Passion Play (River of Souls 1)

“Hardly. It was your own inky fingertips that betrayed you.” He leaned closer. “We’ll make up for the time lost between us.”

Faulk made a wry comment about new lovers. Emma shushed him, but Ilse could tell she was thinking of Benno. Ilse evaded Raul’s embrace, staving him off by tossing a fresh plum at him. He caught it one-handed and bit into it, grinning. She was about to follow with a second plum, when a ripple of movement by the common room’s double doors caught her attention.

A glittering, perfectly coiffed and ornamented Dedrick Maszuryn stood at the entrance to the common room. The dark red silks of his sleeveless jacket swirled around, as though he had just that moment arrived. His face, caught in the bright glow from the chandelier, was still and dark and resolute.

Raul followed the direction of her gaze. Ilse heard his sharp intake of breath. Then, in one fluid motion, he stood and advanced toward Dedrick. Ilse held her breath, thinking she ought to call the guards. Surely Dedrick could see he wasn’t welcome here.

They met in the center of the room, which fell silent. Both men spoke in low quick voices. Ilse could not hear what they said, but she could see how Dedrick punctuated his words with quick gestures, as though to forestall any arguments. Raul lifted a hand. Dropped it as Dedrick made a placating gesture and spoke urgently.

Raul glanced back toward Ilse. He appeared to hesitate. Then, with a shake of his head, he took Dedrick by the hand. The two men vanished through one of the side doors.

Ilse closed her eyes, trying to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. All around, the conversations bubbled to life. Eduard resumed playing the hammered strings, while Mikka accompanied him on the lap harp. Ilse heard Emma speaking to Faulk, telling him to make way, then the rustle of silks as someone took Raul’s empty seat. Warm steady hands placed a wine cup within hers. She caught a whiff of a familiar spicy perfume.

“You must eat,” Nadine said. “Then drink some wine. You look ill.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Yes, you are.” Nadine picked up a roll and broke it into pieces. “Small wonder, with you working all day in a stuffy office. Here.” She fed the roll to Ilse in small bites, then followed that up with a few sips of wine. Gradually Ilse felt the tightness in her stomach ease. She accepted a chicken pastry and nibbled on that with more appetite.

“Better,” Nadine said. She exchanged a glance with Emma, who looked concerned. “What say you, Lady Theysson? Should we send this child to her rooms?”

“That is best,” Emma said. “And I’ll send word to Lord Kosenmark. He’ll come to you as soon as he finishes whatever business came up. You know that it’s business,” she added in a softer voice.

They would not let her go, however, until she had eaten a few more pastries and finished off a glass of wine. “Kathe could send up a tray,” Nadine said as she walked with Ilse to the stairs. “But knowing you, you will forget to eat that as well. You are turning into Berthold Hax before your time. Shall I come with you? As a friend?”

Ilse smiled at her delicate phrasing, and shook her head. “I’d rather be alone. Thank you, Nadine.”

The fourth floor was quiet. Only the faint sounds of night insects came through the open windows of the landing, and within the office itself, the hush was absolute. As Ilse passed into the private rooms, she had the impression of passing into a void.

The private rooms themselves reminded her of the house in miniature—rooms opening into other rooms giving way to a passage that angled between still other rooms—parlors and sitting rooms and even a tiny library the width of two chairs. When she had first come to the pleasure house, Ilse had not thought much about the rooms beyond Lord Kosenmark’s office. Her duties brought her there seldom, and when they did, she came only to deliver trays with meals or drinks, or to take away the dirty dishes. The chambermaids who cleaned the private rooms were silent girls, who did their work under Mistress Denk’s personal supervision. That first time she had gone to his bed, she had not looked anywhere but to him.

At the center of the suite was a dressing room. Doors led off to a privy and washroom and various enormous closets. Ilse hesitated, then walked into the largest closet. She pressed her hand against a panel in the far wall.

The panel slid open to reveal a long narrow room that ran along the entire side of this complex. Unlike the other rooms, it was bare of furniture. A few high windows let in light during the day. At night, rows of lamps illuminated the entire space, their light glancing over the many square grates set into the floors and walls.

The listening room.

Raul had shown her this room their second evening together. She could still remember his explanation of which pipes and grates led to which rooms. He used it still, she knew. No chambermaids cleaned here, and she could read which grates he visited by the footprints in the thin layer of dust upon the floor. She ticked off the rooms’ names as she passed. Kitchen. Common room. Several parlors used by the courtesans for particular clients. Her old bedroom.

Ilse knelt beside one grate that showed no sign of recent use. Here in the middle of the corridor, she heard a soft susurration, the sound of air moving through the vents and pipes, as though the pleasure house were breathing.

She pressed her ear against the grate. At first she heard only the pulse within her ear, then as she became accustomed to it, she heard the faint whisper of voices below. She turned her head slightly. Now the sounds were magnified, and she distinctly heard wine being poured.

“… mistake to come here …”

Dedrick’s voice. Ilse pulled away a moment. So she had guessed right.

Her pulse beating faster, she listened again.

“… going to Duenne. And so I thought—”

“Your father is a wise man.”

“My father had nothing to do with my going to court.” Dedrick drew an audible breath. Laughed softly. “My apologies. No, it was not my father’s doing. I decided, at last, to follow your advice and make myself useful to society and my family. I said it was best if I put a very great distance between us, Raul. Then last night, it came to me …”

Ilse pulled away abruptly. Her head swimming, she pressed both hands against her eyes, while all around her the whispers echoed.

* * *