“The parliament will not want to wait to address this,” Korbijn said.
“We did not suggest work or investigations stop during this period.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“In the interim, publicly at least, we will be in seclusion.” She nodded to Deng. “Gell here will be your point of contact for the next several days.” She looked back at Korbijn. “We trust the executive committee will not protest handling administrative issues a short while longer.”
“No, of course not.”
“I will send updated reports when I have them and be available if you have questions,” Limbar said.
“We thank you,” Cardenia said, and rose. Everyone else rose with her, taking the hint they were dismissed. Only Deng remained sitting; he knew he was still needed.
“Your Majesty, a private word, if I may,” Amit Nohamapetan said, as the others exited.
“Yes, Lord Nohamapetan,” Cardenia said. She was still standing and did not offer to have him sit, and she assumed that he would take the hint that any word he wanted to have would be brief.
Amit picked up the hint, and his eyes flicked to Deng, still seated, registering that the word would not be all that private, either. He approached Cardenia instead, stopping at a still respectful distance, and spoke in low tones. “I wanted to personally convey my condolences to you in this moment of loss,” he said. “I know you and Naffa Dolg were close. It is hard to lose anyone we love, as my own sister learned with the loss of your brother.”
Oh, nice, Cardenia thought. Even in attempting to express a moment of condolence, Amit Nohamapetan couldn’t help but remind her that his family still considered the position of the emperox’s spouse their own property. She looked at him and saw the unremarkable face and unremarkable body and behind both, the reportedly unremarkable mind happiest in the pursuit of unremarkable pleasures. The sister and the younger brother were apparently the brains of the Nohamapetan outfit. This one was a lump. His appearance in this meeting was obviously an attempt to ingratiate him toward Cardenia by offering up useful information, followed by the humanizing moment that was happening right now. All delightfully scripted for her consumption.
Cardenia thought about the prospect of being married to, and having children with, this lump, and barely suppressed an impolite shudder. “We thank you, Lord Nohamapetan, and are gratified for your concern.”
If Amit picked up on the fact that Cardenia was still using the imperial address, he didn’t let it stop him. “I hope, after an appropriate time, that we can meet again in happier and friendlier circumstances.”
“It is to be hoped,” Cardenia said. Those circumstances being you no less than thirty meters away, she thought.
Amit, however, was not a mind reader and chose to interpret the carefully ambiguous words in a manner that was positive toward him, which was exactly how Cardenia had planned it, as much as she hated the necessity of it at the moment. He smiled, bowed, and exited. Cardenia waited until he was out of the room before she sagged a bit.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” Deng asked.
“No,” Cardenia said. “My friend is dead and this creep is still trying to arrange a marriage with me.” She stopped suddenly and turned to Deng. “I apologize, Gell,” she said. “I didn’t mean to speak like that. I’m … I’m used to Naffa being here. And speaking freely to her when we’re alone.”
The old secretary smiled at his emperox. “Your Majesty, I was loyal to, and silent for, your father for nearly forty years. It’s in the nature of the position. I would not presume to be in the place of your dear friend. But I promise you that you may always speak freely near me, if you choose. My loyalty is to you now.”
“You don’t even know me,” Cardenia said.
“With respect, ma’am, I disagree. I’ve known you for years. First through your father and his peculiar but fond relationship with you. And for the last year, I’ve seen enough of you to get a sense of you. If I know nothing else, ma’am, I know that you are worth being loyal to.”
Cardenia’s eyes suddenly welled up. “That’s one of you, at least. That’s a start.”
“What may I do for you now?” Deng asked.
“Can you bring back Naffa?”
“No, ma’am.”
Cardenia jerked a thumb back in the direction of Nohamapetan. “Can you tell this creep to take a hike?”
“If you wish it, ma’am.”
“But you don’t advise it.”
“I don’t consider it my place to give advice to emperoxs, ma’am.”
“I need someone to give me advice right now. I don’t have anyone else.”
“Rather than my own advice, let me tell you what your father thought of the Nohamapetans, to help you make your own decisions,” Deng said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling you now.”
“Please.”
“He thought their ambition was admirable. He didn’t consider them particularly wise, however. He thought that left unchecked they would eventually cause him, as emperox, to, as he called it, ‘make a mess to get them back into line.’ Which is why he eventually manipulated the Nohamapetans into suggesting that Nadashe Nohamapetan should marry your brother. He believed that as a couple their ambitions were in accord, and that then the Nohamapetans would have a reason to act with less stupidity. That was his word, not mine.”
“So you think my father would want me to marry Amit Nohamapetan. To keep them in line.”
Deng looked slightly pained.
“What?” Cardenia asked.
“This will not be kind,” Deng said.
“Say it anyway.”
“Your father believed the marriage of your brother and Nadashe would work because they were complementary to each other. Complementary with an ‘e,’ not ‘i.’ He didn’t believe you and Amit were complementary. He considered you passive, and Amit unintelligent. And the marriage of the two of you would leave Nadashe, who is the power of her generation of Nohamapetans, unfulfilled in terms of ambition. And that would spell trouble for you. And for the throne.”
“Maybe he would have preferred I marry Nadashe,” Cardenia said.
“Oh, no,” Deng said. “She would have rolled right over you. Uh, or so your father believed,” he added, quickly.
“My father didn’t think much of me.”
“On the contrary, he thought very well of you, ma’am. He just wished your brother had lived to be emperox.”
“Well, Gell. So do I. But he didn’t. So here we are.”
“Yes, ma’am. And what are the emperox’s wishes?”
“When is Naffa’s funeral?”
“It is two days from now.”
“I will attend.” Deng looked pained again. “What is it?”
“I have a note from a Dolg family representative, ma’am. It arrived earlier and I’ve waited to speak to you about it. The family notes that your presence at the funeral would be a disruption, because the security around you would be immense, especially now. Also, Naffa’s parents are republicans, as will be many of the people at the service, and your presence might provoke some of those friends to do or say something improper.”
“They don’t want me to start a riot.”