“It will take time, but not too long—days rather than months. Since we returned from your country, we have spent much in both wealth and influence to buy allies. I speak bluntly, of course, of what cannot be openly acknowledged. Those who have agreed to support us must not swing too quickly to our side, but must seem to be persuaded by the arguments that Clan Boar will present in our favor. So, I wish to counsel you both to patience and to wariness while the Hetgurd is swayed.”
“Wariness?” Chade queried sharply. Assassins? His unspoken fear reached me clearly.
“This is not the right word,” Peottre apologized. “Sometimes, it seems, what one language says in one word another has many for. I would ask you to be . . . not as seen. Not as visible. Not as easy to find or to speak to.”
“Unavailable?” the Prince suggested.
Peottre smiled slightly and shrugged. “If that is how you would say it. We have a saying here, ‘It is difficult to insult the man you don't speak to.' That is what I suggest. That the Farseer Buck Clan avoids giving offense by being . . . unavailable.”
“While we trust Boar Clan to speak for us?” Chade asked. He allowed a trace of skepticism into his voice. “And what are we to do in the meanwhile?”
Peottre smiled. I was not in the best position to observe him, but I thought I had glimpsed a look of relief that we seemed inclined to accept his advice. “I would suggest that we remove you completely from Zylig. All expect that you will visit the mothershouse of the Narcheska. It was almost surprising to the Hetgurd that you came here first. So, I suggest that tomorrow you board the Boar vessel Tusker and sail with us to Wuislington, the motherlands of Narwhal Clan. There, you shall be welcomed and provided for, just as you welcomed and provided for us at Buckkeep. I have reported to my mothershouse of your customs in this regard. They find them unusual, but will concede the fairness of feeding you as you fed us.”
He could not conceal his hope as he offered this suggestion. His eagerness alarmed me. Did he shoo us away from danger, or lure us into it? I felt the same query cross Chade's mind as he said, “But we have only arrived here today, and we are weary from the sea. The Prince's man, Thick, does not fare well on the waves. He has taken ill and needs his rest. We cannot think of leaving tomorrow.”
I knew that we could, and that he was considering the cost of it even now. He but said these words to Peottre to see what the man would reply. For a moment, I almost pitied the Outislander. He could not know that Chade and the Prince were sharing their thoughts, let alone that I stood around the corner not only hearing his every word but also supporting their observations with mine. I saw dismay blossom behind his eyes, and confirmed to both Dutiful and Chade that I believed his discomfort was genuine as he exclaimed, “But you must! Leave the man here with someone to tend to him. He will be safe here in the Boar stronghouse. To do murder in a clan's stronghouse is a terrible insult to their mothershouse and the Boar Clan is powerful. No one will consider it.”
“But they might consider it if he ventured outside the stronghouse? Or if I went out tonight, seeking a meal perhaps?” The velvet courtesy of Chade's tone did not quite mask the razor edge of his question.
From my concealment, I could see that Peottre regretted his hasty words. He considered lying and then boldly pushed that aside in favor of blunt truth. “You must have known it could come to this. You are not fools, either of you. I have seen you study men and balance the bargain you offer this one against what that one desires. I have seen you offer both honey and the spur to move others to your will. You would have come here knowing what Icefyre means to some of us. You would have anticipated this opposition.”
I felt Chade caution Dutiful to silence as he spoke out severely on his behalf. “Opposition, yes. Even a muttering of war. A threat of murder to the Prince's man, or the Prince himself, no. Dutiful is the sole heir to the Farseer crown. You are not a fool, either. You know what that means. We have extended him as far into danger as we will risk him in allowing him to embark on this ridiculous quest. Now you admit that murder may hang over him, simply because he seeks to keep his word to your sister-daughter. The stakes for this alliance have become too high, Peottre. I will not wager the Prince's life for the sake of this betrothal. The Narcheska's demand has never made sense to me. Give us one good reason why we should proceed.”
The Prince was seething. His Skilled objections to Chade's high-handedness drowned out my own thoughts. I thought I knew what Chade was doing, yet the only emotion I could experience was the Prince's affront that Chade would imply he would retreat from his word. Even Thick turned over with a heavy moan under the Prince's Skill-onslaught.
