“You want me to act as a go-between with the Serene Envoy?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I would not waste your time carrying messages, my lady. I can send those through other means.” He spread his hands wide. “I want you to be seen in my court. Spend time here, at the River Palace, doing whatever you please—visiting me, visiting the library, speaking to the courtiers. Let all see you are welcome here: my nobles, and the doge and Council as well. Show the world that Ardence can still be a friend to Raverra, despite the dramatic gestures the Shadow Gentry insist on. Will you do this simple thing to help us make peace?”

I nodded. “I’d be glad to.”

“Excellent.” He ran restless fingers over his armrests. “And … one more thing. Your mother. La Contessa Lissandra Cornaro. She has the doge’s ear, it’s said. Could you perhaps convince her—”

I lifted a hand to stop him. This was far from the first time I’d heard that opening. “My mother makes her own decisions, Your Grace. If you want something from her, I recommend you use your courier lamps and ask her yourself.” I sighed. “Besides, the doge is less likely to back down than your nobles are. The whole world is watching, and he can’t capitulate to threats to pillars of the Empire like the Serene Accords and the Falconers.”

The duke’s shoulders slumped. “Then you had best hope someone finds those children, Lady Amalia. For until they’re safely returned to their parents, two and a half years won’t be enough to convince them to bow to Raverra again, let alone two and a half days.”

Lady Savony stopped me on my way out. A stern glance from her banished the footman who had been conducting me to the door.

“So, Lady Amalia,” she greeted me, “what did you think of our duke?”

Her tone invited candor, and she didn’t strike me as a woman who valued empty politeness. “Proud,” I said, “and desperate.”

“Too proud.” Her gaze swept the baroque excess of the palace ceiling with disapproval. “If he had listened to me and exercised more restraint, he would not have had to become so desperate. I will do anything it takes to save my city, Lady Amalia. Even if the enemy I must save it from is itself.”

This seemed rather direct criticism of the duke from his supposed voice and hands. “Why are you telling me this, Lady Savony?”

She toyed with the golden chain of her spectacles. “Do you know the history of my family, my lady?”

The name Savony seemed familiar, and I was sure I’d seen it in histories of Ardence, but I couldn’t recall the particulars. I shook my head.