Patches had asked his colleagues about Rykard and Tanith.
Rykard had only been incidental. Tanith was the main point.
They were all out in the Mountaintops of the Giants, far from the seat of power. A little gossip behind people's backs was fine.
"The lady? She used to be a dancer from a foreign land," his colleague said. "Back then, her passionate, uninhibited dancing captivated Lord Rykard. He fell for her at first sight and insisted on taking her as his consort."
Patches thought of the dignified, cold woman he remembered. He really could not imagine her as a dancer, let alone a passionate, uninhibited one.
The difference was simply too great.
"Then who's his principal wife?" Patches asked tentatively.
His colleague cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know."
Patches was baffled. "You don't know?"
"Right, I don't know. There isn't a principal wife, and anyone who knows wouldn't dare mention it. Just act as though there isn't one." His colleague was getting a little incoherent.
"Just remember, Lord Rykard is in Caria now. The mistress overseeing every matter at Volcano Manor, great and small, is Lady Tanith!" his colleague told Patches very seriously.
Patches nodded solemnly, though he muttered to himself, "I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to watch the lady dance."
Smack.
His colleague slapped Patches's little bald head and scolded him. "What nonsense are you thinking? Do you have a death wish?"
Patches ducked his head and said no more.
Indeed, even Rykard had not seen Tanith dance in a long time. Someone as insignificant as Patches had even less chance.
Volcano Manor's people and various miscellaneous outsiders were not the only ones who had slipped into the Mountaintops of the Giants.
There were also people wearing armor, with eyes and ears embroidered on their