Fog Season

Book 2: Tales of Port Saint Frey

by Patrice Sarath

Genres: Fantasy action & adventure; Historical Fantasy; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

A web of secrets and hidden identities ensnare two sisters and their family, in this delightful historical fantasy sequel to The Sisters Mederos

After the shocking events of last summer, the high society of Port Saint Frey has plenty to gossip about. Who was the Gentleman Bandit? Why hasn't he been captured? And what really happened that night when the Guildmaster disappeared? When the Guild hires Abel Fresnel, a detective with special powers of his own, to find the answers, Tesara and Yvienne Mederos have to avoid his probing questions and keep mum about their role in the events of that dark night. Everything's more or less under control until a dead man turns up in the dumbwaiter...

File Under: Fantasy [ Card Sharks | Sharp Sleuth | Magic Fingers | Dial S for Sisters ]

Release date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Angry Robot

Print pages: 368

Sample

Chapter One
 
There was an air of festivity at the Port Saint Frey harbor, where Tesara Mederos and her sister Yvienne waited to send off their parents on a six-month voyage that, the entire family hoped, would restore their fortunes. Stevedores and sailors trundled up and down the gangplank of the clipper Iderci Empress with barrels and gear and supplies. The Empress was a fast, lean ship whose keel was laid eight months before; this was to be her maiden voyage. Her masts were black against the bright blue sky, her furled sails a fine white, and her balustrades and brassworks gleamed. She wanted only for passengers to come aboard with their luggage. Brevart was already on deck, asking dozens of questions of the captain and the first mate, and they were patiently answering him, though no doubt they had much to do before the ship left port.
Despite the sunshine, clouds massed on the mountains behind the city, and Tesara could feel a wetness to the air that had nothing to do with the sea. Her power felt dampened, and she gave a little experimental push, flexing her fingers. Down the dock, air pressure and then a gust of wind rattled the dockmaster’s manifests, and the man and his apprentice scrambled to catch the pages before they flew off into the harbor.
Oops. A small surge of nausea struck her and she swallowed. Every time I use my powers, she thought. Each surge of energy caused a blowback. She struggled to keep her composure.
“For goodness sakes, Tesara, can you at least pay attention?” Alinesse said with exasperation.
“Sorry, Mama,” she said, but Alinesse didn’t wait for her apology and had already turned back to Yvienne. “Now, Yvienne, I’ve spoken with Albero about the broken dumbwaiter, but I’m leaving it in your hands to consult with the engineers. After all, you know the most about those things.”
“Of course, Mama,” Yvienne said, with a straight face. Tesara was impressed by her composure. “I’m as interested as you in determining why it’s stopped – I mean, why it never worked.”
It had certainly worked just fine the night they ousted their enemy, the nefarious Guild liaison Trune, from their family home. No doubt in a nasty fit of spite Trune had damaged the dumbwaiter, a parting shot at the family he had been determined to destroy. The whole house had had to be made over when they moved back in, and Alinesse, though her nature was normally frugal, had spared no expense in removing “the stench” as she called it, of Trune.
“I must say that if the tradesmen who installed it say it has to be taken out, I will not be displeased,” Alinesse said. She made a pursed-lip expression of disgust. “I am sure I could never be persuaded it was of any use. Finally, girls, you need to keep up with the household expenses and bills. This is your responsibility, Tesara. No, I will brook no complaint. Yvienne is busy with the office. You’ll have to meet with Mrs Francini every morning and go over the accounts. And you do have a good hand (said grudgingly) – so please take over the correspondence. And another thing – no invitations. I expect you to live retiringly. Perhaps the Sansieris can visit, but none other. I am sure the gossips in this town have nothing better to do than to find fault with your conduct in the worst way. Where is your father?”
They all looked up at the ship. Brevart followed after the captain eagerly, gesticulating. Surprising them both, Alinesse smiled, clutching her broad-brimmed bonnet. Her eyes were bright.
“I do love a sea voyage, girls. I wish it were for better reasons, but this is the first step in restoring our fortunes. What a stroke of luck that we got word that the Main Chance was sighted off the coast in Grand Harbor.”
Tesara and Yvienne exchanged glances. Yes, thought Tesara. That was rather convenient. Six years after the ship allegedly went down with all hands, and six months after House Mederos was restored to her rightful place, the great flagship of the Mederos fleet turned up on the other side of the continent. That sort of luck made a girl suspicious.
Yvienne stepped forward and gave Alinesse a kiss on the cheek. “You have nothing to worry about, Mama. We’ll take care of things here, and we’ll see you in a few months.”
“Or sooner,” Alinesse agreed. She held out gloved hands to both girls and clasped them tight. “I know we can trust you. You have a good head on your shoulder and you, Tesara…” Tesara braced herself. Alinesse gave a smile that was half rueful grimace. “You have hidden depths, my dear. If you but concentrate–”
Before Tesara could say something she would regret, Yvienne interposed smoothly. “It’s time, Mama,” she said, nodding over at the chaplain from the Church of the Sea. He and the acolytes were preparing the Service of Outgoing Ships. Already the voyagers and well-wishers moved in that direction. The sailors and the officers on board the ship gathered at the rail above them, Brevart among them, hats and caps doffed and heads bowed. The sailor at the end caught Tesara’s eye just before she bowed her head, and she turned to look at him as the priest began the ceremony.
The sailor at the end of the row, slender, slighter than the other men, and with a scant beard, was none other than Jone Saint Frey.
She gave a quite audible gasp. Yvienne looked at her in warning, and Tesara hastily bent her head and clasped her hands. But as soon as it was safe, and all had their heads bowed, she peeked again. Yes. She had not been mistaken. Tesara stared straight ahead, allowing the service to wash over her, mouthing the responses automatically.
Our Father in Heaven, our Mother the Sea, bless and keep this vessel…
At the last Amen, she turned fully around and peered at the ship. Jone had already disappeared. The bustle around her increased, good-byes were said, people embraced their families. Brevart and Alinesse were two of eight passengers; a scattering of younger sons, amidst tradesmen from Ravenne. Tesara picked up her skirts and strode toward the gangway, ignoring her mother’s exasperated “Tesara!”
She pushed her way up onto the ship, shouldering past the stevedores carrying the last crates and luggage. Her father caught sight of her and waved her over to meet the patient captain.
“Ah Tesara, have you come to see the ship? Captain, this is my youngest–”
Tesara bobbed a quick curtsey. “I would love to look around. May I? Thank you.”
She went aft before they could say anything, threading between cargo and sailors, stepping over ropes and gear.
It wasn’t hard to find him. He was coiling and securing rope on the deck. He looked up at her. She let out her breath, just then realizing she had been holding it.
“Hello,” she said. It was wholly inadequate and captured none of what she wanted to say to him. They had not seen each other in the past six months – she had thought he no longer cared for her.
He gave his crooked smile, the one that transformed his face from ugly to charming. Now that she saw him up close, she saw that the slender boy she knew had filled out, his face reddened and browned under the sun.
“I wrote you a letter,” he said. “I posted it; I didn’t know your parents booked passage, and I didn’t expect to see you.”
“I look forward to reading it. I… Does your mother know?” It was a terribly awkward thing to assume, and she knew that as soon as the words blurted from her mouth.
This time he grimaced. “She thinks I’m in Ravenne, courting Mira.”
Courting Mira. Had that even been possible? She felt sickened by the idea. But you knew he could never love you. You could only ever be friends. You knew that. So why shouldn’t he marry the sparkling, spoiled, charming, beautiful Mirandine Depressis?
“Does she know?” And this time Tesara was ashamed at the jealousy in her words. If Jone heard that undertone, he gave no sign.
“It’s all in the letter, Tes. I’m sorry – I know that was the coward’s way out.” He spoke in a sudden rush. “I spent my whole life being frightened and avoiding all unpleasantness. I knew if I gave in to my mother, I would spend decades and decades being pleasant and obedient, and never once feeling – anything. And then I would die. I needed to do what I was truly afraid of, and I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to just do it.”
“It’s not being cowardly. It would have been cowardly not to do this.” She said it with sudden, fierce urgency. “I’m glad you’re going.” She laughed a little, and he did too.
“I’ll miss you, Tesara Mederos. That’s in the letter too, but not this.” He came to her and kissed her, first on the cheek, and then on her lips. For a brief moment, the kiss lingered, his lips salty and warm on hers.
“Tesara!” It was her mother, calling from the gangway. They both jumped back.
Tesara said in a hurry, “I have to go. I’ll read your letter, and I’ll write to you – but the post will take months.”
He grinned, and he looked in that instant like a carefree young sailor. “Send it to the Cape – we’ll pick it up on the return journey.”
“Tesara!” Her mother called again with rising impatience.
She pressed his hand. “Good-bye. Good luck. Remember, there are no such things as sea monsters.”
He laughed, and she hurried back to her parents.
All during their leavetaking, she couldn’t help but think of the kiss. It was Jone Saint Frey. They had kissed. It had been lovely and unexpected, and so part and parcel of the new Jone, halfway to shedding the skin of the quiet, uncertain boy that wore him down. So why did she have such deep misgivings?
There are no such things as sea monsters. Except me.
The sunk fleet haunted her, and she knew she would not rest until her parents discovered the truth. And if that truth was that their daughter was an ungovernable monster, what then? Tesara pressed a hand against her abdomen, trying to quiet the ever-constant roil. Next to her, Yvienne, quietly noticing, gave her a quick side hug. Dear Yvienne, Tesara thought. She always knew when she was worried.
At last the lines were untied from the moorings and tossed back onto the deck of the Empress. The tugs, manned by twelve muscular longshoremen apiece, began the laborious task of towing the ship out of the harbor. Slowly she made headway. The acolytes tossed the flowers from the service into the water. The passengers clustered on the rail, waving.
“I don’t really have to manage the household accounts, do I?” Tesara said, waving after the departing ship.
“I wouldn’t dream of letting you near them,” Yvienne promised.
Finally the order came and the sails unfurled, belling as they caught the wind. The ship began a slow, ponderous turn, and the tugs rowed out of her way. At the same time, the fog bank flowed over the mountains and settled onto the city, dampening the sun behind them, while the sea before them dazzled with freshening whitecaps.
The last sight Tesara caught of the Iderci Empress was of her gliding out into the sunlit sea, while all around them the docks and the city turned gray and wet.
Bother, she thought. Fog Season had come early this year.