Rex Regis

60

Promptly at sixth glass on Vendrei evening, Quaeryt and Vaelora met Bhayar outside the family dining room of the chateau.

Bhayar smiled warmly at them. “I always like seeing you two. You belong together.”

“We do,” said Vaelora, “and you can be proud that it was your idea.”

Quaeryt managed not to smile, knowing that it had been Vaelora’s idea at a time when Quaeryt wouldn’t have dreamed of it and Bhayar wouldn’t even have considered it.

“I suspect you had a few ideas along that line, sister dear, but I will take credit for allowing it to happen.” He gestured toward the dining room.

Once they were seated-Bhayar at the head of the table, Vaelora on his right, and Quaeryt across from her and on Bhayar’s left-the serving girl, a change from the troopers who had served at the time when Quaeryt had left for Rivages, set two crystal carafes of wine before Bhayar, one of a white with the slightest hint of yellow and the other deep red.

Bhayar looked to his sister.

“The white, please.”

Bhayar filled her goblet with the white and his own with the red.

Quaeryt took white.

“To your safe return and to health.” Bhayar lifted his goblet.

Quaeryt and Vaelora lifted theirs. Then they drank.

“Ten thousand golds, you say, arriving with Justanan?” asked Bhayar.

“Slightly more. We also left three hundred with Subcommander Moravan for anything in the way of supplies and provisions he could not obtain from the holding.”

“We can use them. It’s still months before the regular tariffs are due,” said Vaelora.

“Spoken like the Minister of Administration and Supply,” replied Bhayar, pausing and taking another sip of wine as the two servers set three platters and a covered dish on the table.

None of the three spoke while they served themselves in turn, beginning with Bhayar, with thin slices of beef covered in a wine reduction, tarragon lace potatoes in cream butter, early beans almandine, hot fried peach slices, and fluffy brown bread rolls.

“Just a simple family dinner, but good,” said Bhayar with a glint in his eye.

“No family dinners are ever simple,” replied Vaelora sweetly.

“Do you have any later word on the progress of the Khellan envoy?” asked Bhayar.

“Only the first message,” replied Vaelora.

“Will this envoy actually be empowered to consider and agree to terms, do you think, or will his-or her-presence merely be a way to stall for time while the Khellans try to rebuild their land?” Bhayar looked to his sister and then to Quaeryt.

Quaeryt glanced at his wife.

Vaelora took a sip of her wine before answering. “Either is possible. From what we saw, it will be years before Khel recovers. The High Council is aware of that. They also fear Quaeryt and his imagers. If they are as wise as I hope they are, they will press for the best terms they think they can obtain.”

“I cannot be too generous,” said Bhayar.

“You cannot afford to appear too generous,” suggested Quaeryt.

“How do you propose I accomplish that?” Bhayar’s tone seemed genuinely curious.

“You insist on language whereby the High Council and people of Khel agree to be part of the great land of Solidar and to acknowledge you as the sole sovereign. You insist on a total of annual tariffs based on the accounting of the Ministry of Administration and Supply, not to be less than a certain amount that we’ll have to calculate, but raising roughly the same revenue per person as you receive in Telaryn, except the terms won’t put it that way-”

“Why … oh … because they don’t have any High Holders … and not that many factors?” replied Bhayar.

Quaeryt nodded. “We might need some language making raising those tariffs the responsibility of the local councils, with, of course, the oversight of the governor and his princeps. Oh, and you will have to insist on having at least a few high holdings, including most of those already established by Kharst.” So we can place a few people here and there, including Deucalon.

“What else?”

“Ports obviously open to all Solidaran ships, with standard tariffs on all outside merchanters…”

The talk about the terms continued through the main course.

Then, as the servers were clearing away the dishes, Bhayar cleared his throat.

Both Vaelora and Quaeryt looked up.

“There is one other matter I wanted to bring up,” said Bhayar. “I’ve received a letter from a High Holder Ensoel. Several in fact. They concern you, Quaeryt.” His face remained pleasantly bland.

“I don’t recall that name,” replied Quaeryt. Although he was fairly sure he had never met the High Holder, there was always the possibility that he had passed the man’s lands or that some of his forces might have … and even damaged something. But several letters?

“You wouldn’t.” Bhayar smiled. “In his first letter, he inquired about a rumor that I was establishing a school for imagers and wished to know if that might be true. I replied that construction of the school, the Collegium, was under way and that a number of students were already receiving instruction in both the usual subjects, as well as training in proper imaging.” Bhayar looked to Quaeryt. “I trust that is correct.”

“It is,” replied Quaeryt.

“Good. Because he sent a second letter saying that he has a daughter who he believes is an imager, and that renders her … unsuited … to the usual life of a High Holder’s daughter. He also wished to know if the Collegium would be suitable for a young woman of her background.”

“What he means is that no son of a High Holder would ever consider marrying a woman who is more powerful than he is,” said Vaelora.

“Quite possibly,” admitted Bhayar.

“There aren’t many women imagers,” ventured Quaeryt, looking to Vaelora and continuing, “although I think you might be one, or close to it, and your great-great-grandmere likely was.”

Bhayar frowned, but did not speak.

“I think we can make it suitable without much trouble,” said Quaeryt. “We might need a separate cottage-”

“No,” interjected Vaelora. “Just make one end of the student quarters totally separate from the one for the boys, with a separate room for bathing. If necessary, she can stay here while the changes are being made.”

“They shouldn’t take that long. I think Horan and Baelthm could probably just add that section to the end of the student quarters. That might actually be easier.”

“You’ll need some women there,” added Vaelora. “It wouldn’t hurt to have some cooks and a few other women to help.” She looked to her brother. “You will have to pay for this for a time.”

“I hadn’t thought otherwise,” replied Bhayar dryly.

From there the conversation continued on various aspects of the Collegium and what else might be required, for which Quaeryt was thankful.