De Bos replied, “Not for several days. Last report had him at the Arnhander frontier being cranky because there was nobody there to meet him. The King’s mother was busy with raiders out of the Connec. Brokke said he was going to go on, cautiously.”
“He should probably try harder to keep us posted.”
De Bos and Consent both gave him a hard stare.
“All right. I see.” He had espoused the philosophy of giving a man a job, then getting out of the way, for as long as he had been less than the man who was ultimately in charge. He had waxed quite bitter about the waste of time and manpower needed to run messages to people far from the head of the spear, whose input could not possibly do anything but make things more difficult for the men doing the actual, everyday work.
“All right. Suggestion withdrawn. We have plenty to do here.” But he did understand the other side now, some. “We’ll need to screen my appointments more tightly. I want to push this…”
Consent said, “Boss, don’t change anything. Let us deal. That’s our job. You aren’t a worker bee anymore. Your role is to be the lightning rod for everybody who thinks they should be able to use us. Just go right on having fun doing that.”
Titus was right. And Hecht did not like it. “I’m wondering if it’s too late to fire you.”
“Probably.” Consent chuckled. He beckoned the steward. “You can take this stuff away, now, Maxillan.”
* * *
The meeting with the Empress and her advisors stretched interminably. Several councilors were blatantly obstructionist in their efforts to extort concessions. Helspeth was, after all, only a woman. She did not have that much strength behind her-though every one of those men quelled under Hecht’s glare.
Hecht was patient. He contributed little. He refused the bait when challenged to offer assurances no commander could provide before a campaign. Each time someone came at him directly he responded with a knowing smile that left them uncomfortable.
The Shining Ones made it sound like the entire Chaldarean world was excited about liberating the Holy Lands. Even in the Connec commoners and nobles alike were finding money and men to contribute. In Arnhand, despite the flood of specie that had gone away since the advent of Anne of Menand, they were raising noble companies of dedicated adventurers. Inside the Grail Empire the folk seethed with eagerness. Many of the nobility remained oblivious to that. They seemed interested only in locking horns with the Grail Throne while it was occupied by a woman with no strong man coming up behind her.
Hecht stood. “I would like to request a recess, Your Majesty. And permission to approach with intelligence recently received. Intelligence I will share with the Council following the recess.”
Helspeth was tired of the bickering, too. “One hour, gentlemen.” She rose, ignoring all protests. “Lord Arnmigal. Follow me.” She left the council chamber. Lifeguards and ladies-in-waiting scurried. Helspeth went straight to the closest quiet room. She let no one in but Hecht. She was rude to one dowager who said something about propriety.
To Hecht’s consternation Helspeth threw herself against him the instant the door clicked shut. “This isn’t what I had in mind.”
“You did. But you didn’t expect it to happen.”
He extricated himself reluctantly. “We’ll see about that later.”
“Always business first. What is it?”
“You have been tasking me about my intelligence crew not producing.”
“We never see them. They don’t seem to be doing anything.”
“This morning they delivered a six-hundred-page stack of reports. The detail boggles. There are minutes of scores of conspiratorial gatherings, many featuring some of those men out there. I brought a representative sample.” He pulled the sheets from beneath his shirt.
She had not stepped back when he peeled her off. Now she turned away but leaned back against him while she read. He did not push her off. In fact, he discovered his arms around her, his hands clasped. He felt her anger build.
“Is this stuff credible?”
“It is.”
“How could anyone get that close?”
“You know who they are.”
“I didn’t really believe it. I have to, now.”
“I’ll never tell you anything but the truth.”
“That might not always be smart, love.” She turned. They kissed.
* * *
Algres Drear and a dozen Braunsknechts entered and lined the walls. The councilors eyed them nervously.
Helspeth announced, “I am going to read from an intelligence report. Captain Drear, I am not to be interrupted.”
Drear clicked his heels and bowed.
Helspeth read from the record of a meeting that had taken place eight days earlier. Four men now present had participated, two of whom had made a great, mocking show of firmly supporting the new Empress. Subjects discussed had included the possibility of ridding the world of the Commander of the Righteous to facilitate the subsequent deposition of “that Ege chit.”
The truth was made obvious by the ghastly pallor of the conspirators.
Algres Drear kept order, though he faced no real challenge. None of those men were prepared to fight his Braunsknechts.
Hecht could almost hear the conspirators thinking the Imperial lifeguard would have to be disbanded once the Ege chit went.
Interestingly, Ferris Renfrow had come in with the returning recess crowd. He made certain his presence was noticed. Too, Hourli, in frumpy middle-aged form, blocked the main exit. Hecht was sure she was recognized as his new head spy.
Helspeth said, “Graf fon Gerilein. This conversation took place in your home. Care to comment? Without bluster or wasting time denying the facts?”
The Graf shook his head, conceding that he was well and truly caught.
Helspeth polled the other conspirators. None cared to comment.
“The Ege chit is not pleased. There are more of these transcripts. Hundreds of pages. Here is one that pleases the Ege chit even less. It is a blatant praise of treason.” She read.
Then she read from several other reports. Finally, she asked, “Have I made my point? You didn’t hear your plot mentioned? I have six hundred more pages to examine. Should you feel a need to know if your own flirtation with treason is on record, consult the intelligence arm of the Righteous.” She paused, glared. Men began to shift nervously. “The answer will be yes. Your villainy is known. Now that you know that I know, we can wipe the slate. I will take no action on any of these reports, however foul the crimes contemplated. A new era begins. This is now One Empire ruled by One Will. Future bad behavior will not be tolerated.”
Hecht killed a frown. She was being too dramatic. From now on the worst of them would make sure they spoke no treason outside the tightest quiet rooms.
Hecht immediately wondered what more clever and dangerous plots had been hatched by smarter conspirators, protected by quiet rooms.
Helspeth scanned the chamber. She made eye contact with the cream of the Imperial nobility. “Again. A new start. The function of this gathering is to finalize mobilization of the Empire for the Enterprise of Peace and Faith. To which I say, to you, join in or not, as it pleases you. Do not obstruct. Be part of the process or stand aside from it. If you get in the way, I will trample you.”
She was in an Ege mood, now. They had best have the wit to listen.