It took a good ten minutes to get back to the rooms, and Alyn was a little worried that Miervaldis might have gone off to interview someone without her. When she knocked, however, she heard him come over and unlock the door. She nudged it open and sidled through, then noticed Bensen staring unabashedly at her lord. She turned, to block his view as best she could.

"Thanks very much," she said cheerfully, then kicked the door shut with her foot, almost in his face. Turning back, she saw Miervaldis hiding a smile.

"Who was that?"

"One of the cooks," she said, putting the tray down carefully on the little table between the chairs. "Or maybe an assistant. His name's Bensen, he showed me the way back. Oh, he and an under-cook were talking about Lord Cassian -" she cut off as her lord waved a hand at her.

"Thank you for listening, but I'd prefer to interview him first, if you don't mind," he said. "I know I asked Ythilda, but it's probably better if I kept as open a mind as possible."

Alyn poured the tea and kept silent. Miervaldis paced to the tall windows and peered out. They overlooked a perfectly-cut circular expanse of lawn with a fountain at the centre, and roses around the edges.

"The physicker will be here shortly," he said suddenly, turning round. "Oh, have some tea yourself if you want some. Thank you." He came over to the table, picked up his cup - without the saucer - and wandered into the study to look out of the windows some more. Alyn perched on the edge of the seat and sipped her own tea, thinking about what Bensen had said. She was very curious about Lord Cassian.

After a short while, there was a knock at the door, and she put down her cup and went to open it. The physicker was a short man with thinning grey hair and a harried expression. He had an apprentice with him; a gangly boy who hung back and eyed Alyn warily from beneath a floppy fringe of dark hair. Alyn immediately took a dislike to him.

"I'm Evan Hughes, here to see Lord Miervaldis," the physicker said. "Is he in? I hope this won't take long."

"This way please, sir," said Alyn politely. He may be only middle class, but her father had always expressed respect for the learned, be they philosophers, physickers or even mages. The physicker nodded and followed her in, his apprentice behind.

"In the study," Alyn said, and gestured; Evan Hughes went through, followed by his apprentice, but Miervaldis spoke from the study.

"If we could speak in private, I would appreciate it." Hughes looked a bit surprised, but gestured to his apprentice to remain in the main room. Alyn glanced hesitantly to the study, and Miervaldis winked slightly at her, from which she judged she was supposed to gently quiz the apprentice. Annoyed, she flopped down in one of the luxurious chairs and eyed the unprepossessing prospect as the study doors closed.

"So you're apprenticed to the physicker then?" she began, not sure how to do an unofficial questioning. The boy shrugged, and nodded. "Is it hard?"

"Not really." There was a long, awkward silence.

"Were you there when he saw the dead man?" Clumsy, she berated herself, but she had no idea how to do it. Strangely, the boy started talking, as though it was something to be proud of. Maybe it was, for him.

"I was! We were called out early, but not so early we weren't up. I've never seen a murder before."

"Me neither," Alyn said with feeling. "What happened?" She meant, what had the physicker done, but the apprentice took it differently.

"He got bashed with something, that's plain. He never did that himself. I don't know what, though - there was nothing in the room that could've done that."

"He was really dead then?"

The boy gave her a scornful look. "'Course he was. Deader than dead. Whoever did it really hated him."

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. Not for us to guess and chatter. That's for your lord, right?" And he gave her a very odd look, and refused to say anything more. Perhaps, she thought, he guessed she had been trying to get information out of him.

Soon after that, the physicker emerged, smiling, and he and the boy made their way out. Miervaldis watched as Alyn locked the door carefully behind him, then poured himself another cup of tea.

"Did the apprentice say anything?"

"No, my lord, not really - I'm sorry. He said they had been called out early, and that whoever did it must have really hated the scribe."

"Hmm." Miervaldis looked thoughtful.

"Did - um, did the physicker say anything?" she asked tentatively. He didn't seem to mind answering.

"He had a wonderful level of knowledge, in particular of poisons, of all things. But no, not as such. He confirmed what Ythilda said."

"He - was the scribe poisoned?"

"Oh no, sorry. We got a bit side-tracked." He laughed, and drank his tea. "We should get moving; it's nearly time to see Lord Cassian himself." Alyn jumped, and ran to the wash room to make sure her hair was neat. For some reason, it mattered.