Page 102 of A Drop of Corruption

“Which one, ma’am?”

“That first day here, when you and Malo went to the Treasury tower and Sujedo’s rooms. You peered out the window at the top of the tower—but what did you see?”

My eyes shimmered, and I recounted that moment as I’d taken in the Yarrow coast, with Yarrowdale and Old Town sprawling below.

Ana interrupted: “When you gazed southeast, though—did you see New Town?”

“Well. Yes?”

“And the waterfront, and the canals?”

“Yes, some.”

“The Apoth works? Could you see what ships come and go from their manufactuaries?”

I frowned, bewildered, but realized I had. “Yes?” I said.

“Thank you. Good. Very good…” Then she bowed her head and was still for a long time before finally saying, “Please tell Darhi to send in Signum Gorthaus.”

I stood, but paused. “Would it be better if we went to where the Treasury officers are held, ma’am? We could simply talk to her the—”

“No,” snapped Ana. “I do notwishto speak to her there! I want her separate, and I want to make sure no one else hears a thing we discuss! For though I think Pavitar and Darhi both lied to us, I am nowsureour comrade Signum Gorthaus did the same.” A fearsome, mirthless grin split her face. “And I think I know what about.”

—

Soon we heardfootsteps in the passageway beyond. The door opened and Signum Gorthaus entered, still quite gaunt and frail-looking, accompanied by a grim-faced Yarrow guard. She nervously blinked in the light of the fire as the guard shut the door behind her,then sighed with relief when she saw us. “Oh, thank Sanctum. I…I wasn’t sure…”

“Wasn’t sure what, dear girl?” asked Ana.

“Well. This was the first time I’ve been out of that room, ma’am. I wasn’t sure if I…”

“If you were bound for execution?”

A meek nod. “I suppose so, ma’am. But I’m not sure why they’d do so for me, when…Well. I think it’s Kardas whom they hate so.”

Ana gestured to the same chair Pavitar and Darhi had recently occupied. “Sit! Sit and relax, for a moment at least, child. This ordeal must have been terribly unpleasant for you, true?” She smiled as if they were having a quaint afternoon discussion on her porch.

“I’ve not had it as hard as some, ma’am,” said Gorthaus, though she cringed as she sat, and rubbed her left arm. “But I feel sostiff.I’m not sure if it’s the stress, or if it’s how I sat over the prificto for so long…Have you made any headway in proving his innocence, ma’am?”

“In proving?” said Ana. “No, for proof is in short supply here. But I know he’s innocent—for I know howhewas poisoned, at least.”

Gorthaus paused. “You do, ma’am?”

I glanced at Malo, frowning. She raised a dubious eyebrow, but we stayed silent.

“Oh, it is quite simple, really,” said Ana. “Prificto Kardas had often made a point of allowing the prince to carry the first two cups of tea to his father, and then carrying the third himself as a show of respect—true?”

“Yes?”

“Well, the killer, knowing this, had poisoned the king’s cup just before, to make it appear as if Kardas was the poisoner. Yet as Kardas poured the cup and carried it to the king, he unknowinglytouchedsome residue of the poison. Ordinarily, this would be harmless—yet can you, as an engraver, recall a particular nervous mannerism of your prificto’s?”

Gorthaus’s eyes shimmered in her head, and mine did the same. I summoned an image of Kardas waiting before the bank vault, andagain as he left the meeting at the Yarrow prison: his face tense, shoulders hunched…and his thumb placed between his teeth as he bit at the nail and pad at once.

“Oh,” I said softly.

“Ah,” said Gorthaus at the same time. “He…he bites his thumb when agitated.”

“Indeed,” said Ana. “And Kardas had agreat dealto be agitated about after you all were locked up and threatened with execution, yes? I am sure he bit his thumb then—unaware it bore a trace of the poison that had just killed the king! It was just a trace, however. Enough to lay him low, but not quite enough to kill him.”