Taken individually, none of those things had given her away. But the longer he thought about it, the surer he became that all of those foibles combined were signs of a sereia hiding her true nature. Duilio opened his eyes and stared at his cold hearth. He had no proof that Miss Paredes was a sereia, but his gift assured him it was true.
Just as there might be dozens of selkies hiding in the city, he was willing to accept that sereia might be living here as well. But it was more dangerous for them. Their nature was harder to hide. The most reasonable explanation that he could come up with was that she was a spy, although what she could learn in the Amaral household mystified him. While the Amaral family had impressive social ties, their political ties were limited.
And if she were a spy, what had she been doing out by The City Under the Sea ?
Did her people find the taste of death in the water as objectionable as did the local selkies? Or could she have had some other reason for being there? A vague frisson of worry snaked out of the back corner of his mind, his gift trying to give him another clue to unlock the bundle of questions.
Black and white. Aga had said the mysterious woman with webbed hands wore black and white. That had been important. Duilio closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping to force a direct answer out of his gift. He took several slow breaths. Was it Oriana Paredes out on the river near The City Under the Sea ?
His gift supplied nothing in response.
Duilio rubbed one hand across his face and groaned. Stupid. That was the wrong question. That event was in the past already, and his gift only looked forward. He reformulated his mental question and asked himself, Will I learn that Oriana Paredes was out on the river tonight near the rotting houses?
And then he knew . Sooner or later he was going to discover that Agas mysterious woman with webbed hands was, indeed, Oriana Paredes, companion to Lady Isabel Amaral.
Duilio suspected it was for this very night that his gift had called her to his attention that day as she stood in Isabel Amarals shadow. Tonight she had been seen in the river near The City Under the Sea . Surely she had some reason for that, some information that might be helpful to his investigation.
Black and white . Why was that important? His gift never answered the why of things, which was always the part he needed most. He sat back in his chair and sighed. In the morning he would visit the Amaral house and ask to speak with Miss Paredes.
No, I wont . His gift told him she wouldnt be there. She had left the Amaral household for good, which was damnably inconvenient for him.
Duilio got up and turned down the gaslight. If he wanted answers to his questions, he first had to find her.
CHAPTER 4
Lady Amaral had cast her out. When she told the woman that Isabel had been taken, Isabels mother claimed it was merely part of her daughters scheme to elope. Oriana hadnt been able to tell her the truth; shed barely gotten a chance to speak at all. Lady Amaral had just returned from a ball or party and was in a foul mood, so in the early hours of the morning she had the butler escort Oriana out of the house.
It had been too early and too dark to go anywhere, and Oriana had been too exhausted to search for a place to stay, in any case. After a dazed moment standing in the court behind the house, she recalled the stairwell that led to the houses coal room. The two bags shed left the previous evening were still there, so shed curled up on the cold stone next to them and cried until sleep overtook her.
Oriana forced herself to sit up. The morning air was cold but bearable. Her black skirt was ripped. Her clothes were almost dry, although her shoes were still damp. Her forehead was tender, and her fingers found a small lump there. She checked her right palm, wrapped with strips torn from her apron. The narrow slash her rescuer had made when wrestling her dagger out of her hand had scabbed over, although one end began to bleed afresh when she removed her makeshift bandage.
She heard someone speaking then with the milkman up at the back door of the housemeaningless chatter, but it reminded her she wasnt alone here. She grabbed the portmanteau shed left there the evening before, dragged it to her side, and searched through the contents until she found another pair of mitts. Hiding her hands came first. She tugged the right one on over her scabbed palm, making sure that all of her webbing was covered.
She was donning the other when Carlos, the first footman, leaned over the rail that led down to the coal room stairs. Miss Paredes? Are you still hiding down there?
Oriana clutched both hands to her chest, her heart slamming against her ribs. She took a deep breath and rose unsteadily, grasping the rail with her left hand. Yes, Im here.
He came a few steps down, not crowding her. The dragon wont be awake for hours, so Arenas wont notice
if Im missing for a few minutes. He held out a napkin-wrapped offering in one hand. Were you serious about Isabel being grabbed?