Pulsing thrumming in his ears, he entered the spider room.
A web of lace fluttered at his entrance. He started, thinking at first someone else had disturbed those hangings. But the lace floated downward into stillness, and the scent of rose petals whirled around him in the empty room.
Gerek released a long breath. I should be used to this. My sisters. My cousins.
Behind him sounded a flight of quick light footsteps on the tile floor. He spun around to see the door flung open and Kathe hurrying into the room. At the sight of him, she checked herself. “Nadine said a messenger came for me.”
Gerek opened his mouth, but his tongue refused to work. Kathe turned to go. With an effort, he pressed down the trembling in his throat. “Kathe. Please.”
She paused, her face turned away from his, only the outline of her cheek, and the clear tense line of her jaw visible in the lamplight. Nadine was right, he thought. He had only one chance to deliver this message. And quickly.
“I— It’s about the book,” he managed to say.
Her mouth curved into a pensive smile. “Yes, thank you. It was a thoughtful gift.”
It was more than a gift, he wanted to say. It was a curiosity, a moment of pleasure, a thank-you for the kindness she had shown him. It was all the words he could not, dared not utter out loud. Ah, but he had to speak—now. If he did not, she would vanish into the kitchen. And he would never have such a chance again.
“I-I lied to you,” he said.
Kathe spun around. “You lied?”
Those were not the words he meant to say, but having said them, he realized they were the truth. He gulped down a breath and prayed to Lir to keep his tongue under control. “Yes. My name. My n-name is Gerek Haszler. Dedrick Maszuryn was my cousin.”
The dark flush along her cheeks faded. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Lord Dedrick. He was your cousin?”
He could not tell if that were a good or a bad thing. He stumbled on, keeping to the truth. It was all he had to offer now. “Yes. He was. I-I came because. Because he … died.”
Murdered. Executed by the king’s order, or at least with his consent. From the twitch of Kathe’s lips, she knew the truth behind Dedrick’s death, too. “Does Lord Kosenmark know this?” she said. “He does,” she went on, before he could answer. “That is what happened that day. When he told us all he meant to stay at Lord Demeyer’s country estates. Then he came back for no reason at all. The day you and he talked until almost morning.” Then her gaze veered up to his. “You are Lord Gerek, aren’t you?”
He did not trust that anxious tone in her voice. “Yes. But it-it doesn’t matter. I—” Hurry. Before my tongue fails me. Before she turns away. “I wish you would consider me, Kathe. I-I am n-not rich. I am a plain man. Very plain. But I— I would be true.”
A long silence followed. Kathe stood motionless, her gaze carefully averted from his. Gerek could not breathe. He wished he could see her face, her eyes. He wanted to say more, but the wisest part of him knew he’d said everything that was important. His heart paused, it seemed, waiting for her answer.
“I must go,” she said softly.
She slipped through the door and was gone.
Gerek released his long-held breath. Nadine was wrong. I spoke too soon.
Or not. There might be a chance if he could only explain …
He rushed through the door, only to run into Kosenmark’s senior runner. “Maester Hessler. A message came for you just a moment ago.”
The man thrust a letter at him. Gerek muttered a curse in old Erythandran. He saw Kathe at the far end of the corridor, just rounding the corner into one of the servants’ passageways.
The runner jabbered at him, insistent. Gerek growled back, but it was no use. He would have to seek Kathe out later. With a curse, he fumbled open the letter, barely noticing the magic that prickled at his fingertips. Someone who knew him. Yes, yes. He was not surprised. It came from the first agent for the ship. The man had written in the house code even.
Then he read the words again. Someone had suborned one of the agents in their chain. The man could not tell which one. He wanted to consult with Maester Hessler himself, to determine