Fists of Justice (Schooled in Magic #12)

He sighed. “It would have been harder for us, perhaps, if we hadn’t made a clean break. Caleb…didn’t want to give up his family.”

He didn’t want to give up his family for me, Emily thought. It was a bitter thought. But how could she ask him to give up his family? And I didn’t really want to marry into the family.

Markus looked pensive. “You outgrew him.”

Emily glanced at him. “What?”

“When you met him, you were seventeen,” Markus said.

“Eighteen,” Emily corrected. She wasn’t entirely sure of her precise age, but she had been sixteen when Shadye had kidnapped her and she’d spent somewhere between four and five years on the Nameless World. “It was at Cockatrice.”

“And you were ready for him, at the time,” Markus added. “But as you grew older, you started to see his flaws too. Maybe you could have overcome them, if things had been different, but one of you would have had to give up something important.”

Emily scowled. “You seem to be good at giving advice.”

Markus stuck out his tongue. “I was Head Boy. Do you have any idea how many youngsters I consoled after emotional break-ups? How many young men and women I helped to come to terms with their relationship issues? How many gifted magicians I helped to steer their way through betrothal and marriage contracts?”

“No,” Emily said.

“A lot,” Markus told her. “And let me tell you, Emily, that you and Caleb have been very lucky, compared to some of the others. You can end your relationship without fear of familial repercussions.”

“I know,” Emily said, quietly.

She shook her head, slowly. Marriage was a holy state, as far as the magical families were concerned. Divorce was almost unthinkable, particularly if children were involved. A couple might choose to live separately, perhaps on opposite sides of the Allied Lands, rather than endure the condemnation of both families. A married couple would be expected to work through their problems rather than split up at the slightest provocation.

And Melissa chose to leave rather than accept her family’s choice of husband, Emily thought, grimly. Who can blame her?

Markus cocked his head. “Harman has arrived.” He held out a hand. “Coming?”

Emily nodded as she followed him down the stairs and into the office. Harman, wearing the bright robes of Grand Guildmaster, stood by the window, peering at the streets below. The other guilds were currently electing new guildmasters – if nothing else, the crisis had loosened up the requirements a little – but it would be at least a week, according to Sienna, before the city council was reconstituted. Harman might even lose his seat when the newcomers took theirs.

But at least that will make him want to listen, Emily thought. Vesperian’s black hole isn’t going to go away. He needs to present the council with a plan to save the city if he wants to stay in power.

“Lady Emily,” Harman said. His voice was unfailingly polite, but there was an undertone of resentment. Emily didn’t blame him. She’d fingered him as a traitor and he’d suffered for it. “I understand that you have a plan?”

“I do,” Emily said. It was actually Markus’s plan, but her name might help in convincing the city council to adopt it. “Please, take a seat.”

She sat and smoothed down her skirt. Harman eyed her for a long moment, then sat down facing her. Markus ordered drinks and then sat himself. Emily couldn’t help thinking that he looked tired and yet, at the same time, enthusiastic. But then, he had to look supremely confident. Harman would expect her to have discussed the plan with her allies first. If she couldn’t sell it to them, who could she sell it to?

“The problem is simple,” she said. “Thousands of people poured money into Vesperian’s scheme. Vesperian then used that money to buy supplies for his ongoing project, gambling on recouping the money when the extended track went into service.”

“Yes,” Harman said. “And now the money has vanished.”

“I propose to buy back the notes at a third of their face value,” Emily said. Markus had spoken to the other surviving bankers. They’d be investing chunks of their own money in the recovery scheme. “We’ll start with the smaller investors, but hopefully we should be able to buy back a majority of the notes within the next week or so.”

“The note-holders will not recover all of their money,” Harmon noted.

Emily nodded. “That cannot be helped,” she said. The combined investment from both her and the bankers wouldn’t be enough to replace all the losses. All they could do was cushion the blow. “However, each of the investors will get something back.”

“A large number of suits have already been filed against Vesperian’s estate,” Harman said, coolly. “How do you propose to deal with those?”

“This will be their only real chance to recover anything,” Markus pointed out. “There is no way the entire estate, even putting aside the argument over who owns what, can meet the demands for repayment. I believe that most of his creditors will see reason.”

“You may be right,” Harmon said. He looked directly at Emily. “I assume you want something in return, Lady Emily?”

“I want the railway,” Emily said, flatly.

Harman raised his eyebrows. “You think you can make it work?”

“I believe that the line between Beneficence and Cockatrice was already profitable,” Emily countered. “Putting a line between Cockatrice and Swanhaven – or the Iron Hills – is a little harder at the moment, but the original railway is solid. Given time, the network can be gradually extended further into Zangaria without requiring such a vast investment.”

She leaned forward. “However, this only works if the railway remains intact. I have no interest in a pile of scrap metal.”

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