“Not to be critical. But if you let them isolate you, pretty soon you won’t have any idea what’s going on.”
Which echoed Hecht’s fears.
“You aren’t here to warn me about that.”
“No. I have a different warning in hand.”
“If it’s time-sensitive you’d better spit it up.”
Drear decided not to take offense. “There’s a new plot afoot against you. It appears to include some serious players.”
Hecht considered. “You did go back to work for the Princess Apparent, didn’t you?” He knew the answer, of course.
“I did. In part thanks to you. I owe you for that. Plus, I want to shelter the Princess from the ambitions of her supposed friends.”
“Ah. Do go on.”
Drear told his story. He named no names because he had most of his information second-and third-hand. But there was a cabal, embracing some of the Electors, the Council Advisory, and senior court functionaries. They planned a palace revolution. The Commander of the Righteous would be arrested before all else. And killed, if he resisted. Katrin would be replaced with the more tractable Helspeth.
Hecht observed, “Those kinds of rumors have been around since Lothar went belly-up.”
“And the plotters never have the balls to take the plunge. I know. But Katrin’s recent behavior has given them fresh courage. And I don’t want my benefactor hurt by power squabbles amongst the Empire’s most spoiled nobles.”
“And you especially don’t want your principal to become a pawn in a game not of her own devising.” Hecht suspected that Drear harbored deep, well-hidden feelings for the Princess Apparent. Possibly more realistically founded than those of an itinerant war fighter who was not at all sure of who he was or where his true loyalties lay. He suspected, as well, that Algres Drear was perfectly aware of the weakness of the Commander of the Righteous where the Princess Apparent was concerned.
Captain Drear, married man, was offering to found a conspiracy of would-be lovers who dared not touch.
“I especially don’t,” Drear agreed. “With the Empress getting more erratic, more unpredictable, and more harsh, I don’t. She could have Helspeth executed this time. She’d be sorry and penitent afterward but it would be done.”
“If somebody does something really stupid and says he acted on her behalf.”
“That’s what I’m trying to stop. If we can make it to summer, and the diplomats find a court interested in a marital alliance, Katrin wouldn’t feel so threatened. Although Helspeth getting married won’t change the succession. Katrin has to produce an heir to do that.”
Hecht feared Katrin’s enemies would feel pressed to act before Helspeth could be dealt on the marriage market. “A lot of old men would be thrilled if they could just get Helspeth out of the country. If Katrin died they might have years to run the Empire if they could keep Helspeth away. If they could get her to abdicate. I understand that Anies is senile but healthy as a horse.”
Anies, Johannes’s sister, followed Helspeth in the succession. She was old but likely had a decade left. Hecht had not met her, though she shared Winterhall with the Empress and Princess Apparent. Indeed, she was the grande dame of that establishment.
Drear grunted unhappily.
“Dynastic troubles. There must be a better way,” Hecht mused. “How could we get Jaime of Castauriga back here for a while? He could solve all our problems with a five-minute effort.”
“That would be ideal. But we’d have to kidnap him. Witnesses agree, Jaime developed an abiding, irrational loathing for Katrin while he was here. As potent as her obsession with him. Who knows why? Nobody knows what happened in private. But it’s there, and Jaime’s feelings are so strong he’s even lost interest in gaining the Empire through his descendants.”
Titus Consent held the same opinion. But would that continue to be the case? The opportunity had to be gnawing at Jaime. When he fell asleep at night. In that twilight state when he was wakening. And every time one of his family reminded him what he was putting aside.
He could be the father of an Imperial dynasty.
Hecht said, “Maybe Helspeth should marry. She’d be safer. Her husband would have a vested interest in protecting her.”
Sourly, Drear agreed. “It would make her safer. But because Katrin has no issue there’ll always be knives with Helspeth’s name on. The temptation to meddle might even increase if it looked like a foreign line might come in. Especially if a match with Regard of Arnhand turned up.”
There had been resistance to that from all factions before. But that had begun to change when Katrin created her own lifeguard legion while steadfastly refusing to wilt like a woman.
Hecht said, “It could happen. The flaw, though, is that Arnhand is so supportive of the Brothen Patriarchs. That’s where Anne of Menand doesn’t restructure her values when a change might be convenient. And she’s definitely not somebody anyone here wants playing the wicked mother-in-law. Katrin would be the best match for Regard.”
The moment he said that he started to worry. He saw the identical fear take root in Algres Drear.
Katrin Ege was close to Serenity. Jaime of Castauriga was not. Jaime remained an adamant supporter of Peter of Navaya, who made no secret of what Serenity could do with his Connecten ambitions. There would be armed confrontation this summer. Anne of Menand had to scramble to hang on to allies who were not inclined to face the victor of Los Naves de los Fantas and the hardened troops of the Direcian Reconquest.
The Empress could not divorce Jaime. But no especially clever Church lawyer would be needed to develop an annulment action. Katrin’s pregnancy problems could be laid off on Jaime’s whoring and consorting with the Night.
Drear nearly moaned. “If Katrin’s crowd think of that, they’ll be at her day and night. Her loving Jaime will become irrelevant. They’ll argue the good of the Empire. No Ege can resist that.”
“You’re right. The religious angle could make her spite her emotional attachment, too. She really does believe the souls of her subjects are her responsibility.”
“Just keep her fixated on the Holy Lands. Feed that obsession and starve the rest.”
“Of course. Don’t mention any of this to anybody. Those people have proven that they can get up to plenty of mischief on their own.”
Drear nodded.
Hecht continued, “I know you don’t want to accuse anybody. But how about suggesting a few people that I should keep an eye on?”
Captain Drear’s conscience proved more flexible than he pretended. He produced a generously annotated list. “Some of these won’t be deeply involved. Others you’d expect. And some might surprise us if it came time to take a stand.”
Hecht read. Drear’s penmanship was obsessively precise. And his rating of suspects definitely did include surprises.
Drear said, “I should get back. I don’t like leaving her unguarded.”
The Princess Apparent was not, of course, unguarded. She just was not guarded by Algres Drear.
“All right. Thank you. Real food for thought, this. One thing. Don’t take it all on yourself. The weight could break you. Then what good will you be? If you can’t trust anybody else, holler at me.”
The men locked gazes. Drear nodded. “I will.” He left.
Titus knocked.
“Come. You heard?”
“Not all, but enough.”
“Here’s his list. You’ll find some surprises. Maybe with personal meaning to our Braunsknecht friend. Watch as many as you can. Carefully. If Drear isn’t making it up, go ahead and make it obvious that we’re watching. That’ll start them complaining. But it should make the weaker ones run scared. I want to see Sedlakova, Rhuk, and Prosek as soon as they can come in together.”
***
After three tries the Commander of the Righteous caught the Empress feeling well enough to attend a demonstration in support of an idea he had presented and she had given a supportive nod but not final approval. “The actual s
how will take only a few minutes, Your Grace. But it does have to be seen to be understood.”
So the Empress, her sister, and a handful of functionaries joined him on a cavalry training field two miles north of the city wall. Katrin was not in a good mood. Captain Ephrian, commanding her guards, insisted her disposition was its sunniest since the funeral.
She left her sedan demanding, “Why couldn’t you show me this in Franz-Benneroust Plaza?”
“The danger, Your Grace. You’ll understand in a minute.”
“I hired you. I suppose I have to trust you. So do it! While I’m still well enough to care.” She began to needle Helspeth.
Hecht left the review stand. Rhuk and Prosek awaited him. Titus Consent joined them. Consent murmured, “I keep reminding myself that I didn’t believe her when she told us she was pregnant.”
“Meaning?”
“That now she might really be badly sick.”
“I thought that was obvious. She’s been going downhill since the baby came.”
“Not quite true, boss.”
Hecht had been about to give the order to fire. He lowered his right hand. “Explain.”
“Near as my guys can tell, she made a turn for the better when we started dogging the folks on Drear’s list. I consider that suggestive.”
“She’s had help getting sick?”
“That would be my guess.”
Hecht pretended to study the field. He had detailed twelve falcons and four heavier pieces for the demonstration. They stood in line abreast. The falcons pointed toward a hundred rude scarecrows made up to look like advancing infantrymen, at ranges up to a hundred yards. Clej Sedlakova and Buhle Smolens had found enough junk armor to partially equip each scarecrow.
Amongst the scarecrows there were bales of straw.
Two larger targets had been prepared, too. Both were derelict stone buildings proved up for the occasion.
Hecht gave the signal. The falcons popped off in succession, left to right.
Most of the scarecrows went down. Several nearer straw bales scattered downrange.
Rhuk and Prosek let the smoke clear, then fired the four squat, almost bowl-shaped weapons they called mortars. Each spoke with a deep rumble. Sixty-pound stones arced through the air, easy for the eye to follow. Three of four landed on the lesser stone structure, demolishing it.
The smoke cleared off again. Kait Rhuk lighted a powder train laid to be obvious to the observer. Sparkle and smoke raced toward the larger stone structure.
A corner and one side came apart. The sound arrived a second later, like a kick in the stomach. Smaller debris fell within yards of the reviewing stand.
Hecht went over. “Your Grace, if you will, I’d like you to examine the weapons and what they did to their targets, close-up.”
The Empress’s entire party seemed dumbfounded. That would be because of the noise and smoke. An effect that did not remain intimidating long, he knew.
Katrin nodded. “I’m impressed, so far.” She rose, refusing help, and made her way slowly to the firing line. Drago Prosek, flustered, explained the two types of falcon, muzzle-charged and fast fire, and the mortars. “Which we called that because they kind of look like an apothecary’s mortar.”
Hecht guided Katrin to the target area. “We used stones in the falcon loads today. Pebbles are free. In battle we’d want to use metal shot because it’s more effective.”
The old armor had not stood up to the stone shot, out to about eighty yards.
Katrin said, “Archers could do as much damage, couldn’t they? And they’d be cheaper.”
“Cheaper, perhaps. But trained soldiers aren’t at great risk from archers. Falcon shot, though, will rip right through shields and hauberks. And you need to take into account that these weapons are already obsolete where we’re headed. Krulik and Sneigon are making them bigger and more reliable and are manufacturing better firepowder. And they’re letting Indala order as many as he can afford.”
Katrin made her way slowly back to the fast fire falcons, cast to Kait Rhuk’s design. “I don’t believe your Krulik and Sneigon have anything like this. Do they?”
“No, Your Grace. Kait?”
Rhuk showed the Empress how the preloaded pots went into a breech in the rear of the tube. Turned a few inches, a protruding knob moved into a slot and held the pot in place. A touchhole in the pot needed charging with a dram of firepowder. A falcon supported by a dozen pots and an experienced crew could fire four or five times as fast as the crew of a front-loading weapon.
The Empress was appropriately impressed. But Rhuk held Hecht back when Katrin decided to move on. “Don’t try to sell her on the fast firers. I’m not going to have any more made.”
“What? Why not? They were a stroke of genius.”
“The pot needs to seat into the breech perfectly. The founders can’t cast them with enough precision. We can’t get them to line up right. Which isn’t a huge problem if we’re shooting gravel but metal warshot can hang up and damage the weapon. Solid shot can hang up enough for the pot to explode. The weapons would have a very short life under field conditions.”
Hecht sighed. This was an old story. The human mind could invent things that human hands could not make work. “I understand. But don’t give up on the idea completely.” He hurried to overtake the Empress.
Katrin went straight to her sedan. She had had all the activity she could take. She told her Commander of the Righteous, “I’m inclined to turn you loose. Next planning session bring your best assessment of the weapons makers. We may have to alter our strategy. Meanwhile, I’ll be flooding the Eastern Empire with embassies this summer. Maybe they can do some good.”
“As you will, so shall it be, Your Grace.”
***
“How do you think it went, boss?” Prosek asked. He had not yet recovered from having to speak to the Empress directly.
“Relax, Drago. She’s as human as you are. Just more dangerous. And a little crazier. I think we did well. She got what we wanted her to get.”
Prosek muttered something.
“What?”
“I just said them two women are too damned smart.”
“You could be right.”
***
Helspeth said, “You’re going to get what you want.” She sipped coffee, looked at Hecht over the rim of her cup. “From my sister.”
“Really?” In a teasing tone that surprised him more than it did the Princess Apparent.
“I could tell what you were thinking. Wicked man.”
“Ouch! Then I’d better kill you before you tell somebody.”
“Smart aleck.”
“Can’t help it. I get distracted.”
Helspeth smiled a small smile.
Hecht said, “And I’m as happy as I’ve ever been. Life is good. I have a job I like, working for somebody who is interested and supportive. If a little scary sometimes. What more could I ask?”
“Ask? Maybe nothing. Want? I could make a suggestion but these old cows might hear.”
There did appear to be an extra ration of chaperones.
“Well, yes. There’s something that would be nice.”
Helspeth said, “She isn’t a little scary, she’s very scary. Almost enough to make me hope they find some fool prince who wants to carry me off. To safety. For as long as Katrin hangs on.”
Was that a hint of something hidden but important?
Helspeth leaned in to whisper, “The Council Advisory has sent a delegation to Castauriga. Very secret. To get Jaime to come back. Katrin doesn’t know. Yet. She’ll figure it out.”
Hecht had not known. Titus had missed that.
Numerous delegations had departed Alten Weinberg in recent weeks. Several of Algres Drear’s suspects had been posted to one or another. Almost, Hecht thought, as if the person handing out the appointments had a good idea which of her subjects might be most useful farthest from town.
Helspeth said, “It’s risky. No telling what Katrin will do i
f Jaime flat refuses to see her again.”
“I hear rumors that she’s not well.”
“Rumors? You saw her the other day. Did she look healthy?”
“No.”
“No is right. Her physicians keep looking grim. At the same time, a lot of people who are never nice to me have been stricken kind.”
“Good. Have the physicians told you anything?”
“Not really. They thought she was being poisoned. Caches of arsenic and belladonna were found in the Winterhall kitchen. The cooks disavowed any knowledge. They didn’t seem to be lying. There’s no sorcerer available who can backtrack and identify the culprit.” And that villain would have been busy covering trail.
“I wondered. Because of how she looked. But she started improving.”
“Because of you.”
“What?”
“People notice things, Piper. Like you having your men tag along behind half the nobles in the city. Things like thugs who try to discourage your men ending up thoroughly discouraged themselves.”
“Really?” He had not known about that. But he did not need to know. “The people being followed are supposed to notice. The idea is to encourage them to behave.”
“They’re encouraged. Katrin’s health started improving right away. So much that she noticed and worked it out for herself. So she started handing out ambassadorships to people you seemed not to trust.”
“It’s all working out, then.”
“Except that she’s still sick in her head and heart. In her soul and her body. A lot of people think she’ll die even if she isn’t being poisoned.”
“Which they thought about your brother.”
“And Lothar died.”
“But years later than even the optimists were betting. Your sister does still have something to live for. Her crusade.”
“Her mad expedition that she hopes will make her more famous than Hansel Blackboots.”
“Is that how you see it?”
“Don’t you?”
“No. I believe her. She’s so sincere it’s terrifying. When you consider where her determination might take us. What it might cost the world.”
“You puzzle me, Piper. Truly. I’d expect you to be a butcher. The nature of your profession. But you do care about the harm you do. Maybe that’s what … No. That’s animal. It started the first time I saw you. Anyway, my father cared, too. A great deal.”