Tempt the Devil (The Devil of Ponong series #3) (18 page)

Nashruu appeared on the top landing of the main staircase.
She paused to adjust her hat and turned to speak to someone he couldn’t see in
the upstairs hallway. Kyam darted toward his office and hoped she hadn’t seen
him. As he closed the sliding door to his office, he shook his head. She was a
perfectly nice person, from what little he knew of her. Running from her was
cowardly. Doing it twice in one day was downright rude.

Before he could work up the courage to open the door,
Nashruu did it for him. “Oh, there you are,” she said.

Kyam retreated behind his desk. “Yes. Here I am.” He cleared
his throat. “I know that we haven’t spoken since you arrived, and we should
talk, soon, but I’m quite busy at the moment.”

Uninvited, she sat in a chair. “You just returned,
husband. How could you be too absorbed to set it aside for a moment?”

Despite the pleasant expression on her face, he could have
sworn there was some malice in the way she said ‘husband.’ Maybe she’d decided
to blame him for her life. It had been explained to her, and they’d both agreed
to the arrangement; but that was years ago, and maybe the deal didn’t look so
good now. That wasn’t his fault, though, and he was miserable too –although
it didn’t take a genius to see that she was trapped in ways no man ever could
be.

He had to start treating her better. Wasn’t that why he’d
come here rather than to his office in the government building? “Are your rooms
to your liking?”

“You did a lovely job furnishing them. Thank you. That was
kind of you, Kyam. I feel quite at home.”

At least one of them did.

That was the sum of what he had to say to her. They were
complete strangers. He wondered if she found this as awkward as he did. “And
how was your voyage?”

“I believe we had this conversation already.”

Now he swore he saw a glimmer of humor in her expression.
It irritated him that she could mock him and still be so perfectly polite. It
was almost like talking to QuiTai, only it could never be the same. Never.

“How dark
it is in here. One wonders how you read. Shall I have the servants bring more
jellylanterns?” she asked.

The dark wood bookshelves built into the walls, the
ponderous desk, and even the carpet seemed to absorb light. Except for the
ceiling fans, his office looked like a miniature version of their Grandfather’s
study. He’d only used it twice since the house had been refurbished, and both
times to hide from people.

“No. The lighting is fine.”

“Good, because I have yet to find a servant of yours in
this place. Except the Ponongese kitchen staff. They’re quite nice, although
they don’t speak much Thampurian. They don’t seem to know where the house
servants are either.”

“The staff I imported went back home after only a month
here, or they abandoned their posts for other work.”

“Are you that horrible to work for?”

“You’ll soon learn that the trials of keeping Thampurian
servants is a favorite topic at dinner parties here. Back home, many of the
lower castes work as servants, but here, it’s seen as Ponongese work. The
general consensus is that you have to hire someone sent here in disgrace, and
you have to have enough to blackmail them into…”

“Into what?”

A glimmer of an idea shone brightly in Kyam’s mind. If
Turyat had been blackmailing one of his servants into staying-- like that
scoundrel at his gate-- that was a good motive to kill him. The only problem
was that Turyat was too much of an addict to be a real threat to anyone’s
reputation. His wife, on the other hand, probably knew all sorts of wicked
things about her staff and could wield that knowledge like a spiked war club.

He sighed. “Into staying in servitude. Never mind. I had a
thought, but it was wrong.”

She seemed perfectly willing to let him keep his thoughts
to himself. “But the house is so tidy. Don’t tell me you dusted and made the
beds yourself.”

“I hired relatives of the cooks to come through here
yesterday and put everything in order.”

“They did an excellent job. Maybe I should simply hire
them, if Thampurian servants are too scarce.”

He sucked in his breath through his teeth. “There would be
talk,” he said slowly. “You’d be considered an original or naive by most people
here. It would be a brave move on your part.”

“Funny. She said much the same thing to me earlier today.”

A bad feeling settled in Kyam’s stomach. “Who?”

“Lady QuiTai.”

His stomach dropped the rest of the way. Nashruu seemed
oblivious to the social disaster she’d set in motion. How could she be so
pleased with herself? He struggled to suppress his temper and dread. A real
Thampurian husband would have scolded her as if she were a stupid child, but
Grandfather had selected her as his agent in Levapur, and Grandfather would never
place his trust in an idiot.

Her
glance was almost coquettish as her fingers traced the arm of her chair. “Aren’t
you curious? Do you want to know if we gossiped about you?”

“Surely
two women of your caliber could find something more interesting to talk about
than me.”

If she were surprised by his reply, she hid it well. “When
Lady QuiTai turned to you for help before the rice riot, Grandfather became
convinced you two were lovers. He primed me for an ugly little squabble over
you. The injured wife versus the evil mistress. That sort of thing.” She
clasped her hands together and leaned forward with shining eyes. “I think he
looked forward to it, and now I shall have to disappoint him. Honestly, I
mentioned you only once and she didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. Poor Kyam. A
discarded conquest.”

“If you’re that worried about Grandfather, make something
up. If you’re worried about my pride, don’t be.”

Her lips formed a little moue of pity for him, but he
doubted she cared about the state of his heart. “In Thampur, QuiTai would hire
away my cook and whisper that I use cosmetics if she wanted to destroy me
socially. I’m not acquainted with Ponongese-style revenge. What should I tell
Grandfather she did to me?”

He owed her for having abandoned her earlier. This one
time, he’d help her; but after this, she was on her own. “It’s a mistake to
assume Lady QuiTai behaves in any way like a normal Ponongese.”

“Well, then, what would she do if she hated me?”

“Kill you.”

Shocked into silence, Nashruu snapped her mouth shut. It
pleased him in a grim way. Hadn’t Grandfather warned her about how ruthless
QuiTai could be?

“She arranged the deaths of those werewolves, but–”
She was still flustered.

“Oh, she wouldn’t kill you over me. As you said, I’m only
a discarded conquest. It would have to be something important, something she
cared about deeply, before she’d bother to make you bleed. That’s when you know
you’ve arrived. But trust me when I say that she’s dangerous. You have no idea
who you’re tangling with.”

Nashruu seemed to be collecting herself quickly, but not
nearly as fast as she’d need to when she dealt with QuiTai.

She cleared her throat. “But she’s in no position to
negotiate anything, now that she’s been accused of the former governor’s
murder.”

The bad
feelings piled on top of each other. Why was Nashruu talking about
negotiations? Was she trying to cut in on his deal with QuiTai?

“So you know about the murder,” he said.

“It was all the talk when I went to that pastry shop near
the bank.”

“You’re been busy.”

“Grandfather likes results.”

It was like being back in Thampur. Sometimes, he hated
that place. The humidity in Ponong during monsoon season made the air seem to
weigh heavily on his lungs, but it was nowhere near as stifling as the
atmosphere in the salons of Surrayya.

“Why did you go to the fortress?”

“About an hour after you deserted me in our courtyard,
Grandfather ordered me to visit her. We had tea and cakes, and talked about the
murder, among other things.”

He would have laughed at the image conjured in his
imagination if matters hadn’t been so dire. “Thus the visit to the pastry shop.”

She nodded.

“How’d your meeting with Lady QuiTai go?”

She glanced away.

“Don’t feel bad. I know you’re used to living in a world
where Grandfather controls all, knows all, and wins all, but this isn’t
Thampur. She will eventually beat you and, you will never even see it coming.
Ask Grandfather about that.”

A thought dawned on Nashruu. He could read that much from
her face. She’d have to learn to control her expressions better.

“You
respect her,” she said.

He wasn’t
sure how he felt about QuiTai anymore, but every time her name was mentioned,
his emotions roiled.

“Grandfather
respects her too,” she said.

“That
alone should warn you what sort of person you’re dealing with.”

Nashruu
leaned forward. “What does she want? I can’t even figure out how she thinks.”

Damn it.
Grandfather was up to something. He wasn’t sure if he should ask Nashruu about
it.

Nashruu slapped her glove in her lap as if she’d lost
patience already. She’d never last if she thought things happened quickly,
especially in Levapur. Every action had a reaction, but it was delayed, or
muffled, or oblique. In Levapur, you pushed, and then ran for cover and waited
for the pendulum to swing back at your head, no matter how long it took.

“She must want something,” Nashruu said.

“For herself? I have no idea.”

“Would you tell me if you did?”

He had to be careful here. “I wasn’t aware that you and I
were enemies.”

“You and Grandfather have suffered a rift. I’m his agent
in Levapur now, although you probably don’t need to be told that. You might
feel that puts us at odds, but I’m more than willing to work with you when our
interests are similar.”

She’d
been tutored by Grandfather for years. The training showed. He shouldn’t
underestimate her, ever. Yet rather than being more guarded, he relaxed.
Marriage was beyond him, but professional relationships he understood. “I don’t
know what QuiTai needs or wants. I don’t think anyone knows her well enough to
answer that question. She’s not the chatty type.”

“You’d
think her life would be enough leverage, but she turned down my offer to save
her from the noose.”

Save
QuiTai? That was his job.

He couldn’t say that out loud, though. He couldn’t even
hint at it, because she’d report it back to Grandfather, and the old man would
try to use it to get him back under his control.

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “It
seems her life would be the ultimate bargaining tile, but it wasn’t, was it?
Sometimes, I think she doesn’t particularly care if she lives or dies. After
Jezereet, and her daughter and her parents…”

He realized the truth of what he said as the words came
out of his mouth. It gave him pause to think that QuiTai might be willing to
die. Might want to. How hard had this last year been for her?

Nashruu huffed as she slouched. “So she doesn’t want
anything? How can I negotiate with that?”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t want anything. I said there’s
nothing I can think of that she wants for herself. What she wants, I think, is
justice.”

Nashruu slowly rose to her feet. The expression on her
face looked a lot like QuiTai during one of her
aha
moments. The similarity unnerved him. What if he was married to
the Thampurian version of QuiTai?

Once Nashruu had a thought, she evidently ran with it. She
ignored him as she mused aloud. “Of course! She’s Qui. Grandfather told me the
Qui clan’s goddess is the Oracle of Justice, or Vengeance. I’m not sure of the
exact translation. Grandfather used the words interchangeably. QuiTai was
raised to think of herself as the vessel of justice. So all I have to do…”

Kyam dreaded the words that weren’t spoken. Nashruu’s
building excitement worried him. Who was this woman he was married to? What was
she thinking? If he stared at her long enough, would he figure it out?

“By the way, Kyam, I know you’re at odds with Grandfather,
but don’t even think of meddling in this to get even with him.”

“Revenge would never be my motivation.”

That was
a lie so big he was embarrassed by it. Of course he’d get revenge on his
Grandfather if he could. He waited for her to call him out on it, but she was
completely wrapped up in thoughts of QuiTai. He could almost commiserate with
her.

He
wondered what deal she was trying to make with QuiTai. What would Grandfather
want with QuiTai this time? And why would he send Nashruu to get it? What
special powers of persuasion did Nashruu have?

As he watched Nashruu’s agitated pacing, something nagged
at the back of his mind. There was something different about her. It wasn’t
only her manner. His breath caught as he watched his wife cross the room. “You
changed clothes.”

She gave
him a look as if he were an idiot. “And here I thought men never noticed such
things.”

He
pointed at her. “You were in a different outfit this morning.”

The idea
dawning on him was terrible. He slowly rose from his chair. Had QuiTai tricked
him? He felt a little queasy. A bit embarrassed. And heartsick.

No. He
wasn’t heartsick. He was over her, and she’d never draw his soul’s blood again.

He had to
turn off his emotions and be logical. That was the way to get through this day.

There was no way QuiTai could have been at the harbor and
at the Red Happiness at the same time. She couldn’t have killed Turyat. But why
had she changed clothes? Not just once, but twice.