Swordpoint Diplomacy 34

CHAPTER 34

Rose was going to go on ahead and assume that things were going to go well with Kian and Marcel. Why shouldn’t they? She bustled out of her tent en route to the three remaining prisoners. She had to see them for herself. She needed to know that she hadn’t lost control of her leverage over Marcel and the witnesses to her treason.

‘I should have checked on them earlier. What if Father gave orders that were already acted on? They could be miles away by now. They could be dead.’

There were still guards posted outside the relevant tent. Rose’s heart calmed at the sight. She was about to go in when she froze with a realization.

She was supposed to have left with Marcel. They knew that. If they saw her without him, they would want to know what had happened.

He was gone for the moment. She could not produce him to prove that things were fine.

And she certainly could not be honest.

Rose turned on her heel and left.

They were enemy combatants and nobility. If she wasn’t even telling her damn army that she was the Queen presumptive, she could not be letting that information leak to foreign nobility.

She went back to her tent. She called for a full report on the affairs of the army and for her Father’s correspondence. It grated to sit and read while time ticked on. But it would be worse to act with bad information. Rose ate and drank over letters and orders and read until her eyes burnt.

There was nothing pertaining to the prisoners. Either Father hadn’t decided yet, or he hadn’t written down his orders.

‘They’ll be coming back to the capital with me. But who can I trust to monitor them?’

It was troubling. Perhaps Celestin– but no, he needed to stay here. They were at war for the time being whether she wanted to be or not.

Obviously the first priority was to return to the capital with the ceremonial items for the coronation and to have it. She would have liked to withdraw Etienne and Aunt Aime first and wait for them to return. She would send the orders for them to pull back to the best tactical position at their disposal, but she couldn’t afford to wait for them to return.

What else?

Was there anyone else who really ought to be at the Coronation? If times were less desperate, it should be a glittering affair with domestic and foreign nobility. She should have all her family, and the subjects who would need to swear allegiance.

…The thought that occurred to Rose made her feel a little ill.

Her mother should probably be there.

Rose felt her hands tremble. She shook them forcefully and then pressed them flat on her legs, scowling at the weakness.

‘Calling for her would tell anyone who is watching that something big has changed. Even if people don’t guess that the King is gone, they’re going to talk about that.’

Well. Let them talk. Rose took a steadying inhale, finding the rock solid center of stubbornness that had always grounded her. It would be worse to wait. If she had to tell her Mother that she’d left her in her political prison to avoid political awkwardness, Rose would be disgusted with herself.

‘Mother would probably disapprove’, Rose thought as she put aside the paperwork and called for her squire. ‘She would want me to do the prudent thing and think of how the court will see things.’

There was the slightly awkward detail that Mother was the second of two Queens who had been banished to the seaside palace. Rose had never met the first rejected Queen, but she could hardly leave that woman there when she let her mother out. Imagine, keeping someone else’s political prisoner?

‘It’s not like she’s a threat to my inheritance,’ Rose told herself. ‘I won’t give her any influence or access to the court until I know what kind of person she is, but it won’t hurt to have her come to the palace.’

The first major order that Rose gave as Queen Presumptive was to have the two former Queen Consorts brought to the Palace. She gave the order leeway for the best judgment of the person who would make travel arrangements, but made it clear that she expected a dignified treatment.

Should she have ordered for an official state escort? Rose worried at the thought as she rolled up the orders and tied it with the appropriate colored ribbon. No, no, she was right not to. That would be costly and time consuming. Right now, there was very little time to waste.

…I do need to be sure they know to pack with sufficient dignity for watching a coronation,’ Rose realized. And then she wondered if either woman would actually have any appropriate garments. Probably not? Why would they? Neither of them had been to Court in well over a decade and they had humble allowances. Any remaining clothing in good condition would still be far out of date.

It was a genuine problem. It would be a cruel slight to exclude them or ask them to attend in inappropriate clothing. But Rose could not afford to get caught up in it. She moved on with her day, mind churning.

A guard cleared their throat.

“Send them in,” Rose said automatically. She was expecting the squire. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of Vivian Treveylan gracefully lifting the tent flap over her braided crown of brown hair.

“Your Majesty,” Treveylan said quietly, and gave a very correct little curtsy.

Rose waived her to ease. “Treveylan,” she greeted. “Why have you come?” It was brusque and she knew it, but at least she wasn’t outright rude.

“I wished to share my thoughts about retrieving the cloak for the coronation.” She was so quiet that she was almost hard to hear. Rose wouldn’t have heard her from that distance if she’d had average senses.

‘Courtly training did not work on her, did it?’

“Those thoughts being?” Rose almost pitied the other girl. She seemed awfully meek for someone scheduled to inherit one of the three biggest titles in the country.

“It seems to this one that your Majesty has a mind for discretion at this time,” Treveylan said in her soft, soft tones. She stole look up at Rose through thick lashes and then back to her hands. At least she wasn’t fidgeting. She stood in perfect posure. “It seems that it will be noticed when messengers are sent to the great houses. Does Her Majesty intend to create a smokescreen to delay rumors of a coronation?”

Ah. Rose put a hand to her jaw. That’s what this was.

‘She’s making a play to be in my inner circle. It makes sense. Our ages are similar. So she’s the first to ingratiate herself.’

“Tell me, what idea have you?”