She felt the sudden urge for Jon Tayt’s counsel. Thinking of him almost made her smile. Back at Muirwood, her dearest advisors and friends had all believed as she did and held the same intentions. As she gazed at her Privy Council, she realized it would take much longer for this group to reach a conclusion.
“That is why I chose him, you see,” Maia said softly, looking at Richard Syon with a growing heart. She trusted him. She respected him. Having long ago learned to master his anger, he was not ruffled by the earl’s provocation. Once the very man they discussed, Kord Schuyler, the former Earl of Forshee, had come to Muirwood to threaten him. He was unflappable. “Please, Lord Caspur. Be more civil.”
Caspur’s face mottled with rage and he clenched his jaw, clearly struggling to accept the rebuke of a young woman. His voice was almost a low growl when he next spoke. “Maia, I have risked everything siding with you. If Schuyler is not stopped quickly, he will not only take your crown, but also my head. Forgive me if I am impatient, but I know what to do. I have a force strong enough to challenge his, especially if Lord Price’s force joins us from the north. Do not fight him so near the city. A river gains strength as it flows down from the mountain. Do not let him become a flood.” He raised his hands and shrugged. “You do not have a seasoned battle commander, my lady, except for me. Give me this charge, and I will bring the rebel to heel.”
And it was his lack of humility that made Maia realize she could not trust him with that authority. But if she did not, who would stand against her enemies?
He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled. Men must be trained to obey and obey absolutely. Fear is education. Peril is persuasion. We dreaded the return of the mastons from Assinica. As we look at the plunder we have harvested from their lands, we marvel at the strangeness of their creations. Musical instruments never before devised. Gears and pulleys and levers melded into new creations we do not yet know how to use. These people are geniuses. It will take a lifetime to unravel their mysteries after they have been destroyed.
—Corriveaux Tenir, Victus of Dahomey
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Counsel
There was no unity among her council members. Maia saw open distrust and hostility in Justin’s eyes as he glared at the Earl of Caspur. With such a threat looming against them, it was no wonder. And yet she would not allow herself to be bullied into giving Caspur his way. That would not bode well for the future.
“I have not heard from you yet, Lord Paget,” Maia said, turning to her old advisor from Bridgestow. He was the most quiet member of the council, and she had come to learn he rarely spoke unless addressed specifically. “What is your counsel?”
Lord Paget had gray-blond hair that receded up his hairline and a darker goatee sprinkled with white. Clearly surprised to be addressed so pointedly, he sat up and began to fidget. Caspur looked at the man with growing disdain, as if annoyed someone who lived on the borders of the realm had been allowed to join the Privy Council. But Maia knew that he had served on her grandfather’s council in the past.
He looked full of unease as he spoke. “Your Majesty, it is a difficult problem, to be sure.”
Caspur sniffed and cleared his throat, his expression growing more impatient by the moment.
“I would value your counsel,” Maia prodded.
The man looked a little flustered by Caspur’s impatience, but his voice grew strength as he spoke. “It is easy, in my opinion, to start a rebellion. And yet it takes fuel to feed it. When men grow hungry or are unpaid, they turn fractious. Kord Schuyler seems to be hoping for a quick victory. The longer you stay on the throne, my queen, the more his supporters will dwindle. He is risking much, to be sure, but his march on Comoros is an attempt to make you act rashly.” At these words, he gave Caspur a pointed look. “Two forces of unequal size can be mitigated across a battlefield, depending on who has the more favorable ground. I learned from my dealings with the Pry-rians that a smaller force can easily repel a larger force if sitting in a defensible position, be it a river at their back, a fenland on their flank. I cannot think of a more defensible position than a walled city.”
Justin flashed the man a smile, looking pleased at his assessment. Caspur just glowered, clearly more angry than ever.
“So you would suggest we let him come to us,” Maia said.
Paget nodded quickly. “Any delay benefits you, my lady. An army needs supplies. It runs out of food quickly. Hot passions begin to subside. Defend the heart of your realm, and you preserve the core.”
Caspur looked impatient to speak.
“Yes?” Maia asked, turning to him, thankful he had not interrupted.
“While I applaud Lord Paget’s words, I would challenge his experience. Have you ever led soldiers into battle, my lord? From whence comes this knowledge? There has not been war with Pry-Ree for centuries.”
Paget stiffened, his look darkening. “I have read a good deal . . .”
“Books,” Caspur snorted with derision.