Igniting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #2) - Robin LaFevers Page 0,47

own suspicious nature does the rest. “What were they talking about?”

“About the queen. And the Nine. And the holding the regent would sign over to the bishop if he continued to raise questions about the queen’s faith and pursue them with the pope.”

There is a brief moment of outraged silence, followed by a crash as the king hurls his goblet into the fire, the wine hissing as it hits the hot embers. “I have not indicated I wish to pursue that course of action yet.”

I dip a respectful curtsy. “That is why I thought it worth mentioning.”

“Did you hear any more?”

“No, after that their voices started moving in my direction, and it seemed wise to be discreet. I came directly here.”

“You have done well. Thank you.” Agitated, he puts his hands behind his back and begins pacing in front of the fire. “I am sick unto death of my wishes being overruled or argued with. Not just by the regent, but by the entire council. I am king, dammit, not some weak fop.” His gaze slides to the painting on the wall behind me.

“My lord, perhaps they challenge you not because they see you as weak, but out of their own self-interest. Perhaps it is not even challenge so much as manipulation. Surely if the regent’s meeting with the bishop tells us anything, it is that.”

“And that makes it better?”

“No, but it makes their motives different.”

He falls quiet, thinking. “What you say makes sense. Especially with regards to my sister. She is ever trying to steer me to her wishes. The queen, as well.”

As hard as it is to let the latter one go, I do.

“But what earthly reason would the bishops have for such manipulation?”

“I have found that bishops are as fond of wealth and power as any man.”

He pours a fresh glass of wine. “I do not believe that is the case with General Cassel. He has served my father well and loyally since he came to the throne. Longer! He not only has the crown’s interest at heart, he has shown his loyalty honorably throughout the years.”

“Your Majesty, was your valet not your father’s also?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“Does he dress you in the same chamber robes and somber colors that your father preferred?”

“No!”

“And yet he continues to serve you nonetheless, loyally and faithfully. But he does not insist you adopt your father’s fashions. He allows you to have your own. I think General Cassel is of similar intent, although poorer execution. While he has served the crown well, his temperament, his tactics, and his approach are more suited to the France of twenty years ago when it was beset by rebellious dukes on all sides. They have gotten fewer and fewer, my lord, with the vast majority of them now falling to the crown’s rule through death or marriage.”

“Brittany rebelled,” he points out, watching me closely.

“They did. Nearly the last of the independent duchies. And it was gracefully handled. When you hold all the power, there is rarely any reason to exercise it. The threat is often enough.”

“General Cassel would say that the threat is empty without the will to see it through. He thinks I was wrong to offer marriage. Thinks I should have simply continued the siege and invasion.”

“Of course he thinks that. He is old and set in his ways. Unwilling to learn new tactics and strategies that the exciting new France presents. What purpose would it have served to conquer Brittany in such a way? To acquire a broken, defeated holding whose population had been decimated by war and hunger? Who would always see you as the conqueror and never as a beloved or admired king? Who gains by that, Your Majesty?”

He stares into the fire.

“I’ll tell you who gains—men who like to make war. Who thrive on battles and conflict and conquest. Men who have no other skills or talents or values. General Cassel is a man with one weapon and one weapon only. He does not understand the man who has an array from which to choose. And you, Your Majesty, have precisely such an array.”

He glances at my empty hands. “Here, let us get you some wine.”

That is when I know that I have not only lightened his mood, but have given him good counsel as well. Now all I must do is manage to get him to invite me to spend the night without warming his bed, and this evening will be a rousing success.

 Chapter 23

Sybella

As I lie on