A House Divided by Nicole Ciacchella (the giving tree read aloud txt) 📕

her father wasn't likely to be skulking around his own manor, but she should know better than that by now.

Her mind was still alight with a variety of paranoid fears when she made it back to her sitting room to find Vivie within.

"Where have you been?" Vivie gasped, hurrying over to Cianne. She grabbed her mistress's hand and dragged her toward her bedchamber.

"I was… out," Cianne said, a blush creeping over her cheeks.

"You were with that Enforcement officer," Vivie said in a brisk voice. She kept it low, hushed, as if afraid someone might overhear them even here.

Her cheeks blazing brighter, Cianne asked, "What are you doing here?"

Vivie didn't answer, and Cianne's astonishment scaled to new heights when Vivie rolled aside the rug and lifted the floorboard, pulling items out of what Cianne had deluded herself into thinking of as her secret hiding place.

"How long have you known about that?" she asked, sputtering.

"It would be easier to answer the question of how long haven't I know about it. That was a far shorter period of time."

Cianne's face went white, and she dropped to the end of her bed. "Do the other servants know?"

"Of course not. Why do you think I hover so? Why do you think I became your maid in the first place?"

"Did she ask you to do it?" Cianne asked, anger leaping to the fore.

"Yes," Vivie said, not bothering to dissemble. "I made her a solemn promise years ago that I would keep you safe, and I intend to keep that promise. Now hold your tongue and come help me with this. We haven't much time."

The slight tremor in Vivie's voice sent icy tentacles of fear throughout Cianne's body, and she heaved herself from the bed onto the floor, helping Vivie gather her things, their hands blurs as they rolled her clothes and stuffed them into her pack.

"Why are you here? What's happening?" Cianne asked.

"You have to flee now."

"Now? That's impossible! It's almost dawn, and I'm not prepared!"

"That's why I'm here."

"I appreciate the assistance, really, I do, but helping me pack won't get me outside of the city walls before morning breaks."

"I know a way," Vivie said, stuffing one final article of clothing into Cianne's pack and thrusting it at her. "Gather your weapons."

Biting back her questions, Cianne did as she was told. Vivie's carefully controlled manner frightened Cianne, spurring her to make short work of packing her things.

"Did someone expose me? Did Lach say something?"

Vivie's face twisted in disgust. "No, the dashing captain has kept your secret, thus far. But Officer Burl is asking questions about Officer an Movis that are rather uncomfortable, and the Elders have agreed that every member of the House must be kept under tighter surveillance."

"Why?" Cianne asked, not even surprised as Vivie went to the secret hiding spot in her jewelry chest and began raiding it.

"I don't know yet. Something about Toran Stowley's study, I think. I was a little too concerned with getting you out of the city in one piece to spare much attention for the details."

"Cearus's mercy," Cianne gasped, covering her mouth. She was so terrified that her fingers jerked as violent shivers overtook her body. "They noticed the ledger is missing."

"You took it?" Vivie asked, her voice sharp as she whirled on Cianne. Then she paled, darting glances all around the room as if searching for hidden eyes.

"Yes, I did. Burl thinks Kila took it." It wasn't a question. The realization made Cianne sick to her stomach with worry. What if Burl got to him before Cianne could make it back to his lodgings? If he were to disappear this time, chances were very good she would never see him again.

"Probably," Vivie said, moving with even more haste. She showed no reaction to Cianne's using Kila's first name rather than referring to him as Officer an Movis, but then Cianne thought she would have been hard-pressed to be shocked to discover that Vivie was actually an Intentionist. How ironic that she had often thought sneeringly of how oblivious the rest of the House was when she had been every bit as oblivious as them.

"Is Burl going after him? Are the Elders?"

"I don't think they'll move just yet. Burl doesn't trust that Enforcement is secure, and she thinks that if they're too hasty someone will notice something amiss."

"She knows about the chief?" Cianne asked, her stomach clenching.

"No, we don't think so. You think an Movis is good? You ought to see Flim in action." A mixture of pride and amusement slipped into Vivie's tone. It struck Cianne that perhaps there was more to Vivie's and Flim's relationship than met the eye.

"I'm not leaving the city without Kila." Balling her hands into fists, Cianne paused long enough to level a challenging glare on Vivie, who held up her hands in surrender.

"We thought as much. I'll lead you both out."

"Are you coming too?"

"No. I've more work to do here, and I'll not leave Flim alone to earn all the glory. Here, take these too," Vivie said, bringing Cianne her journal, a hair pin that had belonged to her mother, and a couple of other items. "It's not wise to leave anything incriminating behind."

"You think my disappearance won't look incriminating enough?" Cianne asked, scoffing.

"Of course it will, but my associates and I will take the trouble to obscure things, plant a few rumors, make it look as though you fled for love. Wouldn't be the first time it had happened, you know, but I'm sure your mother can fill you in on all that. Seeing as how Officer an Movis will also be disappearing, it won't take long for the gossip to spread. I'll of course have to confess all, as my part is sure to come under suspicion. It'll distract everyone, provide you with some cover. It won't fool your father, Moiria, or the Elders, of course, but it will complicate matters for them."

It would infuriate Lach, but Cianne kept that thought to herself. Let it. She didn't think it was too base an emotion for her to feel some smug satisfaction at the thought. Lach hadn't actively participated in the House's nefarious plans, not yet, but he was complicit, and that was enough to take at least some of the shine off what Cianne felt for him.

"Well, my life has always been about making things difficult for them," she said sourly, bringing a smile to Vivie's face. "But what about you? You won't be safe."

Vivie surprised Cianne by embracing her. "You let me worry about that. Cearus's left knee, but if I'm not fond of you. Listen to me: don't give your mother too difficult a time. Go easy on her."

"I'm not certain I can promise you that." A muscle in Cianne's cheek twitched.

"Try. That's all I'm asking. She'll explain everything to you."

"Let's go," Cianne said, both impatient to be gone and impatient to stop speaking about her mother.

"You've got your way of moving and I've got mine. It's best if we split up. I'll meet you at Officer an Movis's lodgings and guide you from there."

"Be careful," Cianne said, seizing the other woman's wrist, forcing her to pause. "A servant was creeping about when I got back in tonight."

Shaking her head, eyes full of mirth, Vivie said, "Tell me something I don't know. Who do you think was doing the creeping?"

"That was you?" Closing her eyes for a brief second, Cianne sagged with relief.

"I was looking everywhere for you. As I said, I've got my ways of moving about too."

"This is all a rather embarrassing lesson in why I shouldn't overestimate my own abilities," Cianne grumbled.

"I'm not knocking yours. You've surprised us all, I'm pleased to say. And that's enough praise for one night. Wouldn't want to swell your head," Vivie said. Gripping Cianne's wrists, Vivie met her eyes, her expression turning deadly serious. "Make haste. And, Cianne, be careful."

"You too." Giving Vivie's hand a squeeze, Cianne dashed off to her sitting room and shimmied out her window.

 

 

Chapter 34

 

 

 

Though he had tried his hardest to preserve it, Cianne's warmth had faded from Kila's bed. He might have deceived himself that she had never been there at all, that everything that had happened between them had been nothing more than the most delicious dream he had ever dreamed, but her scent lingered. Exhausted as he was from everything that had happened, sleep had eluded him, his mind too alternately occupied by memories of what they had shared and the creeping sense of dread that would not cease to insinuate itself in his mind. Not persuading her to stay had been a mistake, he was certain of it, and he felt as though a boulder had settled on his chest, crushing him with the weight of his fears.

A shadow passed his bedroom window, and Kila bolted upright. Drawing a dagger from under his pillow, he slipped it beneath his sheet in order to conceal it. He held his breath for several long beats but refused to allow himself to relax when nothing more happened.

Perhaps his worries were affecting him more than he wanted to admit, but he was not prepared to dismiss the shadow as a figment of his overactive imagination. He had just resolved to go outside and search his garden when the shadow appeared again, this time resolving itself into a form that slithered into his room. He knew immediately it was Cianne, but rather than relieving him the realization filled him with alarm.

"What's wrong?" he whispered to her, his voice no more than an exhalation of breath.

She held a finger up, warning him to be quiet, and he slowly moved his legs to the edge of the bed, taking care not to rustle his bedclothes. Crouched below the sill so that she could not be seen from the outside, Cianne lingered by his window for several unendurable seconds before moving closer to him. Bending down, she brushed her lips over his ear and spoke directly into it, so low he had to strain to hear her despite her proximity.

"Vivie caught me when I was coming back into the manor. She said we have to flee right away."

He opened his mouth to protest but she laid a finger over it.

"I know, I've already said it all to her. Please, get dressed and pack what you need. Vivie will be here any second."

Swallowing his protest, he nodded and got out of bed. She rushed around the room noiselessly, tossing his clothing to him and jamming things into a bag she had made appear.

His pulse raced and his ears strained as he yanked on his clothing. Every common nighttime sound now struck him as a potential threat. Those two men laughing raucously in the street? They might be on their way to seize him and Cianne. Was that the whinny of a horse? Had he heard a sword rattling, or was it his imagination?

After making a quick circuit of his room, running her hands under his mattress and below every surface, sliding them over his walls, she returned to his side.

"Vivie's going to lead us out of the city," Cianne said, helping him pack spare clothing.

"Do you trust her?" he asked, pausing to fix an intense gaze on her.

"I don't trust anyone other than you," she said, which, while gratifying, did nothing to reassure him of the wisdom of placing their trust in Vivie to get them out safely. "However, I mistrust her less than I do the rest of the House."

Nodding, he decided to be satisfied with that,