“My children are my foremost advisors and I don’t keep secrets from them. You may speak to me in front of them with the same assurance of confidentiality as you would if we spoke alone.”
Ghreni paused for a moment and Marce was certain he was going to insist on speaking alone with their father. He glanced over at Vrenna, who had a wry smile on her face. Then he nodded. “Yes, very well.”
“What is your business, Lord Ghreni?”
“As you are no doubt aware, the duke is facing a serious challenge with the rebels.”
Vrenna snorted at this. “You mean to say he’s on the verge of losing his dukedom, my lord,” she said.
“The duke is somewhat more optimistic than your daughter,” Ghreni said, to Jamies. “Nevertheless, the challenge is real and the duke is now looking for ways to increase his tactical advantages.”
“Such as?”
“Weapons, my lord.”
“I have an antique bolt thrower left here by the previous count,” Jamies said. “And I believe Vrenna carries a sidearm at all times. Other than that I don’t believe we have any weapons.”
“The duke is aware that you don’t have weapons, my lord. But you do have money.”
“Not really. The title ‘Count of Claremont’ comes with remarkably little rentable land and no local or larger monopolies. It’s largely a courtesy title. I have my salary as chief auditor and an upkeep allowance for the palace. I recently sold some properties, but it’s still not a lot.”
Ghreni laughed. “Not your money, my lord. The emperox’s. We want to use it to buy the weapons the duke needs.”
Jamies’s expression darkened at this. “Explain yourself, sir.”
“The duke is aware that in your role as chief auditor, all imperial taxes and levies run through your office before they are sent forward to the treasury at Xi’an.”
“My office doesn’t send them forward. That’s the role of the chief of the imperial bank here on End.”
“Of course. And we have spoken to Chief Han, and she is willing to assist the duke in this endeavor. Chief Han also informed us that any transfer of imperial taxes or levies outside of their usual route to Xi’an must also be approved by your office.”
“That’s correct but simplistically presented. I may approve direct application of taxes and levies to imperially approved projects, like construction or infrastructure. Things that those taxes would go to anyway. That saves time, rather than sending the money away and then bringing it back.”
“Yes. And if you consult your records, you’ll see that two years ago, when this current uprising began, the duke asked for, and the imperial parliament approved, funding for the purchase of weapons to help suppress the uprising.”
“I don’t need to consult the records, Lord Ghreni, to be aware that the funds for those purchases were already allocated and the weapons purchased and shipped.”
“Then you’re also no doubt aware that the ship carrying those weapons, the Tell Me Another One, was attacked by pirates and boarded when it came out of the Flow. Its captain and crew fought valiantly to repel the attack but in the end many of the crew died, including the executive officer, security officer, and the owner’s representative, and the ship’s cargo was taken. The Tell Me barely limped into port intact.”
“I’m aware of the Tell Me,” Jamies said.
“The point is that the weapons are now in the hands of pirates. Pirates who intended to sell them to the rebels but who can be persuaded to sell them to the duke.”
“That’s what the duke’s own treasury is for,” Marce pointed out.
“Alas, Lord Marce, two years of fighting have depleted the duke’s treasury and also made it more difficult to collect taxes and other revenues. He needs help.”
“He got the help,” Vrenna pointed out. “The parliament authorized the weapons. But it’s also the duke’s responsibility to patrol the space between the Flow shoal and the planet. If pirates are operating there, it’s because the duke hasn’t been doing his job.”
Ghreni turned his attention back to the count. “The duke is aware that asking for this disbursement is unusual. His argument, and I think it’s a good one, is that parliament intended those weapons for the duke, and therefore in allowing these additional funds to go to the duke to repurchase the weapons, you are following their intent.”
“I don’t think that argument is as good as the duke thinks it is,” Jamies said. “As I’m also aware that the imperial garrison here has been told not to intervene in the matter.”
This got a nod from Ghreni. “The duke knows full well that the only noble currently under the protection of the imperial military is you, Count Claremont. He finds that interesting.”
“It’s not interesting at all, Lord Ghreni. As you’ve noted, the Interdependency’s money goes through my offices. The emperox values his money. Which is why I’m not convinced he will be happy to see it unexpectedly diverted. Nor would he be happy with me.”
“The duke is prepared for that eventuality.”
“That’s nice,” Jamies said. “Considering he will not be the one sent to prison for it.”
“Come, now, Count Claremont. Give the duke credit for some intelligence. Remember that we are nine months away from Hub and Xi’an. In those nine months, the duke can crush this rebellion and return with interest any funds lent to him. He will lend his authority to yours to argue to the emperox that you and Chief Han were acting in the best interests of the Interdependency. And in the meantime the duke promises that your loyalty will be rewarded.”
Jamies laughed at this. “There is irony in attempting to bribe someone who you are trying to get money from, Lord Ghreni.”
“The duke believes that money is not the only coin for loyalty.”
“And Chief Han was convinced by this argument.”
“Yes, she was, my lord.”
“So to sum up,” Jamies said, “you wish me to illegally transfer imperial funds to the duke so he may buy the weapons he already bought but lost due to negligence, because the person whom you have already suborned cannot do it herself, and to compensate for executing several crimes against the imperial state, you offer me nebulous, so-called rewards to be determined later, which are not actual money. Is this correct?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” Ghreni said. “Nor would the duke.”
“Of course you wouldn’t put it that way. But that’s what you’re asking for.”
“So this means you’re unwilling to help the duke,” Nohamapetan said.
“I didn’t say that,” Jamies said, and Marce, for one, was entirely surprised. A quick glance over to his sister found her unreadable. “I may help the duke. But I don’t want either you or I, or the duke, for that matter, to pretend that we’re doing anything other than this.”
Jamies stood, signaling the interview was over. Marce and Vrenna stood as well. Nohamapetan picked up the hint and bowed. “What may I tell the duke?” he asked.
“You may tell him that I will have an answer for him in a week,” Jamies said.
“With all due respect, my lord, right now, a week is a very long time.”
“Not as long as the fifty years I’ll spend in prison if this all goes sideways, Lord Ghreni,” Jamies said. “That is, if the emperox doesn’t simply decide to have me killed.”
“May I humbly ask that I can say to the duke that he’ll have an answer within five days. Five days, I am sure, would be acceptable to him.”
Jamies appeared to think about this. “Very well, Lord Ghreni. Five days.”
“Thank you, my lord.” He bowed. “If the duke wishes to come see you himself, where may I tell him you will be, these next few days?”
“I’ll be here,” Jamies said. “As I always am. As I always have been.”
Ghreni bowed again, turned, and exited. Marce waited until Vrenna went and closed the office door behind him before speaking.
“You can’t seriously be thinking of doing that,” he said to his father.
“Why not?” Jamies asked.
Marce was gobsmacked.
“You’re buying time,” Vrenna said, coming back up to both of them.
“I am,” Jamies agreed.