"Tell me," she said aloud.
He spoke, carefully disciplining his thoughts so that Fiora need not pick up anything but the spoken word if she chose.
"A death."
"Lord Kyril?" But that was small loss to any, thought Fiora. Even in the isolation of Arilinn, the young Keeper had heard about the Lord of Ardais, about his dissolute life, his fits of madness. So many of the Ardais clan were dangerously unstable. Kyril mad; Rian himself, though he tried his best, addicted to the intoxication of kirian. It was too soon to know about young Dyan, though she had hopes for him.
"Yet even for a death in the family Dyan may not be released so soon." Although, if it were Kyril, Dyan would be Heir to Ardais and there would be no question of allowing him to take oath at Arilinn in service to the Towers.
"It is not Kyril," Rian's voice was shaking, and though He tried to keep rein on his thoughts she heard it clearly: would that it had been no more than that! "It is worse than that. The Gods witness I love my brother and never once envied him heirship to our house; I was content to make my life here."
Yes, Fiora thought, so content that you cannot get through a tenday without making yourself drunk with kirian or some other drug. But who was she to mock the man's defenses? She had her own. She only said again, "Tell me."
Yet he hesitated. She could feel him thinking, Fiora was Keeper, sworn virgin, such things should not be spoken before her.
At last he said, and she could feel the desperation in his voice, "It is Dom Kyril's wife, the Lady Valentina. She has been an invalid for years and his youngest daughter--Dyan of course is the eldest, his son by his first wife--his daughter Elorie has been acting as his hostess. Some of Kyril's parties are--dissolute," he said, carefully choosing the most neutral word he could.
So Fiora had heard. She nodded for him to go on.
"The Lady Valentina was reluctant for Elorie to appear at these parties," Rian said, "but Kyril would not have it otherwise. So Domna Valentina appeared, despite her illness, to protect the girl's character. And Kyril, in a drunken rage--or worse--struck her."
He paused, but Fiora already knew the worst.
"He killed her."
)
