“You may view the gardens,” one of them said, in heavily accented Vordanai, “but your companions must remain.”
Barely started to object, but Raesinia cut her off with a shake of the head. “I understand. Wait here, please.”
The other guard opened the door, and a blast of warm air hit Raesinia in the face. She stepped through into a glass-?windowed greenhouse that perched atop one of the old walls and was barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast. It was considerably warmer than the rest of the Keep, and much more humid. Condensation dripped down the glass panels overhead, sliding drops of water leaving clear trails in the fog. Planters lined both sides, with vines climbing wooden trellises. Some of the flowers were in bloom, despite the late season, and colors from blood red to blue-?white were everywhere. Enormous blossoms drooped on their stalks, and the air was heavy with their sick-?sweet scent.
About halfway along the walk stood the King of Borel, alone. He wore a dark suit, as before, and the ruby pin that seemed to be a badge of office. He was examining the flowers, one by one, lifting them up gently and running his fingers over the petals. From time to time he would write something in a small notebook, licking his fingertips to turn the pages.
“Your Majesty,” Raesinia said.
“Your Highness,” the king said. His notebook snapped closed. “Shall we dispense with the honors while in private? Georg will suffice.”
“Raesinia, then,” she said. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“I’m sorry it took so long,” Georg said. “I assume Dorsay explained the difficulties.”
“He did, and I appreciate the problems. Believe me when I say I wouldn’t have pressed if the situation weren’t urgent.”
“I understand.” Georg waved a hand. “But indulge my pride for a moment. What do you think of my roses?”
“They’re beautiful,” Raesinia said. Truthfully, she wasn’t terribly fond of flowers, and these seemed a little overpowering. “They’re so... large.”
“A gardener once told my grandfather that roses would never grow in Borel. Grandfather didn’t know anything about plants, but he didn’t like to be told no. Stubbornness runs in the family, you see.” Georg’s mouth quirked, not quite a smile. “Grandfather gathered the cleverest men in Borel and offered a prize to anyone who could help him grow roses. This greenhouse is the result, and seventy years later we have the biggest roses in the world.”
“I can believe it,” Raesinia said.
“An ordinary greenhouse wouldn’t do, apparently. We don’t get enough sun here. The air is warmed by water pumped up from a boiler, which also keeps it from drying out. And we’ve bred, over the years, for varieties that will tolerate our gloomy days.” He shrugged. “It’s the Borelgai way. We make do, muddle through, carry on. Eventually we get where we’re going.” He ran his fingers through his side-?whiskers. “I imagine it seems slow-?paced to a hot-?blooded continental.”
“Your Majesty—” Raesinia hesitated. “Georg. Troops are in the field as we speak. I don’t think my desire for haste is unreasonable.”
“Of course it isn’t,” Georg said. “I was merely trying to provide a bit of... context.”
There was a long pause. Raesinia took a deep breath, wet air dragging at her throat. Before she could speak, the king cut her off.
“You’re aware that the relationship between our nations has always been difficult.”
“The War of the Princes,” Raesinia said.
“And the War of the Twilight Strand before that. And the Three Year War, and on and on. Sometimes it seems we are destined to be in conflict.”
“I don’t believe in destiny,” Raesinia said. “What matters is what we do, here and now. When Dorsay brought his army against Janus, it would have been easy to think they were destined to fight it out. But Dorsay told me he didn’t want war, and he told me you didn’t want it, either.”
“There’s war, and then there’s war,” Georg agreed. “Our genteel little scuffles are nothing next to the sanguinary contests of yesteryear. Your First Consul seemed determined to bring back the bad old days.”
“I agreed with Dorsay then. It wasn’t easy. Janus had been a friend to me, and his popularity in the army and among the people is immense. But I wanted peace, too, and so I took a chance.” Raesinia hesitated. “Now I need you to take a chance. Help us finish what we started.”
“You’re so certain our help is required?”
“If Janus truly has Murnsk on his side, yes. Even if not, his record in the field is enough to ensure that I won’t underestimate him.”
“Some might say you already have.”
“How so?”
“You could have executed him when you had the chance.” Georg raised an eyebrow. “Harsh, but such are the exigencies of the sovereign.”
“I can’t say it didn’t occur to me,” Raesinia said. “But his support among the people was too strong. He agreed to return to his estate, and we sent guards to make sure he stayed there. We thought that would be enough.” She shrugged. “Obviously we were wrong.”
“So it appears.” Georg looked down at one of his flowers, a huge specimen the color of red wine. “You understand, then, the danger of going against the will of your people.”
“That’s why we have the Deputies-?General,” Raesinia said. “To express the will of the people.”
“Here in Borel, things are a little different. I have the Honest Fellows.”
“Forgive me,” Raesinia said, “but I didn’t think they represented anyone but themselves.”
“It’s... complicated. Sometimes it seems like everything in Borel is complicated.” Georg looked back up at her. “The Honest Fellows represent the opinions of people like themselves. If they did not, if they were out of step, they would not retain their positions.”
“So they represent lords, bankers, and traders.”
Georg nodded. “In other words, everyone who matters.”
“In Vordan, the Deputies give a voice to all the people.”
“Do they?” Georg smiled faintly. “I should like to see that. But in Vordan, when the people are upset, they take to the streets and storm the prisons. Here in Borel we have not had such... disruptions. But if the lords, bankers, and traders are upset with me, they have ways of making their displeasure known that are just as efficacious, if considerably quieter. I cross them at my peril, for all that armies march at my command. After all, armies need to be fed, and the money for gunpowder must come from somewhere.”
“You can overrule the Honest Fellows, though. You’ve done it before.”
“When I thought the reward merited the risk. Or if I was convinced they would come around to my point of view in the end.”
“So what’s the reward?” Raesinia felt like the garden was tightening around her, the heavy air almost numbing. She shook her head to clear it. “I don’t think you brought me here just to say you couldn’t contradict Goodman. What are you looking for?”
“You’ve met my son Matthew, I understand.”
Raesinia blinked. “I have. We had dinner last night.”
“You got along, I hope?”