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cautious.
    Fesgao replied with a nod and signed, All hand-picked. Aly relaxed. Ulasim would have made doubly sure no one suspicious came into Balitang service.
    "I can't possibly accept all this," said the duchess, sitting down once more. She was pale. "I can't ever repay it."
    "You are not a fool, Winnamine," Nuritin said flatly. "Don't act like one."
    The duchess frowned. Her chin came up.
    "You will take all this, and you will deck this house and your children in the finest you can buy," Nuritin informed the duchess. "I am sorry—I mourn my nephew's murder, too." She smoothed a braided black armband with fingers that shook. "But politics doesn't wait, and there is work to be done quickly. I had clothes made for all of you, but they must be fitted properly today. Tomorrow you are commanded to present yourselves to His Majesty and the regents at court. I believe Her Highness may have intended to humiliate you by summoning you immediately, so she could make fun of your appearance in outmoded clothes. Well! She may be regent, but she cannot be allowed to toy with her nobles in this fashion. I intend for her to fail."
    "Who cares if Her Highness plays games with us or not?" Winnamine's gaze was still adamant. "I certainly did not return to accept charity."
    Nuritin sniffed. "My dear young woman, has the highland air made you stupid? It is an investment” When no one spoke, Nuritin sighed. "You must build a power base for King Dunevon's heir, goose. Elsren is next in line for the throne. He will need friends and support. Our families agreed that setting you up is worth whatever we might dredge from our coffers." She looked at Sarai. "Men will hare after you to forge an alliance with our family. I expect you to remember your family, and the interests of your family. Flirt with those men, learn their minds, and promise them nothing."
    Sarai's mouth trembled. "I have not done so well in my flirtations lately," she replied softly. "If you haven't heard, my last lover killed Papa. And where were the Balitangs, and the Fonfalas, and the Temaidas, when we were in danger?"
    Nuritin's thin eyebrows snapped together. "Your last lover? Do not tell me you forgot what you owe to the family by tumbling Bronau."
    Sarai gasped in indignation. Winnamine rose to stand with Sarai. Dove did the same. "Sarai would never disgrace us by bedding a man of whom her father did not approve," said Winnamine, while Sarai's cheeks turned a beet color.
    Nuritin's eyes were on Sarai. "Bronau deserved to die," she said, her voice flat. "You and your sister did the realm a service by killing him. You also saved his brother the embarrassment of paying an executioner." She looked at the duchess and at Dove. "Is she a fool? Better to lock her up than have her ruin things for us at court. It is not the place to stumble, not after this winter. The regents have proved to be less than patient."
    "She is no fool, Aunt," replied Dove. "She just thinks the family's drawing back from us was wrong. Winna and I understood—Papa understood—the family had to save themselves from the taint of our disgrace. Sarai just hasn't made her peace with it."
    "Then make your peace," Nuritin said tartly. "You have a duty to Elsren and to your stepmother, if you don't care for the duty you owe to our royal blood."
    "I never had to worry about that before," Sarai retorted, her mouth mulish.
    "Before there were several heirs between your family and the throne. Now there is only one. You will marry to your brothers advantage, which is the family’s advantage." Nuritin inspected the faces of those before her. Then she nodded. "Come upstairs. We need to get your new clothes fitted this afternoon. And I want to see Elsren."
    The afternoon dissolved in a flurry of fabrics and flashing needles. The Balitang clan had mustered an army of seamstresses to work on the ladies' new wardrobes all winter long, using Nuritin's precise memory for the Tanair Balitangs' height, weight, and measurements.