“You think I would read your private messages?” Simon said, giving her an unruffled stare.
Maia smiled slyly and hurried to open the note. She normally would have waited to read it back at the palace, but today she could not bear it. His words were charming, as always, but he did not think it would be wise to meet her at Lisyeux. Still, he promised that if all went well, he would soon join her in Comoros with his army.
Patience, Wife, he extolled her. As I used to say to my steward Jeremiah, ‘patience is for those who have nothing better to do with their time.’ But I have since learned that it is truly a virtue the Medium rewards. I beg you to forgive me, my dove. I long for nothing more than to see you again and to hold you in my arms. I will come to you.
It was strange to feel disappointment and love at the same moment. She gently folded the paper and slipped it into her girdle to read again later. She sat down on the cushioned chair near Simon’s desk.
“How goes his war?” she asked, confident that he would tell her true.
Simon shrugged slightly. “War is unpredictable. But he is motivated to win it and win it quickly. Still, these things take time, my lady.”
Maia sighed, trying to sort through the feelings in her tumultuous heart. “I sent an ambassador to Paeiz to sue for an alliance,” she said. “I have not heard back from him yet. Maybe I should heighten the rhetoric. By attacking Dahomey, he has also attacked Comoros.”
Simon winced, though only slightly. “You have enough troubles of your own, Lady Maia. You have only been queen for a month. It takes time to see results.”
“Speaking of abbeys,” Maia said with a twinge of impatience. “My husband has not yet taken the maston test at Lisyeux. If this war does not end soon . . .” She gritted her teeth, unable to finish the thought. She wanted so much to marry him by irrevocare sigil. But he needed to be a maston first.
She looked up and caught a peculiar look in Simon’s eye. “What is it?”
“What is what, my lady?”
“What does that look mean?” she asked, trying to rope him in. “Is there something you are not telling me?”
Simon smiled demurely. “There is always plenty I am not telling you. Insignificant trifles.”
“I know that,” she said with a hint of exasperation. “I mean about Collier. If something happened to him, you would tell me?” She looked at him seriously. “Simon? You would tell me, correct?”
Simon drummed his fingers on the desk. “I will always be honest with you, my lady.”
She hated it when he was evasive. “That comforts me. Is my husband well? He has not been injured, has he?”
Simon shook his head. “No, he is quite hale.”
She furrowed her brow. “There is something you are concealing from me.”
He pursed his lips and said nothing.
“Simon,” she prodded.
“Yes, my lady?”
She was growing more and more uneasy. “Please tell me.”
He studied her closely. “I know my lord’s reasons for not granting your wish to meet him,” he said in his most diplomatic way. “I know him very well. It is nothing that should alarm or concern you. You must understand, he is very busy and has much to accomplish. He has a hard time sitting still, as you well remember. He was flattered by your offer to cross to Dahomey, and it took immeasurable self-possession on his part to refuse your offer, but he does not want you to come now. He wants you to come over for your coronation. First, he hopes to subdue his enemies and present you with an attractive alliance. I will say no more, because I was commanded not to speak on the matter.” Simon leaned back in his chair and scratched the corner of his eyebrow. “You are tenacious, my lady. I must never forget that.”
Maia smiled at the compliment and felt a measure of relief. But it troubled her that Collier was keeping secrets from her and that he had commanded his spy to do the same.
“I will prod you no more,” Maia said. “Any word from my grandmother? She went to Hautland and then to Mon. Is she still there?”
“I believe so,” Simon replied. “Word can travel slowly, and she often changes her mind about where she is going midcourse. My understanding is that the Apse Veil is now open in Hautland. Her visit was well received, and she was treated with great honor and respect. She left for Mon a fortnight ago, but I have had no word since her arrival there.”
“Any word from Walraven?” Maia asked.