you both will excuse me, I must go out for a bit.”
“This late in the day?” asked her father.
“Yes. Masha saw a pure white mink for sale at the markets and persuaded the merchant to set it aside until later so that I might come down and take a look when I had a moment.” It was a necessary fiction. Her father would most likely agree with what she was doing in theory, but might object to the potential danger.
“Couldn’t you have just had Masha pick this mink up for you?” he asked.
She smiled. “Why, Papa, what a terribly dull suggestion. Surely you understand that for a young woman, such a rare quarry must be stalked personally, or else there is no thrill in the hunt.”
“I think a white mink hat would look lovely on you, my darling,” said her mother. “Sebastian will be most pleased.”
“I hope so, Mother.”
Galina followed Masha out of the study and down the hall. The two did not speak until they stepped out of the manor house and onto the early evening streets of Gogoleth, which were still bustling with activity.
“Have they all gathered?” asked Galina.
“Yes, miss. Everyone I told you about is waiting to meet you at the Sturdy Sturgeon Tavern.”
“That’s quite a name,” observed Galina.
Masha smiled apologetically. “It is our usual meeting place, miss, and I fear it is not up to your standards. You are the first noble who has expressed genuine sympathy for our cause, so we have never considered such things before.”
“It’s quite all right, Masha. I suspect I will need to become accustomed to such environments.”
Masha had never been particularly good at keeping her personal views to herself, so Galina had always wondered if she was involved in some sort of anti-imperial group. Galina had only to make a few choice comments regarding her betrothed’s fall from her good graces for Masha to seize the opportunity to recruit her. Since it was merely a gathering of peasants, Galina didn’t have high hopes for this group, but it was a start. Perhaps they would be able to put her in touch with a larger organization, if such a thing existed. And if it didn’t, perhaps she would be the one to gather all these disparate rebel groups together and make one.
It was a ways to the inn, but Galina insisted that they walk rather than take a carriage. The fewer people at Roskosh Manor who knew where she was really going, the better. Even the coachman could be a potential leak. And Galina suspected that in the coming months, she might be called upon to take far more arduous actions than a long walk, so it was best she grow accustomed to increased physical activity.
They eventually reached an area of Gogoleth that Galina had never seen before, where the cobblestones were mostly broken and the buildings weatherworn and grimy. The Sturdy Sturgeon Tavern was a stout black stone building that had survived the Aureumian invasion. Yellow light shone from the greasy, smoke-filmed window that filtered the chaotic sound of drunken voices down to a dull hum.
Masha led her around the side of the tavern down a narrow alley that stank of vomit and things even less pleasant. At the back was a separate door. There were no windows to show what lay inside, but it was much quieter at the back of the building.
Masha looked carefully around, then handed a white porcelain mask to Galina.
“Do I really need to wear this?” asked Galina.
“Miss, you promised! Your identity must remain secret, even from our compatriots.”
“Don’t you trust them?”
“With my life, miss. But I don’t trust the imperial torturers.”
Galina thought about the miller that Sebastian had arrested during his last mission. The one who had confessed he’d been part of an anti-imperial group. What her betrothed had called “intense questioning” had more likely been torture.
“Very well. I am not ashamed of what I am doing, nor am I ashamed of who I am. But I will do this for your peace of mind.”
“Thank you, miss.”
The mask was rather pretty. Pure white with rosy cheeks and elaborately made eyebrows, it covered her nose, but left her mouth free so she could still talk easily. She tied it on with strips of silk ribbon, and the sturdy feeling of it as it settled on her face made her think of armor. Her nerves had been steadily growing more taut during the walk to the tavern, but now they settled back down.
“Please lead the way,