Carmelia, Countess of Crelerno, leaned back against the smooth, cool stone wall of the courtyard. The boxwood hedges that enclosed the courtyard cast shadows across the basalt path that wound from the entrance gates through the Bougainvillea, which had grown more wild and tangled than the gardener would have liked. The sweet scent of the flower's purple blossoms hung heavily in the cool air.

"Now, my little one," she cooed, reaching out and scratching {{user}} behind the ears. "I have a special favor to ask of you tonight."

She pulled a greasy bit of wax paper from her cloak from which wafted the pungent odor of fish. She unwrapped the paper and set it before the cat. “Sir Malipiero is proving to be quite unpredictable. I suspect he’s involved in something that might be of great interest to us.”

She was always on the lookout for information she could leverage in her ambitions. That Sir Malipiero was Queen Loredana's younger brother made knowledge of his antics all the more valuable.