THE SABLE SPY | NINE

  THEY GATHERED AT the Rochesdale's residence. Neither of their hosts were present, so Marcus acted as the de facto one instead. The ride back to the house had been tense, all four of them well-aware that a carriage was an easy target. One good shot at the horses, a small group of men, and they'd be ambushed and accosted in the middle of the streets. A skilled professional would wait until the carriage went into a quiet area, but a desperate person wouldn't. If it happened in the streets, innocents would get hurt.

Cass let out a breath of relief when they got to the house unharmed. Their guests hadn't arrived yet. They hadn't expected them to.

Walking inside, Marcus muttered instructions to servants who quickly bustled around to get things done. Lady Kuroki wouldn't travel here without a group of her girls. They'd be entertaining quite a group of young ladies.

Cadieux went around the house, checking to ensure that nothing was wrong. It was unlikely her assassin could have snuck into the security-tight manor, but one could never be too careful. A life was far too easy to take. The difference between a breath. The matter of one single well-aimed bullet. The flash of a blade.

Finally, the butler announced Lady Kuroki and three of her young wards and students. Cass recognised only one, Lady Asteria Lu, the daughter of the Duke of Shui Xiang, the Saian emperor's spymaster, and one of her sister's closest friends. Asteria wasn't as beautiful as Ciri, but she was striking in her own way, and moved with an ethereal grace befitting one of her station. The lady was the product of excellent blood, riches and privilege. She had dark hair that reached her waist, untied, and dark brown eyes that took in all of them, landing for a moment too long on Cass's injured arm.

If Lady Asteria was ice, Miss Daneira Pang was flowing water. She moved with a fluid elegance a few steps behind the baroness, eyes not flickering off the ground yet seemingly marking everything in the room. Cass searched her brain for any memory of the Pang family. Ah. Her sister was Lady Megara Pang, the Baroness of Xiang Zhou. Their mother had been the infamous Miss Maria Garcia before she married, from Melique. This sister didn't look like she had Meliquean blood, though, favouring her father. Lady Megara shared their mother's look a lot more, it seemed. She had met the baroness before, in Asayama, during a social event. The two sisters didn't look much alike. The barony had almost been bankrupted by the former baron's ineptancy, but last she heard, Lady Megara was finally making some profit. Miss Daneira had the same colouring as Lady Asteria, though her features were softer.

The last girl was young. She couldn't have been older than fifteen. Despite staying still, there was a reckless energy around her, as befitting of one so young. Her name she had never heard of. Miss Iolanthe Mi. She couldn't recall any Lord or Lady Mi. Was the name even Saian? Mi was a Cheonuang surname as well. Not the daughter of a peer, then. There was a sly charm to her face. Cass narrowed her eyes slightly, finding the girl slightly familiar.

The baroness herself was not a tall woman. In fact, two out of her three students towered over her. Her face was set in stone, her greying hair tied up in a bun as she stormed into the drawing room with the confidence of a general on the battlefield.

"Monsieur Cadieux, Lord Farnsworth, Lord Archsham, Miss Diao. Wonderful to see you here, though I wish the circumstances were different. Our elusive Little Sable has been captured, you say?"

The baroness did not wait for them, stomping over to a couch and sitting down. The three girls filed around her, flanking her like guards, standing until Marcus motioned for them to join the baroness.

"My sister vanished, it seems, my lady," Cass said demurely. "Since you believe her to be last seen in Barlen, it seems the kidnapper has been rather busy, between trying to assassinate me and then immediately managing to get hold of my sister. We received a note earlier today, requesting a nighttime rendezvous on Friday at Vawkher's Alley. That, or my sister dies. A lock of her hair was attached with the envelope."

"Everything we know," the baroness sniffed. "Anything else?"

"We believe this is a personal grudge, my lady, and that Miss Cirinique's capture was planned even before their failure to kill Miss Diao," Marcus supplied. "And there's something we didn't dare attach by paper. Miss Diao, would you please explain your discovery in Gira?"

"While in Gira, I stumbled upon a scheme between the Phikkais and Gana, sabotaging Giran ships and trade for money and profit. The scheme was supported and possibly started by a mysterious Saian person who I believe is the person attempting to kill me. As they also instantly got hands on my sister..."

"This Saian person has a personal grudge against both of you. That, or they're very, very careful and fast." The baroness's eyes glimmered. There was a reason Cass was willing to reveal such sensitive information. The baroness was Asayaman now by marriage, but she was born Saian. As were all three girls as far as she was aware. While Miss Daneira's mother was foreign, her father was Saian as well. If Iolanthe Mi was allowed to be here, her loyalty was firm as well. All of them could be trusted to be discreet with such information. "An international treasonous intrigue. How fascinating. It has been so long since we've had a good one, hasn't it, Monsieur Cadieux?"

Cadieux regarded her blankly. The baroness huffed.

"It's been boring old plots in the last few years. The same players again and again playing the same few games. It's about time everything's shaken up a bit." Her eyes were now shining with macabre delight. Cass wasn't sure if she should be amused. She had met the lady once or twice over the years, though meetings were usually short and conducted by someone else. The lady was eccentric and peculiar, to say the least. One moment she was a grumpy, cranky old woman, the next her eyes were gleaming with macabre delight and a love for all things morbid. She could go from icy, stern matron to doting grandmother within seconds. A master of spying through and through. This was why the Saians trusted her with training the next generation of deadly female spies.

Besides her, Lady Asteria murmured, "Lady Kuroki." It was a reminder and a warning not to steer too far off course.

Lady Kuroki huffed. "Alright. Do you wish for my girls to go with you to this rendezvous? Or do you wish for our involvement to remain hidden for now? We were careful enough while coming in no one should logically recognise or spot us. If they do, we'll pass off as boring old visitors and callers. I am good friends with Lady Rochesdale, after all."

"You're our secret weapon," Laurence whispered, grinning. None of the girls, except the youngest one looked impressed. Miss Iolanthe snickered behind her hand, and coughed to cover it up when everyone turned to look at her. Laurence beamed at her. Another jokester.

Lady Kuroki narrowed her eyes at him. "Hmph, I'm not sure about that, boy. None of my girls were exactly built for dredging around slums and cities searching for a lost comrade. Or even much fighting. These three are my best fighters. My girls are societal liaisons. Spies within the tons and courts of the world. I'm not sure we'd be much of a help here."

"My lady, we'd just like you to keep an ear out in case of any gossip or rumours that might reach your ears regarding my sister, or this anonymous traitor. That's your specialty, after all. Leave the streets and alleys to us. We will get Ciri back." Cass's voice was firm and solemn. The lady regarded her with a begrudging look.

"I'll ask some of my contacts in the city to see if they know anything. About either Miss Cirinique or our treasonous mole. Still, I'd still advise you to take one of my girls with you to this late night meeting, just in case."

Cass, Marcus, Laurence and Cadieux's eyes all turned to the three girls with the same critical glance. None of them looked like fighters. Well, the youngest one, Miss Iolanthe did, but in the way of the street urchins that plagued the city.

Miss Daneira spoke. "I'd advise you to take Lady Asteria. She's the better fighter between the two of us, and Iolanthe is too young. She's also much closer to Miss Cirinique."

"That's settled, then," Cadieux announced. "We'll send for Lady Lu that evening. We'd advice you stay to the shadows, unseen, my lady, as an extra pair of eyes. We're still planning our strategies."

"I am more than capable of that." Lady Asteria tilted her head slightly. "Do not worry, Monsieur Cadieux. I'm well-trained by both my parents and Lady Kuroki. I won't be giving you away."

They took her word for it. Despite Lady Kuroki's eccentricities, the woman was as well-established a spy as Great-aunt Vinelle. In fact, the two women were close friends. Lady Kuroki had branches of her school all over the world, and was known for bringing her band of twenty to thirty students around. She was more a glorified chaperone than a school mistress in the eyes of the ton, and young ladies whose parents couldn't be bothered or didn't wish to herald and squire them around were more than willing to spend a fortune to send them to the school.

Lady Kuroki taught etiquette just like any other school for ladies, but the true purpose had always been espionage. She took a few of the best girls and turned them into the best bloody spies to walk the earth, and the others were sent out with sufficient training to become societal liaisons and informants. Her network was vast. While she mainly took in girls from the Eastern kingdoms— Kon Ria, Sai, Asayama included, the fact that her students were also getting free tickets to society events all around the world meant they often married foreigners. She doubted there was a single country in the world at this point, after more than thirty years of teaching, that didn't have one of Lady Kuroki's ingenious girls.

And that wasn't even considering Lady Asteria's own family. Both of her parents were renowned spymasters. She would have been raised much like Cass and Ciri, drilled to be an agent from the moment she was born.

"Ciri, Ciri, Ciri," Lady Kuroki mused, eyes flickering to the ceiling, a wistful smile curling on her lips. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

It seems neither Diao sisters were ever able to truly steer clear of trouble.

✴

WITH CIRI AS HOSTAGE and the intent much clearer, Cass got clearance from Cadieux for one excursion, though she had to take either Marcus or Laurence as bodyguard. To his joy and her dismay, Laurence cited business and left. With no choice, Cass had finally reluctantly agreed to allow Marcus to accompany her.

A stroll through the richer shopping districts, they decided. Lady Kuroki had agreed to send over some better dresses her size, but Cass wanted to see if she could get anything anyways. To the untrained eye, they were simply two aristocrats strolling down the street.

Neither said anything, but they were both immensely on alert. They made small talk to avoid suspicion, both dancing around any object of seriousness. For now, at least, they roleplayed a normal couple promenading outside on a hot summer day.

She couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was being watched. But this was too public. Whoever this was, they wanted to keep things private and quiet. If this was family killing them for the inheritance and money, they'd want to make it seem as much an accident as possible. If it was the Saian traitor, they'd want to keep it hushed up. Here, in public, there would be no knife aimed for her heart. It didn't mean they wouldn't be watched.

And people were staring. Ton aristocrats. After this, they'd go home and try to remember any gossip between Miss Cassalyn Diao and Lord Farnsworth. Soon, they'd remember that they had once almost been engaged as children. Rumours would start festering. Hopefully by then, she'd already be out of the city, and Marcus could brush off the sightings as simple courtesy.

"Don't look, but there's a man at our five o'clock who's been walking down parallel us for the last few streets. He's trying very hard to not look in our direction, which means he's definitely been sent to keep an eye out on us."

The next time she walked past a store window, she used the reflection to get a profile. He was right. She had caught sight of the man a few streets before.

"Is it the same man?"

Marcus let a second skip past before shaking his head. "Don't think so. This one is smaller. The clothes are Mr Burwick's. I recognise the cutting. We could hunt that trail if we want, but it would most likely end up empty."

"Purchased under a false name, maybe even by a completely different, innocent person. They could have stolen it. Empty trail, I agree," Cass nodded, humming under her breath. "We pretend not to notice him, I think. Let us be incompetent spies today."

She let her sweet society lady smile spread over her face, which caused Marcus to groan.

"People are going to think you're setting your cap for me. Bring back the ice queen expression, Cass," he muttered. "And your smile's giving me ideas you'd slap me for having. You're very pretty when you smile, by the way. Though I think I still prefer your normal indifferent expression. It's just the shock, you know."

"You're the one who said you're courting me," she responded with a low hiss, though her expression was still sweet. "And to anyone who sees us like this, the rumour mills will start turning at ten thousand metres an hour anyways."

That earned her a smirk. "So, if I flirt with you in public, you wouldn't complain?"

She gritted her teeth. "Not in public, no. But in private, I'll wallop your ears."

"You've been threatening to kill me since the day we met," he shrugged, "so I don't think I'm particularly terrified or even mind. I'm not giving up this easily, Cass. Hell, if you leave after this is over, I might follow you. Cadieux could deal with losing me for a little while. However long it takes to change your mind."

"Where are you going with this? What are you trying to do?"

"Preferably?" He asked, obviously amused. "Marriage, of course. You're twenty-two. I'm twenty-four. I know you're a logical person, so let's just say this: there's benefits to both for both of us. And I'm still damned in love with you, even though I shouldn't be."

She sucked in a breath. "Don't say things like that. Please."

"What?" He pressed on, no sign of stopping. "Scared? It's the truth, Cass. I don't lie about things like these. Never have, never will. And your choices are dim. You need to either marry someone like me, a fellow spy or someone who's willing to let you continue your work; or become a spinster. I know you want kids. Laurence isn't interested in you that way. I've never heard of you involved with anyone else suitable in any way. No suitors. No acquaintances. No friendships. For a spy, your network is shockingly small."

"It's not."

"I know," he said with a smile. "I watched you build it. You're friends with the heir and lieutenant of the Scarlet Flower Gang in Gira and I've heard you've even conducted negotiations with Princess Irina of the Yie two years ago. face-to-face in Asayama during her tour. I know you're the reason your family's appeal to return is being streamlined. Yet ask anyone who the Sable Cub gets her information from, or who she seems to be close to, and your only reply would be your great-aunt."

"Fame is difficult," she suddenly said, seemingly completely changing the topic to something new. "I can't merge in as a normal citizen safely much. Long-term missions are impossible. It's why I agreed with assassinations back then. Most spies could recognise me by sight. I have to disguise myself a lot. Ciri's not an usual target because most people don't even realise what she does. That worries me about her capture."

Marcus gave that a thought. It was true, what she said. Cirinique was known as the proper society debutante, the socialite flicking from court to court, laughing and charming her way through. Of course, most spies knew that she was the Sable's great-niece and the Little Sable's sister– and was often sharing the nickname, but she wasn't seen as a true threat. They thought she just passed on whatever gossip she got from the courts. They didn't know that Ciri snuck into buildings at night too and walked out with the building emptier of important documents or items or secrets. Only a small group of people knew what she had learnt at Lady Kuroki's. Barlen was not what they'd search.

There was no doubt that they were either dealing with someone immensely powerful (unlikely, since the attacks were chaotic and uncareful) or someone who knew them personally. And the only Saians she knew that well were her own family.

Cass suddenly felt like she was having a bad headache.

"I'm betting it's that cousin of yours," Marcus murmured back. "The fidgety one."

Cass didn't say anything, but she knew Marcus knew that she agreed. Was Ned smart enough for something like this? She found it doubtful, but who knew? No one was what they seemed like. The world would be too easy if that was the case. Everyone was like an onion. Layers and layers and layers. Sometimes, when you peeled enough, you would find the middle hollow or rotten.

Cass wondered what laid beneath her skin. Nightmares from too many lifeless faces she made, crying herself to sleep when she first got separated from her family and landed in Arecia while Ciri pretended not to notice, too many betrayals until her heart froze into ice. A homeless spy working for a kingdom that wasn't even her own, because she had been exiled from her own land. Doing favours and turning the tides of games of empires with hardened determination that would forever go unsung in history. Spies didn't become celebrities. If they did, they were shitty ones. She was only well-known among circles of intelligencers and her life was already made far too difficult.

Then, something made her shake her head. "I say he's a pawn."

Marcus's eyes flickered to her face. She was facing straight ahead and did not bother turning to meet his gaze. He seemed to give it a moment's thought, looking rather pensive. "You said he was an incompetent idiot. That could be. Maybe the Saian noblemen blackmailed him into compliance."

"Fairly possible. As my aunt says, he is a weak-spined idiot. I would not be surprised if he was involved in the scheme unknowingly, actually. He may be stupid enough to do so."

"I do love dealing with idiots."

"Save the sarcasm for later, Lord Farnsworth. Take a turn here, yes, it will confuse our stalker."

The two turned into an alley. It was empty. They passed through a moment later, appearing on the other side of the road. They stood outside a shop for a few minutes, pretending to inspect the products through the window. Their follower showed up in sight very soon, at the end of the road, keeping his distance.

"He's good, but not good enough."

"Almost as if he wishes to be seen," Cass mused. "A warning, perhaps. Showing off his many resources. Street thugs. It is sad when you must hire street thugs to do your bidding. Spying and espionage is a delicate matter not fit for the hands of thugs, Marcus."

"Benjamin grew up on the streets."

"But he has been one of you since he was thirteen, when Cadieux took pity on him and saw his skill. He is not a street thug."

"You're one of us too."

"You can keep thinking that. It is a lie."

He was quiet. So she said, "Perhaps we should slip away, change and play hunter instead of prey instead."

Without a word, he agreed.

how's the story so far? i hope you're enjoying it! if you do, remember to vote and comment!