“Oh, come now,” Tadek said, glancing up from his mending with a smile. “He’s just waiting by the door, all the way across the room. Anyone would prefer to spend time close toyou,Highness.”
This again. Evemer tightened his jaw. It was one thing to carry on with His Highness behind closed doors, in private. Doing so—flirting!—right in the open, in front of all of them, was an entirely different matter. Whatever made Tadek think he had the right?
Evemer was unsurprised to see Eozena’s eyes narrow, but it was with some curiosity that he noticed Kadou’s expression too: He didn’t look pleased, which was . . . odd. Quite odd. There was an element of embarrassment, yes, and rightly so, but . . . What was the rest? Guilt? Discomfort? It had lasted only a fraction of a second, and then His Highness had dropped his attention back to the papers, and the curtain of his hair swung forward to shield his face, and Tadek had already turned back to his task . . .
Odd.
Evemer said, “I am at His Highness’s disposal.”
“See?” said Tadek cheerfully. “Even the walking stone wall wants to be near you.”
“Tadek,” Eozena said, as Evemer clenched his fists and steeled his spine.
Tadek looked up again, feigning surprise excellently. “What? Did I say something?”
Kadou’s expression had gotten stormy, and his hands, resting on the table, were clenched. His knuckles were white, just like when he’d clamped his hands on the windowsill during that strange episode of nerves the day before. “You’d better apologize.”
“Oh.” Tadek sat there for moments too long, glancing between Kadou and the commander, who had sat back and crossed her arms. “Sorry, Highness. Commander. I was only trying to lighten the mood. You’ve been working on that for ages now and I can see how bored you are.” He grinned brilliantly. “But I suppose I’ve often been told I should talk a bit less. I’ll hold my tongue.”
“No,” Kadou said. “I meant apologize to Evemer.”
“Wait, what for?” Tadek asked, so wondering and bewildered that Evemer had to assume it was sincere.
“For taunting him like you’re a little boy trying to start a street scuffle,” Eozena said.
“Say sorry, and that you won’t do it again,” Kadou added.
“It was just a—”
“If you disobey a direct order from His Highness, I’ll drag you out of here by the scruff of your neck for averyserious conversation in the courtyard,” Eozena said, calm and quiet.
Tadek turned to Evemer. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Thank you,” he replied automatically. “Already forgotten.” He was too astonished to do anything else, and probably just as bewildered as Tadek was. Tadek could have said anything he liked—Evemer wasn’t going to take offense at some few careless words. They weren’t the worst he’d ever heard, even of that particular genre, directed at that specific aspect of his demeanor.
Tadek turned back and sketched a short bow to Kadou and Eozena. “If you’ll both excuse me,” he murmured. “I think I’ll take my work out into the garden. Where the light’s better.”
“You’re excused,” Eozena said.
Evemer glanced again at His Highness. Odd. Just . . . very odd. Still careless and negligent—he did have blood on his hands, after all. But flighty . . . Hm.
Evemer compromised with himself: He mentally appended a question mark. Careless-flighty(?)-negligent. That would do.
He made himself comfortable at the table as Tadek gathered up his tasks. He waited for someone to explain to him what he was supposed to be doing, but His Highness and Eozena silently watched Tadek leave the room, and as soon as the door shut, the tension . . . failed to release.
Kadou dropped his face into his hands, his elbows on the desk. Eozena patted his shoulder. “I could have handled that, if you’d asked. But you did well.”
“Did I?” Kadou asked, strangled.
“Mm,” she replied. “But do you see what I mean?”
“Yes.” He rubbed his face and lifted his head, staring at the door to the courtyard. “Yes, I do see.”
Evemer had no idea what they were talking about. He fiddled with the ledgers in front of him and kept his eyes averted, as if that were enough to keep him from being part of the conversation, though he was desperately curious to know what Eozena had said—perhaps she was talking sense into His Highness.
Kadou sighed and looked at Evemer. “You mentioned you’d studied some accounting for the exams?”
“Not much, Your Highness. Like the commander, I can balance my own accounts, but . . .” He cast his eyes across the table and shrugged.