princel asked.
Tisane arrived in swan-shaped pots, with silvery net scoops to catch the leaves. Cakes came next, tiny feathery things made of air and sugar. Topaz didn’t want to touch them.
‘We go where we please,’ she said stubbornly, staring at her knees. ‘She don’t lock us up.’
‘She needs you close, though, doesn’t she,’ said Poet thoughtfully. ‘Her secret weapon.’
Topaz didn’t like the tone of his voice. ‘You could have had us if you’d paid us a moment of your time when everything was falling to bits.’
‘I know that. As you rightly surmise, I regret it now.’
‘Tough,’ she muttered, rather liking the luxury of being rude to him.
The boy was eating, shovelling in cake after cake. There would be none left for her at this rate. Not that she wanted them.
‘I remember what it was like,’ Poet said. ‘Being a courteso for the first time. Not wanting to leave the side of your mistress. Doing anything, forgiving anything, just to catch her approving smile.’
Topaz couldn’t imagine him as a lamb. He was always so refined and sure of himself. ‘Don’t sound much different to how you are now, with him,’ she observed, and when Poet’s sharp gaze fell upon her, she distracted herself by seizing a cake from under the hand of the boy and biting into it. Puff and sweet crumbs, oh yes. It tickled her throat and she fought not to cough.
‘Not stupid, are you,’ said Poet. ‘I’m not stupid, either. Livilla wants to know what Garnet’s up to. Were you expecting me to unfold like a stage trick?’
Topaz shrugged and took a mouthful of tisane, which was sticky and sour. She was no spy. Livilla knew that. Poet should, as well.
Poet leaned forward, hissing unpleasantly through his teeth. ‘Tell your mistress this. I brought him back when she’d given up on him. He’s mine now.’
‘I don’t reckon anyone belongs to anyone in this Court of yours,’ Topaz observed.
Poet folded his arms, glaring. ‘Eat your cake.’
They returned underground together, Poet and his silent courtesi and Topaz, clambering down underneath the street. Topaz hated this part, the way that the tunnels smelled of cold earth and dampness. They emerged into a maze of underground shops and buildings. She realised she could see in the dark now. They always had lanterns in the Haymarket, so she hadn’t noticed it, but the dark streets of the Shambles lit up under her new eyes, even in human shape.
‘I’ll walk you home,’ said the Orphan Princel, returning to his usual stately manners. ‘Dangerous people around here.’
Topaz couldn’t help preening a little, letting flames lick around her ears. ‘More dangerous than me?’
He laughed suddenly, looking her over. ‘I’d forgotten that. You are dangerous, little lamb, because you don’t look it at all.’
It was best that they underestimated her. Topaz put her fire away. ‘I’ll walk you home,’ she said with mock gallantry.
Poet seemed nicer when he laughed, like he was a real person. She couldn’t afford to like him again, though. Livilla had plans for him, she reckoned, and anyone who got on Livilla’s bad side had to be in big trouble.
‘This is mine,’ he said as they reached an old shop with a rusted sign showing cabbages and apples hanging in front of it. Soft orange light gleamed out of the upper windows. ‘If ever you need to leave that wench of a mistress of yours, bring your lambs here. I’ll look after you.’
‘Better than last time?’ Topaz said cynically.
Poet gave her an odd sort of smile. ‘Better than last time,’ he promised. Then he stilled and his eyes went strange. She could tell that he was no longer thinking of her at all. ‘What’s she doing back here?’ he murmured.
He turned and went inside the shop without another glance in Topaz’s direction, and his courtesi went with him.
She should run back to Livilla, but she’d learnt nothing yet. She followed them inside.
Topaz found Poet at the top of a narrow, dark staircase, one hand resting on the boy’s shoulder. He shifted slightly to show that he knew she was there.
‘You’re safe here,’ said a gentle, masculine voice. Garnet. She’d know him a mile off. ‘They won’t find you.’
‘I’m so tired,’ said a woman. Her voice was familiar, but only just. Topaz couldn’t see her in the room.
‘We should be looking after you better. Do you know