"Oh, I think he would. But does that get us anything? He's going to be leaving here uneventfully in a week." It has not at all occurred to the Aritha that Mailou knows, who's a bit slow on the intrigue, that Mailou might be angling to get her sent along with him. 

"At the very least, it's liable to be highly entertaining." This seems to be most of what's on Mailou's mind. "Of course, men in the throes of anger or grief might say things they wouldn't otherwise - especially if he's the sort to drown his sorrows in wine, and has a little encouragement - though I confess I'm not expecting anything very interesting." 

"Well, I'll do my best."

Later that evening she tries a scry on Duke Valdemar's castle herself.

It takes her a couple of tries to find anything of interest; the first time she looks, Kordas' wife - whose name is Isla, and whose looks are very ordinary, not plain but not pretty either - is occupied welcoming - or perhaps bribing - an Imperial messenger; she seems to have invited him in to 'take a resist' and partake of a rather generous gift of wine-spirits. Based on snippets of conversation, he was delivering a receipt for the tribute-horses and take the opportunity to return some account-books that the Exchequer previously requested. "And it's about time, too!" Isla giggles to one of her ladies-in-waiting.

She catches a snippet of conversation between Isla and a much younger woman - a girl, really, she shares a family resemblance with Isla but can't be more than sixteen. “You are too clever by half,” she says to Isla in the hall, voice lowered. “He’ll want to come back.” “Well, the dear man deserves some reward, after being saddled with our accounting books,” Isla replies, irritably. “Next time he won't be laggard about it, because he knows what will be waiting when he gets here.”

The second time, Isla is unscryable, which most likely means she's in her bedroom - especially since her personal maid seems to be hovering in her parlor, making a token attempt to occupy herself in entirely unnecessary tidying, but at the same time guarding her lady's door. 

Aritha is rewarded a couple of minutes later when Isla slips out with a man, presumably 'dear cousin Hakkon'. He's certainly good-looking; tall, broad-shouldered, and as well-muscled as a muleteer. They're fairly discreet as they walk out, but at the doorway to Isla's quarters, they pause and touch fingers, heads close together.

Based on Isla's longing looks, either she's an absurdly good actress or she's genuinely infatuated with the man. Hakkon seems - awkward, mostly. To Aritha's eye, he looks more uncomfortable than pleased with himself. 

She also notices that he doesn't spare a glance for Isla's maid, who is both younger and rather prettier than the lady she serves, if not dressed as finely.