I rested my hand on the arm of my escort, gloved hand resting lightly on his sleeve. It wouldn't be proper for a lady to dine alone in one of the finest establishments Sunset District, after all.

Master Bricker cleaned up well. Where he got his silk tunic and shiny new riding boots was beyond me, but I had borrowed the soft pink dress from Orchid's closet so who was I to complain? If helping the prince was going to have me forever dressing up like this I would need to buy my own gown. Orchid was beginning to tire of me taking her dresses, though none of the muses ever seemed to grow wary of playing with my hair.

I had practiced dinner etiquette with River until she could pass eating in the Gilded Swan. A follow-up lesson from the Harvest meal she readied me for. She didn't ask why I needed to know all this, and I didn't offer.

Bricker also got a quick rundown of escorting a lady and he would take his lead on how to eat by imitating me later. He didn't have time for the full lesson but he was such a charmer that it shouldn't be hard for him to cover up any mistakes he made. He could also help listen. I just told him it was something I wanted to do, to listen in at one of the most expensive restaurants in Unays. For all he knew it was because of the maps we were working on before, and that may have been partly true if anyone mentioned buying properties or raising rents, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone about working with Rorik yet.

I had posed as my own maid the day before to make a reservation. The way the staff turned their noses up at me then was starkly different than how we would be treated now. Besides making my reservation, I also spent some time in a few pockets around Sunset District to make sure I could actually afford to eat here. As Bricker led me to the entrance, the host led us to a table in the middle of the room.

"Isn't there a more, romantic corner for the lady and myself, good sir?" Bricker winked at the host and tucked a silver bit in the man's pocket. I almost groaned out loud at how expensive this was getting but I didn't want us to be spotted by anyone I'd met at the castle, and a darker corner would go unnoticed.

"Certainly, sir." We were led to a corner with a table for two. The room filled up quickly after we settled in, a prime hour for nobles, apparently. Hopefully, it would also be a prime hour for gossip.

Light conversation buzzed. This estate just bought a new horse, that Duke has a mistress, some cousin from Raastad sent a wedding invitation. I had gotten a lot of practice this week sorting out voices so I could concentrate on one conversation at a time.

I wasn't sure if Bricker was hearing anything useful or not but he was able to keep a good appearance of paying attention to me and ignoring the rest of the room. He smiled and held my hand over the table, pretending to gaze at me. I saw the lack of sight in his eyes though and knew he was just staring blankly, focusing on his hearing.

I wondered for the dozenth time if he was too flashy to bring to dinner, but he would be able to do the job and he thought on his feet. Grahm would have been good company but wouldn't have been able to play the part of a noble escort and wouldn't be able to disguise his eavesdropping. Dirk would have been better for information gathering and sneaking around but there is no way he could have been made presentable as if he was of a higher class. And Jexa . . . just, no. No.

There was no ordering from a menu here, you sat down and the courses were already determined by what the cooks had been preparing that day. A hot tomato and herb soup was the first thing to come out along with a loaf of bread with nuts in it. An entire loaf just for two people. My mouth watered at the smell, even as my stomach churned at the excess of it. I delicately picked my soup spoon up and made eye contact with Bricker to make sure he saw which one I'd grabbed. He nodded slightly and lifted the correct one.

At least this part is going well enough.

The food was a good excuse to not talk, but instead, listen. Most of the chatter around us was boring and useless but a pair of lords seated nearby got my attention.

"It would seem Moncaster house has been looking to get into the grain business. She bought a mill just last month and word has it she's looking for another." The first lord had a high nasal voice that didn't match his face at all.

"Interesting. I just sold that old mill Uncle left me to Lord Strym. Perhaps I should have held onto it but he offered me a bit more than it was really worth," the younger lord said.

"Perhaps you should have. My head retainer had a hard time buying our winter grain supply. Mind, we eventually bought some but it cost more than I would have liked. Enough that the head butler had to get approval from Father. Have you heard, was there anything wrong with this year's harvest?" The men paused as their own soup course arrived.

"Not that I've heard, I believe Mother had a similar problem this week but she just let go of excess staff. More mouths to feed really and with winter coming who wants to store away enough food for more servants? Who she has left can cover the extra work."

I was furious. Houses were turning out servants right before winter? Just to save money on wheat? Did they not know about the soldiers sleeping in temples? Of course they didn't. It wasn't as though it was happening in their own streets, and why should they care even if were?

Bricker reached out a hand, pulling my eyes back to our table. "I know, I heard. But you can't do anything about it now."

"I know." I sighed, defeated. "It just makes me so . . ." Mad? Disgusted? Probably both.

The next course came, roast lamb and baked pears. As delicious as it was, I had little appetite after what I heard. The lords nearby changed topics to the Shadow ball coming up. Shadow loved secrets, and her day was celebrated with a masquerade. Children would try to play pranks on each other and all month people would have parties with beautiful masks. Davery always managed to buy me a parchment mask no matter how poor we were. They never survived after the month, but I would remember each one fondly.

"So, are you going to any parties in a couple of weeks?" Bricker asked her.

"Don't distract me, I'm listening around," I whispered.

"You really think you need to be hearing more? I think you have the gist of the attitude around here. Come on, want to sneak into Baron Marsh's party?" He winked at me. I knew he was trying to raise my spirits and it did help a little, but a celebration so close to Davery's burning day was . . .

"No, thank you. I think it will be a while before I feel like dancing." I immediately regretted saying it. I meant it, and knew Bricker would understand, but it brought a hurt to his eyes that tightened my chest.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," he said.

"No, you were just trying to help. I know we all miss him, and I need to move on. He would have found it funny if we did go." I smiled.

We finished the course and the next and the next in silence. There wasn't anything interesting said for the rest of the evening. It felt like an expensive waste of time and I wished I hadn't come at all. I took Bricker's arm and we started out the door when a familiar voice sent shivers down my back.

"Lady Salysta, what a surprise." Lady Aulrie hung on the arm of a nervous man several years older than her. If she was at the ladies-in-waiting table at the Harvest feast then she had already been presented at court and was probably looking for a husband or whatever else the nobility was concerned with. The man with her must have been rich or had a high title, because she certainly wasn't with him for his charm or good looks.

"Lady Aulrie." I nodded elegantly toward her. Bricker turned his charm up and bowed deeply to her, earning more than one fluttering fan as feminine gazes flittered our direction.

"Lady, the moons are jealous tonight of the gentle glow of your skin. Might I have your hand so these unworthy lips might kiss your willow fingers?" Bricker succeeded in annoying me, making Aulrie blush, and making the nervous Lord look even more distressed if that was possible.

"And what is your name, sir?" Aulrie was in Bricker's control by now. He knelt and kissed her hand, eyes not losing contact with hers.

"Alas, I'm not at liberty to say. Lady Salysta here has been gracious enough to entertain me this evening, but I am in Unays on business and it would be best if my presence went unknown. I may not see you again, flower of my heart, but I will be blessed with the vision of you all my days." He gave a lovesick puppy look to the surprised lady and took my hand again.

"Salysta, my dove, let us away before my heart breaks further. The delicacies of the eyes you have here in the city bewitch me. Please tell me you will console my wounded heart?"

My eyes drifted to a very jealous Lady Aulrie and nodded. Somehow, I managed to keep my expression in check.

"Good day Lady Aulrie. I must take my companion home." I left with Bricker, the look on Aulrie's face would be in my mind to enjoy for a long time to come. Once we were outside and well away from the Gilded Swan I ribbed my lanky friend.

"Flower of my heart? Really?"

"It got us out of there with no question didn't it?" Bricker grinned.

"How do any of the women that you flirt with fall for that?" I was laughing at his ridiculous expression. "And what do you mean with no question? She's going to hound me next time about the dashing lord that's in love with her. Soon enough the court will think I ripped you from her!"

"Just say I left town tonight. Unless you think you'll need an escort again?" he asked. "You can be the flower of my heart next time if you like."

"I'll pass." I nudged his shoulder with my own. "Thanks for tonight though. I didn't hear much, but what I did was new."

"Any time, my dove." Bricker smiled and stretched his arms yawning. I took the opportunity to get in a light smack in at his relaxed stomach muscles.

"Oof. Hey, I wasn't that bad tonight." He held his stomach playfully.

"I'm not your dove, ok?" She looked pointedly at him.

"Alright alright, I'll find a different dove. Want me to walk you home?" He offered.

"No thanks, we're close and I'd like to think a bit about what I've heard this week."

"Sure. Let me know if you're buying dinner again, that was great." He winked and we went down separate streets.

I pondered over the whisperes I'd collected so far. A few dozen soldiers around town had nowhere to live. People were moving in with family just to afford a roof over their heads. Some of the houses went unoccupied, but rather than lower the rates to be collecting money from a renter the houses the council members owned would rather leave them empty. Flour was being bought up by a small number of people, mostly the council and their friends. And some houses that didn't want to buy enough grain to feed a full staff through the winter were just letting go of servants. It looked bleak, but maybe Rorik could come up with a plan. If this information was of any help I would be ecstatic. Now all I had to do was gather my thoughts, get into the palace without question, and tell the prince what I'd found out these past few days.

Easy enough, right? Shadow guide us.