“My wife,” Starling said between mouthfuls, “does not think they feed me adequately here at the palace. She packs me a basket every day so I may keep up my strength. She is a very good cook.”
He made it all the worse by smacking his lips and licking the tips of his fingers. Cade’s stomach growled loudly.
Starling patted his lips with a napkin and said, “I trust you had some time to consider our previous conversation, as well as our visit with the witch.”
Cade said nothing.
“Still silent, eh?” He took an object out of his pocket. It dangled at the end of a long chain and flickered in the light. “I was wondering if perhaps you recognized this object.”
Cade recoiled—Mirriam’s monocle, or one like it. The lens was cracked. He’d expected Starling to begin baiting him by using Karigan in some way, not Mirriam. He’d tried to steel himself against any threats to Karigan, but this he had not been prepared for.
“I see by your reaction,” Starling said, “that you do, or think you do. This was taken from your old professor’s housekeeper, who we know to be a member of your band opposing the emperor. She and others, of course, have been questioned by my fellow Inquisitors. Your conspirators are a tough lot, I hear. Quite surprising for a domestic, a carpenter, and assorted mill workers. I’d be quite interested to know the names of others, especially those of higher classes who might have been involved.”
Cade couldn’t have cared less about men like Mr. Greeling, the mill owner who had refused to help the cause, but what he hated more was telling Starling anything at all. He could only guess what Mirriam and the others had suffered at the hands of Starling’s colleagues.
“One thing you will learn about me, Mr. Harlowe, is that I am extremely patient. So what was Professor Josston’s interest in the little girl, Arhys?”
Cade started, taken aback by the abrupt change in topic, and silently cursed himself for reacting. If he’d had a proper sleep, he’d have guarded himself better. This was, of course, the sort of thing Starling wanted.
“She is here in the palace,” Starling said, “but of course you know that. It is one of the reasons you are here, isn’t it? What is so important about one little girl that you endangered yourself so extravagantly to come here and attempt her rescue?”
Starling kept on in this manner for some time. No attempt was made to physically torture Cade. He kept his lips clamped shut and continued to resist answering any questions. Starling’s equanimity did not falter, and Cade guessed the two of them followed some time-proven pattern familiar to the Inquisitor, who would eventually wear Cade down no matter what the technique used. He certainly lacked no confidence that this would be the case.
“Well, this has been quite a diversion,” Starling said. He made a production out of repacking his basket and offering the guard an uneaten muffin. Cade was offered nothing.
The guard opened the door for Starling, but he paused. “By the way, Mr. Harlowe, I understand your lady is being taken to the emperor shortly. As I noted before, she has a most fascinating background. I should like to know Dr. Silk’s method for having made her so forthcoming so quickly, or perhaps she is simply weaker than I thought.”
Cade fought outrage to retain calm. So, Starling had finally “attacked.” Cade would not give him the satisfaction of a response.
“You do not fool me, Mr. Harlowe,” Starling said in a low, studied voice. “I know how to read a person. I must, in this line of work. You’ve stiffened all up, your chin squared. The rage floods your eyes, reddens your face.”
The more Cade tried to relax, the more he tensed.
“Yes,” Starling said, “you want to know what the emperor wants with your lady, don’t you, but you are trying very hard not to speak.”
Cade also wanted to break all the teeth in Starling’s grinning face.
“Believe me, I understand your concern,” Starling continued. “If our positions were reversed, and it was my dear wife going to the emperor? I would want to know why, too.” He shook his head and proceeded once more toward the door.
Cade thought he’d explode. He fought with himself, but lost. “Wait.”
Starling halted and turned. “Yes?”
Cade hated himself for breaking his silence, but he had to know. “What—what does the emperor want with her?”
Starling smiled slowly. “So now you speak. I thought perhaps you had lost your tongue.”
“What does the emperor want with her?”
“You expect me to answer your questions when you have answered none of mine?” Starling clucked his tongue. “I am sorry, Mr. Harlowe, but it does not work that way.” He turned to leave, then paused once more. “Just hope that while your lady is in the presence of His Eminence, that he is in one of his better moods. He does often become quite . . . volatile. In the meantime, if you should like to talk and answer some of my questions, just let your guards know, and they will send for me.” His eyes glinted with amusement as he turned away.
Then he was gone, and the guard slammed the cell door shut. The lock was secured with a series of clicks, and Cade was left to himself. He lunged about the cell in frustration. What had Silk done to get information out of Karigan? She was not weak-minded. What would happen when she went before the emperor? What would happen to her?
Me. They have used me, Cade thought. They had gotten her to talk using his own welfare as leverage. He was sure of it. Why else was he still in one piece, much less alive?