Episode 5

Credits
Written by: Alaya Dawn Johnson

Cover Illustration by: Kathleen Jennings

Art Director: Charles Orr

Lead Writer: Ellen Kushner

Editor: Delia Sherman

Producers: Racheline Maltese and Julian Yap

Tremontaine original concept by Ellen Kushner

Synopsis
In chronological order:

Rafe misses both William and the high quality chocolate he serves. He listens to Micah explain that the numbers in her tables are still coming out wrong and that straight lines on a sphere cannot be straight. She now understands that Doctor Volney has kicked her out of his lectures.

Rafe and Kaab banter, then Micah lets it slip that Kaab has told her that Kaab's uncle has navigational charts and maps. Kaab pretends that Micah and Rafe have convinced her to "borrow" one of these. Rafe leaves to visit William. When Kaab leaves to find Tess, it is raining.

Arriving at Tess's place, Kaab learns that it was ransacked. Tess says that whoever did it went through all of her work and destroyed her sketches. Her seals and Nobles' Almanack were examined, but apparently not destroyed. Some of her drawers were smashed. The copies Tess had made for Kaab were destroyed, but, fortunately, Tess had the original with her and was not at home when her place was ransacked. Nothing was taken. Kaab fears for Tess's safety, and they quarrel. Tess tells her to leave.

Diane attends Lady Perry's supper, where she engages in social skirmishes. She learns that William has slept through a vote at a meeting of the Council of Lords. Diane returns home, determined to make certain that William understands the importance of the tax meeting the next day, but finds that he he is having sex with Rafe. She listens to their pillow talk. Rafe finds Diane's interest in trade odd and suggests William rent out Highcombe. Given that it is still mortgaged, Diane is not pleased to hear Rafe's words. The idea that William might fail to get the chocolate tax reduced is more terrifying to her than even the visit from Ben.

Diane opens a secret panel and then a smaller "device". Inside are three items: an old leather purse, a tarnished brooch embossed with a design used by country hospitals in the North of the Land, and a newly added item which is not described. She hides these items away again.

Tess visits Kaab in the Balam compound at night. Whoever broke into her room returned, leaving a package on her desk and locking the door behind them. The package had the jacket Ben was wearing when he was killed and a picture of Tess, clearly drawn by someone who was secretly watching her. Tess thinks that they were looking for the locket that Ben's father gave him. Tess drew the locket for Ben, but she gave Ben the only drawing she made of it. This is almost certainly the paper Diane saw that made her agree to talk to Ben. Kaab tells Tess to make more drawings of the locket and comes up with a plan to find Tess a new protector and find out who killed Ben.

Diane leaves a luncheon hosted by the wife of the Raven Chancellor early, despite possible social repercussions. She has received a message from Reynald that William is still in his chambers, which means that he has missed an important Council meeting. It is unclear whether this is meant to be the same as the one mentioned earlier in the episode, but that one should have happened a couple of days ago, according to the timeline. Regardless, this missed meeting is the one on which Diane pinned her hopes of lowering the chocolate tax, befriending the Balam, and paying off the mortgage on Highcombe.

Reynald meets Diane, who does not like his new attitude towards her. He tells her that he thinks Tess is not a threat, but isn't entirely sure. Diane tells him to make sure, and he asks if that means she wants him to kill Tess. She tells him that she leaves the method up to him and sends him ahead to tell William's manservant that Lord Davenant is asking after William's health.

Diane returns home and has Tilson show Rafe out, still pretending to know nothing about his affair with her husband. William tries to apologize. For the first time, Diane sidesteps his embrace. She writes to Lady Davenant to ask if she would be in sufficient health to receive a visitor in two days. Diane is considering seducing Lady Davenant's husband, the Dragon Chancellor.

Kaab fights against contenders for the position of Tess's new protector, whom she plans to choose from among those who defeat her. One, Alaric, presses the attack even after Kaab concedes, insisting on going to first blood, and trying to kill Kaab after she draws first blood. Vincent Applethorpe stops him and takes his weapons, promising to return them the next day, at the Maiden's Fancy.

Kaab and Tess start executing their actual plan, which is to flush out Ben's killer. Tess pretends that she has lost some drawings she did for a job. Vincent ignores this completely, which Kaab takes as a sign that he is not the one who killed Ben.

Tess and Kaab go inside the Maiden's Fancy for a break from the dueling. Tess continues to pretend that she has lost important drawing. Reynald is in the crowd, pretending to be a harmless klutz. He sees the bag Tess has brought as part of the charade, and forgets himself for a moment, wondering whether anyone has stolen her missing papers which might be drawings he needs to destroy.

Kaab spots Reynald's interest and momentary slip and alerts Tess. Tess pretends to find the missing papers. These show a sketch that looks almost, but not quite, like a locket. Kaab decides that the next and final duel she will fight will be with Vincent.

Vincent wins their fight, to neither's surprise. Vincent agrees to be Tess's protector and teach Kaab how to use the sword. He wants to learn how she uses the dagger. Kaab speaks quietly to Vincent while the crowd cheers.

As the crowd celebrates, Kaab and Tess kiss. Vincent sees Reynald steal papers from Tess's bag, as Kaab said he would, and follows him to Tremontaine House. Vincent is shaken to realize just how powerful an enemy Tess and Kaab have made without realizing it.

Timeline
This one is particularly tricky. As near as I can tell:

Let T = Time of the opening scene of the episode.

T-6 = 6 days earlier: Rafe saw Will.

T-5 days = 5 days earlier: Reynald was in Tess's room, ransacking it, two days before Kaab visits Tess and learns of this.

T-72 hours = 3 days earlier: Rafe, Kaab, and Micah at the Ink Pot. Micah has been working on her tables for two weeks. Rafe hasn't seen Will in three days. He also doesn't think Diane knows about their relationship. Micah has figured out that she's been kicked out of Volney's class. Kaab has already told Micah about her uncle's charts to set up giving Micah the fake that she commissioned from Tess. Kaab now lets Rafe convince her to borrow a chart.

T-70 hours = 3 days earlier: It is raining. Kaab discovers Tess's place has been ransacked. While it may sound at first like Tess's seals and Almanack were destroyed, like her sketches were, this cannot have been the case. Tess is still in her mourning period. Kaab offends her, and she kicks Kaab out.

T-65 hours: It is still almost 3 days earlier. Diane returns from Sarah Lady Perry's small ladies' supper. By now, William's distraction is being noticed. Lord Filisand told Lady Perry that William has come late to several meetings and even slept through a vote in Council. Lady Perry's daughter, Josephine, is definitely engaged to Rupert Vernay, Lord Filisand's heir, by now, if she wasn't at the beginning of the season. It is nearly midnight by the time Diane returns to Tremontaine House to hear Rafe and William having sex and talking about her odd interests in matters financial. In the morning, William is supposed to attend a crucial Council meeting, where Diane intends to help the Balam family by getting tax breaks for them.

T-30 hours = Just over a day ago: Tess visits Kaab at night. While she was napping, sometime in the last 40 hours, there was a second break in. A package with Ben's jacket and a drawing of Tess was left, and the door locked when the infiltrator left. Was this the same person who broke in 5 days before? Presumably so, although Reynald later thinks about the first break in, but not the second. This probably means that he's the one who drew Tess. Apparently, he saved Ben's jacket. Tess agrees she needs a new protector at once. She and Kaab plan.

T-5 hours: It's been 60 hours since the dinner party, which is more than two days' worth of time, so presumably, William made the Council meeting that would have been, oh, two days ago, right? Diane leaves early, pleading indisposition, as she's learned that William did not make a meeting scheduled for this day. On finding William and Rafe together, refuses to let him embrace her for the first time, and writes to Lady Davenant, asking after her health. Apparently, sometime after Episode 1, Lady Davenant traveled to her country estates at Rendellfield, but has now returned.

T = 0: The episode opens at the contest in Riverside. It's been going on for two hours. It is two weeks after Ben's body was found by the clam women, which means that Tess's mourning period is up (and that Reynald held on to Ben's coat for almost two weeks). Tess and Kaab are holding a contest to find Tess a new protector, and they also hope to flush out Ben's killer. Vincent Applethorpe stops Alaric from killing Kaab and becomes Tess's protector. Reynald steals the sketches Tess made as bait for him, and Vincent follows him as far as House Tremontaine.

T+1 day: This is when Applethorpe has promised to return Alaric's weapons at the Maiden's Fancy, apparently not just to keep Alaric from attacking Kaab again, but to keep other swordsment from feeling the need to kill him for dishonoring them all.

T+2 days: This is when Diane hopes Lady Davenant will be sufficiently recovered from her journey from Rendellfield for company to receive her. Certainly, Lord Davenant will be at home then.

Arc / Plot Points
Kaab has been making inquiries about Ben, but has learned nothing.

Ben was killed on the Hill by Reynald. Reynald then dumped the body in the river, first removing Ben's jacket.For some reason, he held on to the jacket for almost two weeks, leaving it in the package he put in Tess's home. Ben is the first person Diane has ordered Reynald to kill.

Reynald's attitude towards Diane changed after he killed Ben. Diane does not like this. Reynald seems to accept it when she reminds him of his place, although she does let several things she considers liberties pass without comment.

Tess's home was ransacked, presumably by Reynald. Her sketches were destroyed, and some of the furniture smashed. But, nothing was stolen and none of the items she needs for her work were destroyed. Ben's clothing was cut open, but not Tess's.

Reynald (presumably) returned with a package containing Ben's jacket and a sketch of Tess. Apparently, one of the swordsman's talents is drawing.

Diane has a secret panel behind which is a "smaller device" requiring an elaborate method to unlock it. Inside it are three items: an old leather pouch, a copper brooch embossed with a device generally used by at least some Northern country hospitals: "a trefoil and a healer's staff", and a new item.

William missed the meeting where Diane hoped that the proposal to lower the chocolate tax would be passed. The timing is a little confusing here, because at T-60 hours, she is concerned that he will miss the meeting the next day, but the crucial meeting seems to have been a couple of days after that.

Rafe is asking William questions about Highcombe that threaten Diane enough to frighten her more than the visit from Ben did.

Diane is still pretending not to realize that William and Rafe are having an affair. She has told Rafe to report to her for unspecified work.

Kaab is much better with her dagger than with her sword.

Kaab is aware that she is not skilled enough to be Tess's protector (even if that didn't clash with other duties).

Kaab spots Reynald from the single, brief slip he makes.

It is, however, his only slip. He is very good at maintaining his disguise.

There are also eight other clandestine swordsmen that Reynald recognizes at the Maiden's Fancy.

Vincent has other goals than protecting Tess, but he is infatuated with Kaab and wants to teach her how to use a sword and learn from her how to use a dagger.

Diane contemplates having an affair with Lord Davenant, the Dragon Chancellor, as a means to lowering the chocolate tax.

Vincent vanished a few years ago, and Riversiders assumed that meant that he was dead. When he reappeared, he was more mature and a better fighter, although he was good to begin with. People were happy to see him, although many have questions, presumably about his fighting style.

Kaab insists that Vincent is only Tess's protector, not hers. Vincent agrees.

Reynald takes the bait of the pictures Tess drew, stealing them. At Kaab's request, Vincent follows him and learns that he works for Tremontaine.

It's very unclear what Reynald is trying to accomplish. At one point, we read that the only reason Tess is still alive is that Reynald needs to learn what she knows. But, in the next paragraph, he seems aware that it may not be necessary to kill Tess to silence her, and that killing her may not even be the best way. This is after both break ins. Apart from making it clear that he can kill her if he wants, and that he is looking for something, it's not at all clear what result he hopes for from them.

Cultural and World Information
According to the Kinwiinik, people have three souls or spirits. One is the head spirit.

The Kinwiinik Triple Alliance. This isn't defined.

Kinwinik women apparently rarely learn more than defensive fighting, and then, perhaps only if they are dedicated to service.

There is a ball game played mostly by Kinwiinik boys. While there's no reason they can't play it with girls -- and they do -- boys and girls study separately, apparently by age ten or so.

"I am the other you" is a Kinwiinik greeting.

The Ink Pot serves popped maize, which we would call popcorn. It has chocolate, but Kaab and Rafe agree that its chocolate is terrible.

The Maiden's Fancy is a tavern in the Old Market. There is also a mermaid fountain in the Old Market, but it is filled with trash. This area is a traditional spot for challenges in Riverside.

Riverside challenges need not be to the death or even to first blood. Some challenges can be ended by simply yielding.

Vincent takes Alaric's weapons to keep the swordsmen of Riverside from doing "worse", which presumably means killing him for dishonoring them all by his behavior. Vincent promises to return them the next day. There seems to be precedent for this sort of thing.

Alaric is from the North. Vincent is from the South. North / South rivalry and animosity is still around.

The tools of Tess's trade include forged (presumably) seals and a copy of the latest edition of the Nobles' Almanack. She also shops at Tilney Market, presumably in Riverside, where there is a colorist's shop.

Apparently, Tess used to serve beer at the Three Dogs.

Some country hospitals in the North of the Land use copper brooches embossed with "a trefoil and a healer's staff", presumably for some of those who work for the hospital.

Vincent swears by "King's blood".

Being someone's protector in Riverside does not seem to mean that one has to be with one's charge constantly. Vincent says that he's going away for a few days, but the fact that he is Tess's protector apparently means that no one is going to bother Tess in Vincent's absence--at least, no one who plays by Riverside rules.

The story of Tess, Kaab, and Vincent to date is like a fairy tale come to life for Riverside.

Reynald meets Diane near the Roehaven townhouse, which means that it is somewhere between Tremontaine House and the home of the Raven Chancellor.

Uru and Cham are countries outside the Land.

Easter Eggs
Vincent Applethorpe

Rosalie, a serving girl at the Maiden's Fancy

Miscellany
Blooper: "Derrick" is used to refer to "Alaric" -- this also got into audio book.

Exactly whether Reynald or Diane want Tess dead is a little murky and seems to change from episode to episode, sometimes even within an episode.

Episode Summaries

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