Protector

“Yet,” he said, “yet, lacking a corroborating witness, nandi, it is impossible to prove that you ever desired to go against these persons. Certainly at some point you made a very bad bargain with them, perhaps, indeed, to keep yourself alive and comfortable—”

“To keep my staff alive, nandi, and to preserve our house!”

“Yet do we know your staff themselves are pure, and will not turn on you? My aishid found them trying to destroy records in the security office, which, whatever the crisis, is rarely the job of domesticstaff.”

A silence ensued.

“Tell me,” Bren said softly, “nandi. How confident would you be at this point, in committing yourself and your house to your current staff, after their certain suspicion that you have unburdened yourself to us aboard this bus? One would suspect, by the behavior of those servants, that they are not altogether innocent, either. I would rather expect that, ifthis matter is argued in court, there will certainly be some among them to testify—as your surviving witnesses—but who knows what they may say? That youcompelled them?”

Aseida was not at the moment master of his expressions. His eyes twitched when he considered his possible answers.

“Suppose that we installed you back in your house this hour and left the servants to resume their duties. Would you have any personal apprehension?”

Far from master of his expressions.

Bren asked: “Are you more afraid of those within Haikuti’s instruction—or of reprisals from those who were notunder his influence?”

“There arenone outside his influence, paidhi.”

“Not a one, nandi?”

“No. No. There is not.”

“Then you have rather an unhappy situation, nandi, were I to send you back to your house at this hour—because I would certainly discourage your traveling south, say, to the Marid at this point. Startling things have happened there, early this morning. And one does not suppose you would care to lodge in one of your own townships—lacking your bodyguards. In fact yours is a sad case, Lord Aseida. Have allKadagidi been happy with Haikuti’s direction?”

Aseida started to answer, and faltered, perhaps becoming aware how he was being led.

“Are there none you would trust,” Bren asked, “on eitherside of Haikuti’s influence?”

“The ones who would support me would have no chance against Haikuti’s people.”

“That is probably true,” Bren said. He and Jase were no longer interviewing Aseida alone. Tano and Algini had come aboard, Algini seated and Tano standing, on the other side of the aisle. “So yours is an unfortunate situation, nandi. What would you wish to do now?”

“I appeal to Lord Tatiseigi,” Aseida said, as if the words were stuck in his throat. “He is honest. He is my neighbor. The Padi Valley is not like other places.”

“Without staff, without bodyguard, and without alliances, nandi, you are in a very desperate situation. But you do recognize that.”

The chin stiffened, brows drew down. Aseida finally located his backbone. “The Padi Valley is different, I say, paidhi-aiji. We have traditions. We are the old blood. We stick together.”

“I shall certainly convey your request to him, nandi. You wish, then, to apply to Lord Tatiseigi’s hospitality.”

“I so wish,” Aseida said, jaw clenching hard. “Hewill understand.”

“Undoubtedly,” Bren said, very tempted to cast a look at Algini to see how hehad read the man; but he refrained.

They had given first aid to the injured while he conducted his interview with Aseida, both their own, from the two parties, and also to a Kadagidi servant who had suffered a broken arm in the upstairs hall. They had given two servants permission to take that man on to the hospital in the township, by Lord Aseida’s van. They had packed boxes of interesting documents into the baggage compartment, and they were putting the estate under Guild seal, meaning it and its historic treasures would be strictly guarded until there was some judgment about the clan leadership—a temporary duty for Nawari and the party that had come in overland—they would, Algini said, have relief coming in from the Taibeni on Lord Tatiseigi’s estate truck. “Time to get underway,” he said to Jase. “Get this situation back to safer ground . . . get in contact with Tabini and get hisseal on the house as well, under the circumstances, where we don’thave a video record.” He changed to Ragi. “Kindly take charge, Gini-ji.”

He wanted to be back in Atageini territory, with the documents they had recovered. He wanted to get the Kadagidi lord off his hands and under the dowager’s authority.

He wanted to know the dowager and Cajeiri were as safe as they could make them.