‘Enamoured? Yuck, I just ate.’ I don’t care if half of Arras’s female population would run naked into his bed, he’s way too old for me. And I still don’t trust him.

‘You amuse him,’ she continues, ignoring my comment. ‘Just remember he’s the one who can sign the execution decree.’

So she knows. I hadn’t bothered to fill her in on the particulars of my meeting with him, and I’d purposefully forgotten to mention his remark about killing me. She worries enough.

‘Until he tells you otherwise, call him Ambassador Patton.’

‘Fine,’ I agree, stepping back onto the stool to allow the seamstress to continue working on my hem.

Enora pauses and draws in a breath, watching my fitting for a moment. ‘Maela has asked to go over your itinerary with you.’

‘That’ll be fun.’

‘Behave yourself,’ Enora orders me in a disapproving whisper.

A few minutes later, Maela enters my bathroom and gives the gown I’m wearing a critical look. ‘Interesting choice.’

I pretend I can’t hear her.

‘Ambassador Patton’s office has telebounded your official itinerary to me.’

‘I’d be happy to go over it with her,’ Enora offers.

Maela’s eyes burn, but she laughs at the suggestion. ‘I think it would be better if someone who has attended an official Guild event outside the compound briefs her. Why don’t you run up to the depository and retrieve suitable adornments for her?’

Enora gives me a sympathetic smile and leaves. Having succeeded in getting rid of Enora, Maela knows I’m at her mercy.

‘You’ve been to one of these before?’ I ask her.

‘You don’t think you’re the first Spinster to catch Cormac’s eye, do you?’ Maela asks.

So that’s her hang-up. ‘I haven’t given it much thought actually.’

Maela turns her attention to her personal digifile. ‘You will leave here tomorrow at seven in the morning and rebound to the Nilus Station, where you will have an image shoot with the local Stream crew.’

‘I came here through Nilus,’ I tell her, but she ignores me.

‘From there, you will rebound to the Allia Station in the Eastern Sector, followed by the Herot Station in the Southern Sector and the Ostia Station in the Northern Sector.’

‘That seems like a lot of work,’ I say, grimacing for emphasis. If I thought this would break the ice between us, I was wrong.

Instead Maela whips around to me and glares. ‘You don’t deserve this. There are dozens of girls here who’d give anything to escort Cormac without acting like some entitled brat.’

I’m guessing she’s one of them.

Just as quickly as her rage appeared, it evaporates. ‘At each stop you will participate in an image shoot,’ she continues. ‘You will be given a set of appropriate responses to the Stream crew’s questions and only speak when you are asked a question directly. Do you understand?’

‘Yes.’ I nod. ‘See! I did it!’ I add with mock enthusiasm.

This time she ignores my jibes. ‘You will visit Guild officials at each stop. I assume Enora has gone over expectations.’

‘Yep.’ I smile brightly. ‘Shut up and look pretty.’

Maela’s head snaps up, her face ripe with disapproval, but she doesn’t lecture me again. ‘The following morning Ambassador Patton will escort you to several image shoots and various scheduled appearances. Your aesthetician crew will rebound behind you.’

‘All of them?’

‘Yes.’ Maela’s face contorts in impatience, showing her age. ‘As will your personal guard.’

‘But I don’t have a personal guard,’ I point out.

‘Ambassador Patton has reassigned Erik to escort you,’ she says calmly.

I am acutely aware of the number of scissors scattered around the room.

Maela keeps her eyes on her digifile, probably trying not to stab me. Apparently Erik was right about Cormac wanting to get under her skin.

‘Valery will be attending you, of course, and she is bringing an assistant. Cormac has also ordered that Josten Bell serve as his valet.’

‘Josten Bell?’ I keep my face turned down to the seamstress working at my feet.

‘He attended you in the cells,’ she tells me, studying my face. ‘Don’t you remember him? He’s our head valet. I thought he’d taken an interest in you.’

‘The rude one?’ I ask.

‘That’s him.’

‘Why?’ It feels like a trap to send me travelling with two young men, or maybe Cormac’s just really stupid.

‘He attends Cormac – excuse me, Ambassador Patton – when he calls on the Western Coventry,’ she says, checking her digifile screen. ‘The ambassador has a fondness for him, or rather for his cocktail-mixing skills, and since his usual valet is unavailable, he took ours. It seems he doesn’t care about our ability to function while you two are travelling.’

‘I guess I didn’t think he was anybody important.’ I try to keep my tone dismissive and casual, but I’m aware of how fast my heart is beating. Not only has Maela noticed Jost’s attention to me, now he’s being dragged into this mess.

‘He’s not,’ Maela assures me as she disappears back into my bedroom.

‘That’s what I thought,’ I murmur to no one in particular.