Fool’s Quest

He caught a ragged breath at that, and sat up a bit straighter. I wanted to tell him that I thought perhaps Shun had been taken with Bee. But I did not want to tell him I believed that because a cat had said it might be so. The word of a cat was not to be relied upon. Another tap at the door, and FitzVigilant entered. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I’d like to be included.”

I stared at him. How blind I’d been. And how stupid. Of course that was what was special about him. I looked at Chade and spoke recklessly. “And he’s yours, too, isn’t he?”

Chade stiffened. “And fortunately for you and your careless speech, he knows he is my son.”

“Well, it would have explained a lot to me if I had known!”

“I thought it was obvious.”

“Well, it wasn’t. Not for either of them.”

“Would it have made a difference? I gave them into your care. Would you have taken better care of them if you had known?”

“ ‘Them’?” FitzVigilant broke into our sparring. He looked at his father, and in profile, I saw Chade was right. Obvious. If one were looking for it. “ ‘Them’? Do you have another son? I have a brother?”

“No,” Chade replied shortly, but I was in no mood to harbor his secrets any longer.

“No, you don’t have a brother. You have a sister. And for all I know, perhaps there are other brothers and sisters that I haven’t been informed about.”

“And why would I be required to inform you?” Chade raged at me. “Why is this so surprising to you, that I had lovers, that children were born? For years, I lived in near-isolation, a rat behind the walls of Buckkeep Castle. When finally I could come out, when finally I could eat an elegant meal, dance to music, and, yes, enjoy the company of lovely women, why would I not? Tell me this, Fitz. Is it not purely luck on your part that you don’t have a child or two from your past? Or did you remain chaste all those years?”

After a moment, I closed my mouth.

“I thought not,” Chade said acerbically.

“If I have a sister, where is she?” Lant demanded.

“That is what we are here to discover. She was here, supposedly safe in Fitz’s care. And now she has vanished.” His bitter words stung me.

“As has my own daughter, a much younger and less capable child,” I pointed out angrily. Then wondered if Bee was truly less capable than Shun. Or Shine. I glowered at him.

At that moment, there was yet another knock on the door. Chade and I both composed our faces. It was a reflex. “Enter,” we chorused, and Perseverance opened the door and stood there, confused. He looked somewhat better, despite still wearing a bloodstained shirt. “This is the stable boy I told you about,” I said to Chade. And to Perseverance, “Come in. I know you’ve told me your story, but Lord Chade will want to hear it all again, and with every detail you can summon to mind.”

“As you wish, sir,” he replied in a subdued voice and came into the room. He glanced at FitzVigilant and then at me.

“Are you uncomfortable speaking about him while he is here?” I asked. The boy gave a short nod and dropped his head forward. He stared at the floor.

“What did I do?” FitzVigilant demanded in a voice both agonized and affronted. He crossed over to Perseverance so swiftly that the boy shrank back from him while I took two steps forward. “Please!” he cried in a strained voice. “Just tell me. I need to know.”

“Boy, sit down. I need to talk with you.”

I wondered how Chade felt when Perseverance looked at me to see if he was to obey. In response, I nodded at a chair. He sat and then looked up at Chade with very wide eyes. FitzVigilant hovered, his eyes full of trepidation. Chade looked down at Perseverance. “You needn’t be afraid, as long as you tell me the exact truth. Do you understand that?”

The lad gave a nod and then dredged up a “Yes, sir.”

“Very good.” He looked at FitzVigilant. “This is too important for me to delay. Would you go and arrange to have food brought here to us? And ask Thick to join us if he has finished eating?”

Lant met his father’s eyes. “I’d like to stay and hear what he has to say.”

“I know you would. But your being in the room would color the boy’s tale. As soon as I’ve finished speaking to him, Fitz and Thick and I will be sitting down with you to see if we can clear the cobwebs from your mind. Oh, and I’ve one more errand for you. Lad”—and here he turned back to my stable boy—“tell me what sort of tracks we should be looking for.”