“Kit,” he said, when they were only a couple of feet apart. The crowd around them was breathlessly silent to listen; they might have been actors in a beloved play. “I did not know you were in the city.”

She stared back at him, not knowing what he was thinking, if he hated her or if he still loved her. “For about six months now.”

“Staying where?”

“With my grandmother.”

“Have they allowed you to see Jex?”

She nodded, for a moment wordless. It was over Jex that they had argued, she and this man who had been as dear to her as her own father. “From time to time. And you? Have they let you see him?”

“Twice. He appears to be treated well enough.”

“I believe he is. Though you would be wise—” She paused, bit her lip, and switched to goldtongue. “Not to trust easy promises this woman makes you.”

He smiled, that wide, feral grin that Jex had inherited. “I will not,” he said, speaking still in the indigo language. “I am not free at the moment, or I would invite you to join us for lunch.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I am not free to join you anyway,” she said. “I do not expect you to have time for me while you are here.”

“But soon,” he said. “You must visit when I am back in Geldricht.”

She nodded again, once more unsure of what to say. He gave her a short bow of farewell—an act of high courtesy, though most people in the crowd would not know that—and turned back to his companions. The whole lot of them shuffled into the restaurant, speaking in low voices and now and then glancing back at Kit.

She remained where she stood, held in place by the pressure of the crowd and the sense of hundreds of eyes trained upon her. She kept her head high and her gaze focused slightly above the crowd, but she knew people were staring at her, whispering and wondering. As soon as she could, she elbowed her way through the dissipating mob, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, blue or gold. She was almost on the street again, almost clear of the throng, when she caught one low-voiced exchange between two gulden men standing nearby.

“Who did you say that was?” the first asked.

And the second replied, “That’s Kit Candachi. Anton Solvano’s daughter and Jex Zanlan’s blueshi mistress.”

CHAPTER FOUR