While Ardlac left to visit the palace, Li wandered the house. Ardlac had told him he could wander where he pleased and investigate anything that caught his eye, so he began with the house's entrance area and examined the plants and painted windows, hoping for distraction. He was concerned for Ardlac. Though he knew Ardlac hadn't been close to his father, he also knew that arranging his father's affairs would not be easy for him. Ardlac had told Li he wouldn't take the inherited position his father had left him until Li's sentence on the Gryphon was complete, but Li wondered if the court or the queen would accept that. What if Ardlac was required to remain in Solaris instead of returning to the Gryphon with Li, or forfeit the position entirely if he could not remain? Li didn't wish to be the reason Ardlac lost a profitable position that would be far safer than life on a privateer.

"Would you like to learn more about the house?"

Startled, Li turned to see Ilya, the housekeeper, standing at the head of the hallway leading away from the entrance hall. She was watching him, but she looked merely curious, not uneasy or uncomfortable with his presence.

"It is quite a large house," Li replied. "I may become lost wandering myself."

She smiled. "There are no winding halls and secret passageways," she assured him. "It would be quite difficult to become lost, have no fear." She came to stand close to him and motioned around the entrance hall. "All these plants come from all over Ayrith. Falion, Ardlac's father, imported them for himself when he imported similar plants for the palace. Many of them flower at different seasons and make the hall smell lovely."

Li smiled. "They are lovely, even when they aren't flowering."

Ilya nodded. "I believe so, too."

She showed him about the ground floor of the house in more detail than Ardlac had been able to before his required visit to the palace. He saw the kitchen, where he was told he could find something to eat between meals if he ever desired it. He also saw the dining hall, which had been well-appointed with a great table, cushioned chairs, and lavish decorations for when Falion entertained wealthy trading partners. He was also shown the privy adjoined to the bathing chamber. Upstairs, he was shown each of the bedchambers, all of which were unique. One of them, the one across the hall from Ardlac's chamber, had been converted into a library.

"If you wish to read, this is a good place," Ilya explained. "Many of the books are in the Nair language, but there are some in Trade. I do not believe they are in any other languages. Felion only knew Nair and Trade."

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Li nodded and looked eagerly about the room. It was completely filled with books. A plush chair sat beside a bright window painted with an image of the sea, complete with leaping whales and a ship in the distance. Another chair sat beside a great hearth, and a shelf of wine bottles sat against the wall beside the hearth. Across the floor was a lush blue carpet.

"Perhaps reading some of these books might help me learn Nair," he thought aloud.

"You and Ardlac will be staying?" she asked. Her tone seemed somehow both curious and cautious.

"I believe we will be leaving and returning in a few months," he replied. "I'm sure much will depend on his meeting at the palace." He considered how much to tell her about himself, but he decided to simply admit the truth. "I was wrongly judged guilty of my lover's murder in Mahlon and that is why I was sentenced to serve on the ship where I met Ardlac. The captain will be returning us to Mahlon so I can address the conviction with Ardlac's support, as I wasn't permitted the full process for my defense."

Ilya's lined expression was sad. "You did not fight against it when they sentenced you?"

Li was relieved that she didn't seem to be entertaining the idea that he was lying. "I was too distraught over Ash's death to fight. I simply allowed them to do what they wanted with me. I should have been offered the services of a truth-knower for such a serious accusation, but I was not. Ardlac wishes to return with me and allow Ash's spirit to speak in my defense. It was his wife who killed him, not I."

"I'm terribly sorry that was done to you," she told him gently. "I have heard this custom of marriage creates difficulties more often than it brings happiness. I'm thankful it is not a part of our way here, except to some who have seen the tradition on travels or are with foreign lovers. Of course, those who do use this marriage custom are not restricted to only one spouse. There are many couples in Nairiume who are committed to only each other, of course, but we have a welcoming society for love between multiple people. Sometimes lovers become jealous and break their relationships, and murders have occurred, but such things are rather rare here. Many are happy sharing their love when it is done openly and with great care for all partners."

Li felt his face growing warm at the thought of discussing his life with her. "Things are not as accepted in Mahlon. Society expects relationships to only form between two people, and it is greatly preferred if they are a man and a woman. Having a relationship with someone who is seen as the same gender as you are is not encouraged, though rarely is anything done to prevent it or actively discourage it. Marriage, however, is not possible in those relationships. Ash married because it was expected of him, and when we fell in love, we attempted to hide it from her. When she learned of it, and that he planned to end the marriage to be with me, she killed him and caused me to be the one found guilty of the crime."

"I am terribly sorry," she told him again, still looking sad. "I hope that you will find life here more welcoming and kind."

"Thank you," he replied, already feeling more welcome than he had ever dared to hope.

Ardlac appeared in the doorway of the room. "There you are," he said, his expression unreadable. "Li, we've been invited to dine at the palace with the court."