‘You’re not eating,’ Hoppara observed. He lifted his knife and stabbed a morsel of wine-soaked meat. ‘Please, refresh yourself. My sisters’ lapdogs are all overweight. If the scullions give them more scraps, the poor beasts will end up being mistaken for pillows.’ Hoppara chewed thoughtfully. He appeared to weigh Mara’s expression. Then he arrived at some inward decision, and his manner changed from charming to serious. ‘My father believed you will become one of the most dangerous women in the history of the Empire. As a man who chose his enemies with great care, he clearly wished to have you as a friend.’
Mara could only bow low at the compliment. She sipped at her fruit drink and waited, while the li birds chirped dulcet melodies.
Now convinced beyond doubt that she would not soften to praise, Hoppara tore an end off a loaf of bread. He soaked the crust in a sauce and remarked, ‘You realize, of course, that many of us are going to die before the new Warlord is invested.’
Mara made a spare gesture of assent. The white and gold had too many contenders, and alliances were too much in flux. Even a fool could perceive that rivalries would become bloody.
‘I have been ordered to seek you out, and will bluntly make my point.’ Hoppara motioned to a servant, who bowed and unobtrusively began to remove the birdcages. Into an air of growing silence the young Lord said, ‘The Xacatecas wish to survive this ordeal without surrendering too much of the prestige my father gained in life. To this end, we look for the situation of greatest advantage. My First Adviser instructed me to offer you informal alliance and to promise whatever aid the Xacatecas can provide as long as-‘
Mara stopped him with a raised finger. ‘A moment, my Lord. Ordered? Instructed? Who directed you?’
The young man’s manner turned rueful. ‘She said you’d ask. My mother, of course.’
Kevin laughed, and Mara said, ‘Your mother?’
Unabashed, Hoppara admitted, ‘I will not reach my twenty-fifth birthday for three more years, Lady Mara. I am Lord of the Xacatecas, but not. . .’
‘Not yet Ruling Lord,’ she finished.
Hoppara sighed. ‘Not yet. Mother is Ruling Lady until then — if I can manage to stay alive.’
‘Then why isn’t Lady Isashani here?’ Kevin asked.
Hoppara glanced at Mara, who said, ‘He often forgets his place.’
‘And he never met Mother, obviously.’ The young Lord shook off discomfort. ‘Isashani might seem like a li bird, but she’s as tough as any soldier and weighs her options like a silk merchant. She has six sons left, and four daughters. If she lost me, she would mourn, no doubt, but Chaiduni would take my place, and after him Mizu, then Elamku, and so on down the line. After us there are the get of my father’s concubines, some eighteen sons, not counting those still in milk teeth, and another batch yet to hit the cradle.’ Now the boy coloured, as he thought of the storms that had rocked the house when Lord Chipino had arrived home from the desert with six new concubines, every one of them pregnant.
‘The Xacatecas would be a difficult line to eradicate,’ Kevin summed up.
Hoppara sighed in appreciation. ‘Too many babies and cousins with hundreds of offshoots, and every one but a moment away from being recognized as heir to Mother’s office, if need be. My mother stays safely upon our estates, deputizing me to come here and conduct the business of the council.’ He gestured in the direction of the great hall. ‘Most of our rivals don’t realize I am not Ruling Lord yet. And they won’t be given cause to pose the question, since I have full authority from my mother to negotiate on behalf of House Xacatecas . . . within limits.’
Mara’s mind raced along as she examined the implications. ‘Then we know for a fact what few will guess: you did not come to council to claim the office of Warlord.’
‘Even had Father lived, he would be no higher than third among those who claim the white and gold,’ Hoppara said.
‘Who stands higher?’ Now, at long last, Mara found her appetite.
Hoppara shrugged. ‘I can only repeat my mother’s view. Minwanabi has the most power, but the vote won’t give him a clear majority. Should the Oaxatucan cease their internal bickering, an Omechan could succeed their former Warchief. They still wield impressive influence. The Kanazawai are in disgrace because of the failed peace plans, so even the Tonmargu rank higher than the Keda.’ He shrugged again, then concluded, ‘Minwanabi is the logical choice. Tasaio is a more than able general. Many will back him who wouldn’t have supported Desio.’
The meats suddenly lost their savour. Mara abandoned her plate. ‘We come to the crux of the matter. What are you proposing beyond alliance?’
Hoppara also put down his eating knife. ‘For all our vaunted power, the Xacatecas are presently disadvantaged. We lost two advisers in the company with my father, and we are short on reliable guidance. I have been instructed to follow your lead, unless your wits should fail you. Otherwise, I am to throw our support to Tasaio.’
Kevin said, ‘You’d support that murderer? After his treasonous manipulations in Tsubar?’