Of course she’d serve us coffee. I nerved myself to take a small sip without making a repulsed face at the flavor.

“I hope you’re settling in well? How’s the town house you rented?” Lady Terringer’s tone was stiff as her spine. She took a swig from her own cup as if fortifying herself for battle.

Ignazio forced a laugh, gesturing around the airy, gilded parlor that had been his for years. “It’s not the Envoy’s Palace, but it’ll do.”

Zaira rolled her eyes. “Listen to you. You should try sleeping on the floor of an abandoned building for a week or two. Then you’ll stop fretting about whether your featherbeds are soft enough or if there’s sufficient gold on your ceiling.”

I glanced at Marcello and caught memory and understanding in his eyes. He was thinking of what we’d seen in the Tallows, too. My face warmed as the unspoken message passed between us; I reverted my gaze to my hostess before telltale pink could color my cheeks.

Lady Terringer snorted. “You don’t mince words, do you?

Annoyance flickered across Ignazio’s brows, but he turned it to a gracious smile and shrug. “The night before last I might have slept as soundly on the floor, after how late Lord Waldon kept us up.”

Now it was Lady Terringer’s turn to frown. I doubted she could be pleased the Ardentine nobility were so ecstatic at her predecessor’s return, especially when they refused to see her at all.

I couldn’t stand any more veiled jabs and stilted politeness, dancing around the crisis that lay like a pile of cannonballs on the table between us. “Have you heard from the doge about the imperial response to yesterday’s attack?”

“Yes.” Lady Terringer took a long moment to pour herself more coffee from a silver pitcher. “He’s giving Ardence until sundown the day after tomorrow.”

I twisted my napkin on my lap. At least it wasn’t an outright declaration of war. “What do they have to do by then?”

“Turn over the parties responsible for the attack, return the stolen jess, welcome the Serene Envoy back to court, revoke the illegal taxes, and abide by the Serene Accords.”

Marcello leaned on the table as if bracing himself. “Or else what?”

Lady Terringer met his gaze unflinchingly. “Do you need to ask that question, Verdi?”

His mouth tightened.

Zaira took a noisy slurp of coffee, with apparent relish. “That’s me. The unspeakable consequence. Great fun at parties.”

I wrapped both hands around my coffee cup, letting the heat sting my palms. “That’s a lot to accomplish in less than three days. Do we have people investigating the attack and searching for the jess?”