“If you’re referring to those contained in the low justice changes, I do.” I didn’t see any point in denying that I knew very well. First, to do so would have been lying, even if I did so by evasion, rather than by outright prevarication. Second, all that would do would be to delay matters, and not for all that long, while irritating Ramsael. And third, it would just make the eventual resolution more difficult.
“These changes could have far-reaching effects. I trust you understand that as well.” He looked at me directly.
“The changes would come, regardless of those provisions,” I pointed out.
“How will the Collegium act if efforts are made to reverse those so-called reforms?”
“I can’t speak for the Collegium, Councilor.”
“I would have expected no other response, you understand? Yet, I had to ask.”
“If the Collegium speaks or acts, Maitre Dyana will be the one with whom you will deal…and no one else.”
Ramsael frowned. “Given that, as a friend of my daughter and her husband, then, how would you advise me?”
That made it difficult. “Let me just say that I suspect your efforts would be better directed elsewhere.”
He nodded slowly. “How much time do we have?”
“You know what the law said. I would judge, and it is only my opinion, that if the Council follows the law and the original charter, the Collegium would see no reason to speak or act.”
“That will not set well with some.”
“Not following the law and charter will set less well with even more, I fear.”
“The Collegium stands where?”
“Behind the law. Where else could the Collegium and its Maitre stand?”
“Not all laws are for the best, some would say.”
“I would agree. I would also say that a land that does not live by its laws will not long endure. It may change those laws, but to flout them will destroy it far more quickly than following bad laws.”
“You have me there, Maitre Rhennthyl, and best we leave it at that. Is there anything I might be able to help you with?” Ramsael did not smile, but his voice was quietly earnest.
“Several matters, possibly. What can you tell me about the Banque D’Ouestan?”
“Very little directly, except that they’ve recently opened branches in Kherseilles and Estisle. They also appear to be offering favorable terms for loans to factors.” Ramsael seemed relieved at the change in subject, even though he’d brought up the initial questions.
“They wouldn’t be touting the fact that they’re not beholden to or owned by High Holders, would they?” I asked.
The faintest hint of a smile crossed the Councilor’s face, then vanished. “There are rumors to that effect.”
“Do you know what factors of import might have had dealings with them?”
“Know? No. There was word that Veblynt played off the Banque D’Excelsis against them to finance his new paper mill south of Rivages. Glendyl avoided talking about them, and that suggests he knew more than he wanted to reveal. Reyner warned everyone to avoid them because they were backed by outland golds. Someone suggested that troublemaker Broussard had dealings with them…”
I asked a few more questions, listened, and then took my leave. I was intrigued that Ramsael was familiar with Veblynt, but then the paper factor had come from a High Holder family, and because he was a friend of my father’s, I could certainly talk to him…when I had some time. In the end, I stayed at the Council Chateau through the opening glass, while the votes were taken to confirm Ramsael as Chief Councilor and to seat Fhernon as the High Holder Councilor replacing Suyrien.
Rholyn made an eloquent speech in support of Ramsael, but the only words that stuck in my memory were: “Like any good Chief Councilor, Councilor Ramsael will be mindful of our heritage. He will understand and accept the present, while planning for a better future that neither rejects the past nor blindly embraces change for the sake of change…”
I couldn’t help feeling that Rholyn was trying to be all things to all Councilors.
When I finally got back to the Collegium a quint or so after the first glass of the afternoon, I knew I had to concentrate on the links between Glendyl and the other factors and the Banque D’Ouestan.
53
On Mardi, I took the duty coach with Seliora and Diestrya and dropped them off at NordEste Design, then had the driver take me to the Banque D’Excelsis on the Midroad just south of Plaza D’Este, the branch that had been bombed.
As I got out of the coach, I turned to Desalyt. “If you’d wait?”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard outside the banque doors glanced at me-or my grays-but decided against saying anything as I entered. I hadn’t been able to remember the name of the director of the banque, but I had written it down right after the explosion and locked it into the hidden safebox in my home study, along with the note I’d received and, later, the card I’d gotten from Madame D’Shendael at the Autumn Ball. So I’d taken a moment earlier that morning to open the safebox and copy the director’s name-so I wouldn’t forget again.
The second guard-the one inside the banque-must have been there on the day of the explosion, because he clearly recalled me. He stepped forward. “Master Captain?”
“I’m here to see Director Tolsynn.”
The guard turned toward one of the clerks behind a bronze framed cage. “The Maitre and captain is here for the director.”
I only waited a few moments before Tolsynn appeared. I might not have remembered his name, but I couldn’t have forgotten the waxed black mustaches and bulging green eyes-or the air of self-importance that made him seem to bulge out of his black pinstriped jacket.
“Maitre Captain.” His acknowledgment was a polite statement of the fact that he didn’t want to see me.
“There are a few items we need to discuss, Director. Your study would be most convenient.”
Tolsynn didn’t quite sigh. “I trust this will not be too long.”
“Only long enough to go over what we need to.”
I followed him to the small study with the narrow uncluttered desk and took the chair farthest from the door. He looked at me, the door, and finally seated himself, waiting.
“You may have noticed that there have been more than a few explosions in L’Excelsis over the past month. In the course of our investigations, the Collegium has come across a variety of indications that the Banque D’Ouestan has been used to convey funds from Ferrum to L’Excelsis, and to other banques, as well as to individuals who may be connected to those explosions.” I smiled at Tolsynn, projecting both forthrightness and a certainty that he certainly wouldn’t wish to hide anything from me.
He didn’t say anything.
I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head slightly, signifying that I was waiting for a response.
“For most of our clients, we seldom deal with the Banque D’Ouestan. Out of all our clients, there are less than a hundred factors and other commercial enterprises who regularly receive funds from that institution. They have done so for years.”
“So you haven’t noticed anyone receiving large sums from there in just the past year? Someone who didn’t before.”
“I couldn’t say if someone received one or two fund transfers, but I can assure you that no significant funds were transferred to any client over the past year who had not already been transacting business for some time before that.”
“Has the Banque D’Ouestan ever sent representatives here for any reason?”
Tolsynn frowned, then he nodded. “They do have a local representative. At least, he represented himself as such. I have his card here.” He turned in the chair and lifted an ebony card box, opening it, then riffling through it. “Here…” He handed me an engraved card.