Svoinyk’s words staggered Marsham. The man’s face turned purple, but before he could say anything, the king snapped his fingers. “That will be all, Marsham.”
“But, my liege…”
“Do not make me tire of you so early in the day.” Scrainwood passed a hand over his eyes, more as if hiding his mask from Marsham’s sight, than blocking his vision of the subordinate. “Go, find my son. Help him do… something”
The room remained quiet save for the heavy footsteps of Marsham’s retreat. Door hinges creaked. Outside the wind whistled as it picked up, coaxing heavier flurries from the grey clouds cloaking the sky. Scrainwood’s head came up as the door closed, then he waited several seconds longer, before letting his words slither beneath the silence.
“Let us end this polite game, for I tire of it.” Scrainwood looked over at Alyx. “I have never liked Hawkins. He was a lowborn schemer from the start and I saw this instantly. I knew what he wanted: power. I was there when he stole Temmer from Bosleigh Norrington.”
Scrainwood’s right hand played over his jaw. The fact that Hawkins had slapped the king was part of the Traitor’s legend, and Alexia had no doubt that Scrainwood was reliving the sting of those blows.
“Now, Princess, I accept that you are brave and honorable, prideful, intelligent, and courageous. I also accept that you are of the weaker sex, and your emotions hold more sway over you than they should. But it is evident that when it comes to combat you set the frailties of your nature aside. I would ask you to look beyond your emotions now and realize that even your best effort will avail you in no way here. The Traitor will be slain for treason. That is the way it must be.”
Alyx’s nostrils flared and red nibbled at the edges of her vision. She would have happily marched over to that throne and plucked Scrainwood from it, then beat him senseless. Two things restrained her, the first being her certainty that Scrainwood would take her offense at his insult as proof of the insult’s validity.
The second was Svoinyk raising his left hand. “Highness, the princess would dispute your view of things. The fact of her marriage to Crow casts your statement into doubt. Minister Gapes will agree that as a Prince Consort, Crow is due a new trial, since his station calls into question whether or not he is even capable of committing treason against Oriosa.”
Scrainwood snorted at that suggestion. “We have borne the shame of him. He is Oriosan.”
“I would beg to differ, Highness. In Yslin, his father stripped his mask from him, and declared in public that he had no son named Tarrant. In my study of your laws, a father may exile his son in this manner, and his name shall be struck from the rolls of Oriosa for all time. Since you brought the elder Hawkins to Yslin, this exile must be seen as being sanctioned by you. Moreover, Crow’s trial for treason happened years after this exile. In your own history, the rebel Prince Lehern was similarly exiled by his father at the conclusion of the rebellion precisely to prevent his brother from having him tried for treason and killed.”
“Do not seek to lecture me on my own history, Ambassador. You go too far.”
“No offense intended, Highness, for the princess merely intends to honor your history and knows that by it, Oriosa will be fair to the man she has taken as her husband.” Svoinyk glanced at Gapes. “The new trial will have to be conducted before a tribunal of his peers, of course. King Augustus is already on his way here to serve. Queen Carus of Jerana is also coming to Meredo. Oriosa will, of course, be represented on the tribunal. Perhaps the king himself will stand in judgment?”
Alyx bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as Scrainwood fidgeted. Svoinyk had warned her as they rode through the snowy streets, that he would inform the king that plans had already been set in motion. Augustus and Carus would be beyond reproach, which put Scrainwood in the minority. Whether or not Scrainwood would join them would be a decision that would be made after a lot of agonizing thought. The expression on Scrainwood’s face, albeit half-hidden by his mask, did mark the start of that process.
“Moreover, Minister, the trial will be, of necessity, secret. We shall not want to poison the relations between our nations through any parades or other demonstrations that would suggest Okrannel is harboring and protecting a national enemy. While the trial will allow you to present evidence that Crow is indeed Hawkins, these charges must undergo rigorous scrutiny and, therefore, should not be reduced to fodder for gossipmongers.”
Gapes frowned. “Surely, Ambassador, you cannot expect that news of the capture of Hawkins should be kept a secret?”
“Ah, but Minister, did you not already assure me that you were taking steps to see that this was indeed going to be the case?”
The white-haired minister hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at King Scrainwood. “My lord, I have failed you.”
“Indeed, you have, Gapes, most tragically.” The king looked at Alexia. “Shall we dismiss these two to work out the details, Princess? Your man is more than capable of winning what you desire, and Gapes will give it to him.”
Alyx nodded. “And your Marsham shall try to steal it back. You know he will spend secrets faster than a sailor spends gold on shore.”
“I will deal with Marsham.”
“Or I shall.”
Scrainwood’s eyes narrowed, then he nodded. “And likely would do me a favor in doing so. Gapes, take the ambassador to your chambers; do what must be done.”
Svoinyk looked at Alyx imploringly, but she just nodded. “Go. You know what we want.”
“Yes, Highness.” Svoinyk left in Gapes’ wake.
Scrainwood sat back in his throne, then steepled his fingers, his elbows resting on the arms. “It might appear I have underestimated you.”
“You’re not convinced?”
The Oriosan King slowly smiled. “My remark about your being of the weaker sex stung, didn’t it?”
The sly tone of his voice would have surprised her, had not Crow told her in midnight whispers about Scrainwood and his actions on the first Norrington campaign. Crow’s right, the man thinks he is smarter by half than anyone else.
Alyx lifted her chin. “I did take offense, yes.”
“But you held your tongue. That was good.” Scrainwood gestured toward the far end of the room, whence the two men had recently exited. “That earned you your victory, though it was effort spent needlessly. This alleged marriage is to protect Hawkins. You needn’t have resorted to trickery. You could have come to me. Accommodations could have been made.“
“I don’t believe you, Highness.” She regarded him coldly. “I believe Crow would have been slain attempting to escape from Call Mably somewhere on the road to the capital. It would have denied you a public execution, which would be difficult to engineer in any regard, since he saved your sister’s life by leading her from Fortress Draconis.”
“That is a point with merit, though no orders were issued to have Crow slain.”
“Not by you, but I would be more than willing to bet Cabot Marsham would have managed to get word to Mably in time.”
Scrainwood smiled much too easily. “Your concern for Crow is almost enough to make me believe you do love him. How can you love a man like that?”
“He is a good man. He is brave, loyal, and selfless.” Alyx frowned. “Why do you hate him so? Because he slapped you? Because he denied you a sword and a place in history? You know what happened to Leigh Norrington. You were there. I only know it from the songs, but I know enough of songs to know the tragedy was true, though details are lost. Would you truly have wanted that?”
The king’s voice sank into a growl. “Are you Okrans all intent on scourging me with history? It was a different time then, different demands.”
“I’ve fought Chytrine. I’ve slain sullanciri. I know what you knew then.”