I knew that a quiet meeting of the Queen and Chade with Blackwater and Bloodblade had followed the formal banquet. It had been hastily arranged and lasted into the early hours of the morning. The behavior of the wayward Prince and Narcheska had doubtless been discussed, but more important, the Prince’s quest had now metamorphosed into but one element of an extended visit to the Out Islands. Chade told me later that the slaying of the questionable dragon had not been discussed so much as the schedule for the Prince to meet not only the Hetgurd of the Out Islands but to visit the motherhouse of Elliania’s family. The Hetgurd was a loose alliance of headmen and tribal chiefs who functioned more as trade negotiators than any sort of a government. Elliania’s motherhouse was a different matter. Chade told me later that Peottre had seemed very uneasy when Blackwater had calmly assumed that it must be a part of Dutiful’s visit to the Out Islands, almost as if he would have refused it if he could. The Prince and his entourage would depart for the Out Islands in the spring. My private response to that was that it gave Chade precious little time for his information-gathering.
I was not a witness to that hastily convened negotiation, nor to any of the farewell events. Lord Golden, much to Chade’s annoyance, still begged off from any public appearances, citing his health. I was just as glad not to go. I was cramped and stiff from an evening spent wedged in a wall peering through a spyhole. A nice stormy ride down to Buckkeep Town and back was not alluring.
In the wake of the departure of the Outislanders, many of the lesser lords and ladies of the Six Duchies began to leave the court also. The festivities and occasions of the Prince’s betrothal were over, and they had many stories to share with the folks at home. Buckkeep Castle emptied out like an upended bottle. The stables and servants’ quarters suddenly became roomier, and life settled into a quieter winter routine.
To my dismay, the Bingtown Traders lingered on. This meant that Lord Golden continued to keep to his rooms lest he be recognized, and that at any hour I might encounter Jek visiting with him. Propriety meant nothing to her. She had grown up rough, the daughter of fisherfolk, and had kept the carefree ways of that people. Several times I met her in the halls of Buckkeep Castle. Always she grinned at me and gave me a jovial good-day. Once, when our steps were carrying us in the same direction, she thumped me on the arm and told me not to be so somber all the time. I made some neutral reply to that, but before I could get away, she clamped her hand on my forearm and drew me to one side.