“Did you tell him the truth about me?” Maia asked.
“I told him just enough to explain, no more. An Aldermaston cannot deliberately lie, so the boy trusted what Kranmir told him explicitly. I explained to him the doctrine of investment and how Kranmir’s actions have forfeited his right to govern an abbey. It is troubling indeed that Kranmir is spreading gossip and lurid misrepresentations about you, which will only fan the flames of distrust in ardent young men like this one, who do not understand that something can be untrue without being fully a lie. I am being brief, of necessity, for we must meet with the Privy Council, but I believe the youth is no longer our enemy.”
Maia nodded in agreement. “What do you believe we should do to him?”
“I would like to release him at once.”
She smiled. “Good. That is my will also. Have him set free immediately.”
“I will,” he said, returning her smile. “I am glad to see we think alike on this matter. I had the sense you would not want to keep him incarcerated, but I wanted to leave the judgment to you.”
“Thank you, but you have my authority to act on my behalf, Richard. I trust your wisdom in matters such as this.”
“Very well,” he agreed meekly.
As they walked toward the council room, Maia was aware of the attention, the stares and whispers, of the people they passed. Even the lowliest servants were marking her, recognizing her, and watching her with interested eyes. They seemed . . . eager and most were busy with some kind of work. She remembered that she still wanted to visit them in their places and get to know them. But with the threat of rebellion hanging in the air, that would have to wait.
The mayor of Comoros was pacing outside the council chamber, his eyes bloodshot and haggard from the past night’s festivities.
“Good morning, Your Majesty.” He greeted her with a bow and opened the door.
She entered and found the full Privy Council in attendance. Bristling tension hung in the air, and a few of the council members bore angry looks, including Dodd. She sensed the shift in mood, the repelling of the Medium as she crossed the threshold. Suzenne looked at her with a small, tight frown, as if in warning.
“Good morning,” Maia greeted, walking in quickly, a little out of breath from the brisk walk from the abbey. Strange how she had broken her fast with Davi and Aloia in the kitchens of Muirwood not long ago. Just an hour prior, she had been trying to coax a conversation from the quiet Thewliss, the gardener whose wife ran the kitchen. Now that Maia was a queen herself, he had regressed back to his former silence.
She motioned for Richard to begin the meeting as she paced along the front aisle of the room. She hated seeing that tall, carved throne on the dais and could not picture herself ever sitting on it, gazing down at her council members from its imperious height.
Richard walked to the front seat and desk next to the throne, which was piled with stacks of scrolls, parchments, and even a gleaming tome. He paused for a moment and took a long look at those who had assembled before him. Even that was enough to make the dark mood in the chamber wane. With a stern look on his face, he cocked his head slightly and pointed to a spot on the tome with his thick finger.
“It is said in the tomes that anger is a choice. It is a decision. One wise maston once said”—he looked down at the golden page, his voice slowing deliberately to articulate the quote—“‘There are two things a person should never be angry at. What they can help. And what they cannot.’” He smiled at the saying and lifted his hand. “In a word, let us try to banish anger from these meetings. It is entirely possible for wise and educated persons to disagree about points of fact. But facts are stubborn things. Whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter facts and evidence. We must strip away the rest. The happiness of the people is the aim of any good government. Now for the reports.”
He turned his gaze to the lord mayor of Comoros. “Justin . . . the streets of Comoros were exceedingly clean and passable this morning. Maia is pleased and commends you for your attention to detail. Do you have anything to report? Any difficulties faced?”