Kylith laughed. “That’s the first thing that came to mind, is it?”

Seregil pressed a hand to his heart. “The heroine’s death has left me a bit melancholy.”

“It suits you. My lord looks very natural on the stage.” Atre stepped smiling from the shadows of the wings. He was richly dressed tonight—more of his patrons’ money well spent—and had rings on nearly every finger and an expensive teardrop-shaped black pearl dangling from one earlobe. “And you have a far better singing voice than mine. As good as any bard’s.”

Seregil made him a florid bow worthy of Aren Silverleaf. “As always, you are too modest, Master Atre.”

The actor had evidently removed his paint, but still looked exceptionally handsome. Alec caught himself staring and hastily looked away.

“Do nobles ever take the stage here?” asked Atre.

“Only for private entertainments.”

“Well, if you ever want to arrange something, let me know. I’ve a number of roles that would suit you very well.”

“Heroes or villains?” asked Alec from the groundling area.

“I’m sure Lord Seregil could play any role, my lord. You yourself would make the perfect young lover.”

“I’ll leave that to you two. I prefer to stay on this side of the proscenium.”

Brader, Merina, Leea, and Zell soon joined them, all dressed in new finery, though far fewer jewels. Brader wore none at all, Alec noticed.

They dined together at a nearby tavern and found the actors good company, raucous without being crude, with many entertaining stories to tell. When the fruit and nuts were gone but the wine was still flowing, Atre and Merina entertained the house with several songs. Their fellow diners were a receptive audience, and Atre wasn’t shy about promoting their upcoming productions.

Alec took stock of the actor and his friends. Or perhaps friends wasn’t quite the right word, for they clearly deferred to Atre—all except for Brader, but he was a quiet one and hard to read. Zell and Leea were journeyman actors, good at their craft but not stellar, and there were still traces of the Mycenian countryside in their accents, while the vivacious Merina had all the polish of a noblewoman. She shone brightly, flirting harmlessly with Alec, tossing her shining dark hair as she laughed. Brader showed the most emotion when he looked at his wife or spoke to her, and Alec guessed there was genuine love between them.