stuffed hunting trophies, peering disapprovingly down with their bland glass eyes. An upset deer, an astonished stag, a baffled bear, a leering wolf. Leo had told her it was the way his father had liked it, and so it was the way he liked it, and she respected his decision. Or at least pretended to.
“My lords.” She calmly shut the door and walked smiling over, keeping a mask of dignified composure clamped over her feverish anxiety, to perch on an ancient chair that had by no means been designed for the clothes of a modern lady. Especially a pregnant one.
Leo sounded slightly choked. “We were just talking of—”
“You were talking of gathering allies in open rebellion against King Orso,” said Savine, shocked at how levelly her own voice pronounced the outrageous phrase. “You were talking of toppling the government of the Union and raising another.” She took the stopper from the decanter, poured herself a drink and worked her way into the most comfortable position she could find. “You were talking of changing the world, and I have come to join the conversation.”
Isher had a superior little smile. A look men often had when she opened negotiations with them. A look she always enjoyed wiping from the faces of people who supposed themselves powerful. “Lady Savine, I hardly think—”
“The two of you plan to risk everything you have. Therefore, you plan to risk everything I have. My future. The future of my child. It is clear you have already taken several steps along this path. Too far to turn back without considerable danger. Perhaps too far to turn back at all. So. It seems you have left me no choice but to commit myself to this project and do everything possible to make sure it succeeds.” She raised her chin. “But if you think I would ever do so without voicing my opinion, you are profoundly mistaken.”
Isher narrowed his eyes. “You would have to turn against your father—”
“That is between me and him.” Her father, if she even considered him her father, could hardly complain. He had been lecturing her about the value of ruthlessness since she was knee-high. “Now tell me your plans.”
Leo sat forward with the eagerness of a boy keen to show off a new game. “We have the Open Council. We have the army of Angland, the best soldiers in the Union. We’ll bring Rikke and Stour and all their Northmen onto our side. We’ll land on the north coast of Midderland, gather our friends as we march on Adua and take the Closed Council by surprise, forcing Orso to concede to our demands without a drop of blood spilled!”
Savine took a sip of her drink, worked it around her mouth and swallowed. “That sounds… optimistic.” She had managed to take her father by surprise perhaps four or five times in her life. The idea of Leo achieving it bordered on absurd. “You rather assume that experienced politicians and soldiers will play into your hands.”
“We have a secret weapon!” Leo thumped the table. “Lord Isher has a friend on the Closed Council.”
Isher sourly worked his mouth. Plainly he trusted her no further than she trusted him, but that hardly mattered. There were few of her many business partners she would have trusted to hold her hat, and they still made money for each other. “A good friend,” he said, reluctantly. “We know everything they do.”
“Orso is no soldier,” said Leo, scornfully.
“He’s no politician, either. Only see what happened at Wetterlant’s trial.” Isher gave a disgusted sneer. “The man’s a fool.”
“A coward.”
“He is neither,” snapped Savine. “Indecisive, perhaps, but he is clever, and he has iron in him. The tougher things get, the tougher he will become.”
“Thought you were done taking his side?” grumbled Leo.
“Never fear your enemy,” said Savine, “but always respect him. Stolicus, I believe? If we mean to risk everything, we cannot simply assume our enemies will fail. We must stack the deck so heavily in our favour that we can only win.” She considered the collection of battered weaponry on the walls, already working the problem through from every angle. “The Union is flooded with idle veterans. Men who have returned from war to find a changed world in which they have no place. I suggest the Open Council asks leave to raise troops to protect their interests from the Breakers. To quash riots and root out dissent. A pretext for arming yourselves which will make the Closed Council trust you more rather