In the morning, she woke in time to hear the maid knock at the door, and her lord's quiet response to come in, please. She sat up hurriedly, heart thumping, but heard the tray being put down and realised it was just breakfast, not the girl who had found Jaquan. The maid left and closed the door behind her, and Alyn heard the click of the lock as Miervaldis turned the key, then his footsteps as he approached her door. There was a knock.

"Breakfast is here," he said through the door.

"Coming, my lord!" She hopped out of bed, fumbled for fresh clothes and pulled a brush through her hair. When she went through to the main room, Miervaldis had already started on the food; he raised an eyebrow at her and jerked his head towards the wash room. Obediently, she went to wash.

There was plenty left when she came back; bread, cheese, tomatoes and olives, with some ham on the side. The olives were different from the ones at Fourth Star Court, but of course every Court was served by the lands around, which meant every Court had its own specialities. The tomatoes were different too, a bit smaller but tart and juicy. There was an orange, something Alyn had only had rarely at home and never at Court. Trying to get into the peel, she dug her nails too far and squirted orange juice across the table, only just missing Miervaldis, who was drinking his coffee and reading his book. He looked up, curious, and she flushed.

The maid came to collect the tray a little later, followed by the Chamberlain, who waited until she had gone before starting.

"My Lord Miervaldis, I hope you slept well," he said pompously. In the morning, he was looking a lot better than he had last night. His colour had returned, and he no longer sounded ill.

"Yes, thank you," Alyn's lord said. "I would like to speak with the maid, please, the girl who found the body."

"Of course, my lord. I will make sure she is sent here. And, ah, your page -"

"Alyn will stay with me for the present," Miervaldis said smoothly. "Where do the pages have their lessons normally?"

"Um," the chamberlain started, taken aback by the interruption, then recovered himself. "In the Upper Chamber by the Garden of Seven Streams. They will be at lessons from ten in the morning until lunchtime, then again from about two until four. Will you need your page -"

"I will, for the present," Miervaldis interrupted again. "I will make sure she comes to as many of the lessons as possible. I am ready for the maid now."

Thus dismissed, the chamberlain stuttered a bit, then bobbed perfunctorily and left, looking indignant from behind.

"You're going to have to learn your way around fast, you know," Miervaldis said, turning to face Alyn.

"I will," she said cheerfully. It sounded like fun, exploring, and she had enjoyed learning her way around the maze that made up Fourth Star Court. Better than lessons, anyway. Miervaldis moved around the room, picking things up and putting them down; he poked his head into the study and opened the curtains there to let in the light. Then there came a tentative knock at the door, and he nodded at Alyn to open it.

Outside stood a short, stocky girl with curly black hair badly confined under a white cap. She was twisting her hands together nervously, and looking anywhere except at Alyn.

"Milord said to come here," she muttered, and Alyn, unsure of what to say, just held the door open wider. The girl didn't budge, and for a moment they stood there in silent tableau. Then Miervaldis' voice came from within.

"Come in, please."

The maid jumped, and scurried in. Alyn shut the door, locked it, and followed her through the living room to the study, where her lord sat behind the small desk. There was a chair in front of the desk, and after a bit of persuasion, the maid sat down there. Alyn stood quietly by the door.

"What's your name?"

"Ythilda, m'lord."

"You found the body, am I right?"

"Yes, m'lord." She spoke very quietly, and there was a tremor in her voice.

"You're not in trouble," Miervaldis said gently. "No-one is blaming you for anything. But I do need to know what you found, please. Will you tell me?"

There was a pause, then the girl looked up again, and although from behind Alyn couldn't see her expression, her voice sounded a lot calmer.

"Yes, m'lord."

"Go on then, please."

"Well, I was doing the rounds, you see, m'lord. I always come by the rooms, to clean the grates, lay the fireplace and take the rubbish out. So I went in as usual, and there he was on the table. I could tell - I could tell he was, I mean, he wasn't -" she stopped, swallowing noisily.

"All right," Miervaldis said. "I understand. Did you go near him?"

"A bit, m'lord. I mean, I wanted to check, see, that it really was what I thought..."

"Of course. And then?"

"Then I went for help. I never, never went close, I didn't touch him, m'lord!"

"Who did you go to?"

"The chamberlain."

"And what did he say?"

"He said to run to the stables and tell a messenger to make ready, and to get the physicker to come to Lord Cassian's room."

"So you went to the stables?"

"No, I went to get the physicker, but his room's on the way to the stables. Then I went to find a messenger, then.. I went back to the rooms, but there were people inside, so I figured I should get on with my rounds."

"Of course." There was a pause. "What time did you come to the room, Ythilda?"

"It would be a bit past dawn - I start at dawn but it's not the first room I do."

"And did you have to unlock the door?"

"Yes, m'lord. I have a key, all the housekeeping maids do."

"Of course, of course." He frowned absently. Alyn remembered there had only been one other exit from the study, presumably leading to Lord Cassian's chambers.

"Well, that's nearly everything," he said finally, and Alyn saw Ythilda relax. "Just a couple more questions, if you don't mind. Could you tell me, what was Jaquan the scribe like?"

The maid was silent for a bit, head down, as if thoughtful. Then, "I didn't like him," she said frankly. "I'm sorry, m'lord, but it's the truth. He was always nasty in his ways, although he was never so to me myself. But some of my friends..."

"I see. Did you know it was him when you found him?"

"No, m'lord, I couldn't tell..." she tailed off uneasily.

"And Lord Cassian?"

"M'lord?"

"Did you see him? Talk to him?"

"Oh no!" It came out strongly, and she shook her head. "I don't - well, I never saw him around that morning anyway."

"You don't what?"

"Oh, um, nothing, m'lord."

Miervaldis eyed the girl, but she stayed silent.

"Well, thank you for coming, and for being so forthright," he said. "You can go now. If you do remember anything that you think I should know - anything at all - please come and tell me. You can come at any time, whenever you want, and if you can't find me, please tell my page." He gestured to Alyn, and Ythilda started, as though she hadn't realised the other girl was there. She relaxed a little when she saw her, perhaps realising Alyn was younger, and nodded.

"I will, m'lord."

Miervaldis waited until she had let herself out, then went to the door and locked it. He turned round.

"What do you think?"