Page 38 of Blood and Moonlight

CHAPTER 15

I arrive at the Montcuir home late enough in the morning that everyone can be expected to be awake, carrying two older charts of city streets from the architect. The housekeeper lets me in again, and rather than escort me upstairs, she just points. Voices come from Simon’s room on the third floor, but the door is open, so I step inside as I knock.

Simon straightens from where he stands over Juliane’s shoulder. From his smile it’s clear he’s not just glad I’ve brought the promised maps, he’s happy to see me.

Mother Agnes’s assertion that he’s caught my fancy has nothing to do with my freshly cleaned skirt or my neatly braided hair. Nothing at all.

Worried my own face might reveal some unseemly eagerness to be here, I stride to the table. “I’ve brought these. I hope they help. One is the area around the Sanctum and one is the city as a whole. They’re a little outdated, but I made corrections. I, um, hope they help.”

Apparently, I should have been more concerned about my words than my expression. I clamp my mouth shut before I can embarrass myself further.

Juliane looks up from her notes, the hollows under her eyes giving her an owlish appearance, especially as she blinks slowly.

“Thank you.” Simon takes the rolled parchments. “This is just what I needed, so… uh, thank you.”

Juliane’s gaze shifts to him, her thin lips quirking in amusement.

Simon immediately spreads one map open on the table and beckons to Oudin. “Come here, Cousin, and show me where you saw the Selenae man that night.”

Gregor.

Oudin grunts irritably from his slouch against the wall before obeying. He leans across the table and points. “There.”

Simon makes a smallSwith a wax pencil. “And where were you?”

Oudin slides his finger an inch. “About there.” He stands straight again and waits for Simon to mark the spot with anO.

Impatient to help, I also start to point. “I was—”

Simon almost slaps my hand away. “Not yet.”

I withdraw, mortified, and he continues questioning Oudin. “Where did you and your friend part ways before that?”

A companion? Oudin points again. “He got me from the tavern to the square, then headed down this road.”

Simon makes anFwhere indicated and an arrow to the minor street, which connects to Pleasure Road near Perrete’s alley. This friend is an obvious person to investigate, but Simon seems unconcerned. He adds a dashed line connecting theFto theOto indicate the path Oudin traveled. “Is that where Lambert found you?” he asks.

Oudin’s brother had been pacing by the window over the street, but he stops to listen when his name is mentioned.

“Pretty much,” Oudin replies. “I was too spooked to go anywhere until the Selenae man left, and then the rain started so I took shelter.”

“Is there anything else you want to tell me about that night?”

“No.”

Simon studies Oudin for several seconds, like he’s reading invisible words written on his face. Finally he nods. “Very well, you’re dismissed.”

Oudin bows mockingly. “Yes, Venatre.” Then he addresses Lambert across the room. “Are you ready to face the lions, then?”

I realize both brothers are dressed in clothes normally reserved for Sanctum worship services. Lambert presses his gloves between each of his fingers to settle them lower, his face a pasty shade of white.

Juliane notices my puzzlement. “Lambert’s bonding is today, for his wedding in the fall.”

Oudin grins as he walks over to his older brother. “He’s finally going to meet the girl.” He throws an arm over his brother’s shoulder, but Lambert is several inches taller, so the move pulls him down on one side. “You don’t have to prove your manhood, yet. Relax.”

Lambert angrily throws him off. “Day’s end, Oudin! There are women present!”

Unconcerned, Oudin smooths his velvet-trimmed jacket and winks at me. “Only one is worth teasing, though.”