and broke the seal. “What is going on? What is this firing in the harbour?”
“Don’t be concerned about that. It was just our ship saluting the Governor’s arrival. I had intended to be here before this, in order to inform you, but I was delayed.”
There was a pause while Agave read the letter. At the end she looked up at him. “Are you Vice-Admiral Joffrey?”
He bowed. “Any questions or concerns you may have, I am ready to address. We are eager to have cordial relations with the Pavilion while we are in Lashnish.”
“So her letter says. It doesn’t say why she has come to Lashnish.”
Joffrey smiled thinly. “The answer to that question lies with this gentleman’s brother. Ten days ago, Tiarch was removed from office by the Inning authority she had served so long and loyally. What they didn’t reckon with was that the militia and much of the Northern Squadron was more loyal to her than to Inning, and they rallied round her. She has come here to make Lashnish her headquarters while she appeals her dismissal to Fluminos.”
“Why Lashnish?” Agave said tensely. “What are her intentions?”
Unspoken, but obvious to everyone in the room, was the question,
Has she come here to claim dhota-nur?
“At the moment, her intentions are to set up an administrative base for her government, the legitimate government of the Forsakens,” Joffrey said. “Lashnish is a central location, since Tornabay is now off limits to us.”
He hadn’t answered the real question, but his bland expression told them he didn’t intend to.
Nathaway was still trying to grasp the situation. “The Navy mutinied?” he said, barely believing it.
Turning to him, Joffrey said coolly, “That is doubtless the construction certain parties will put on it. We prefer to think that the Navy stayed loyal when given an illegal order.”
So the Navy that had just arrived was not the Navy that Nathaway had been fearing, but a renegade force bent on making Lashnish yet another rebel stronghold. This was all going very badly for Corbin. But by now, Nathaway didn’t care. He wanted nothing to do with any of it, and felt some alarm that trouble seemed to be doggedly following his scent. The refuge he had just managed to find was to be plunged into the midst of things. He turned to Agave. “Agave, pardon me for speaking, but you need to stay neutral in this. If you have any power, don’t throw it to one side or another; it’ll only make you a target.”
“The Pavilion never makes judgments,” she said, “until we are approached in the proper way. Then we will play our part as we always have done.” She turned to Joffrey. “You may tell that to Tiarch.”
He inclined his head respectfully. “I will do so. She will doubtless wish to visit you herself, once she is settled here.”
“She will be welcome, as are all,” Agave said.
Joffrey nodded, then looked appraisingly one last time at Nathaway, and left.
When he was gone there was silence in the room. Outside the window, down by the waterfront, they could hear distant shouts and some celebratory gunfire. It seemed very far away, up here.
Agave turned to look at Auster. Silently, he moved to her side and took her hand. “It is all happening so fast,” she said. “We have no time. Just listen to them out there, Auster. Our city is waking.”
3
The Bells of Harbourdown
Just off the rocky coast of Thimish, Harg Ismol was sitting in a place uncomfortably familiar to him, on the horns of a dilemma.
The aft cabin of the warship
Smoke
was still lavishly furnished with the belongings of its absent captain, who had—either through choice or chance—ended up on the Inning side in the mad scramble when Tiarch had sailed from Embo with her navy. When Harg had first inherited the cabin, the sight of the man’s perfect mahogany shaving stand, his wine chest, his silver service, and curtains had said only one thing—that this was a warship that had never fired a gun in war. Harg had
“Don’t be concerned about that. It was just our ship saluting the Governor’s arrival. I had intended to be here before this, in order to inform you, but I was delayed.”
There was a pause while Agave read the letter. At the end she looked up at him. “Are you Vice-Admiral Joffrey?”
He bowed. “Any questions or concerns you may have, I am ready to address. We are eager to have cordial relations with the Pavilion while we are in Lashnish.”
“So her letter says. It doesn’t say why she has come to Lashnish.”
Joffrey smiled thinly. “The answer to that question lies with this gentleman’s brother. Ten days ago, Tiarch was removed from office by the Inning authority she had served so long and loyally. What they didn’t reckon with was that the militia and much of the Northern Squadron was more loyal to her than to Inning, and they rallied round her. She has come here to make Lashnish her headquarters while she appeals her dismissal to Fluminos.”
“Why Lashnish?” Agave said tensely. “What are her intentions?”
Unspoken, but obvious to everyone in the room, was the question,
Has she come here to claim dhota-nur?
“At the moment, her intentions are to set up an administrative base for her government, the legitimate government of the Forsakens,” Joffrey said. “Lashnish is a central location, since Tornabay is now off limits to us.”
He hadn’t answered the real question, but his bland expression told them he didn’t intend to.
Nathaway was still trying to grasp the situation. “The Navy mutinied?” he said, barely believing it.
Turning to him, Joffrey said coolly, “That is doubtless the construction certain parties will put on it. We prefer to think that the Navy stayed loyal when given an illegal order.”
So the Navy that had just arrived was not the Navy that Nathaway had been fearing, but a renegade force bent on making Lashnish yet another rebel stronghold. This was all going very badly for Corbin. But by now, Nathaway didn’t care. He wanted nothing to do with any of it, and felt some alarm that trouble seemed to be doggedly following his scent. The refuge he had just managed to find was to be plunged into the midst of things. He turned to Agave. “Agave, pardon me for speaking, but you need to stay neutral in this. If you have any power, don’t throw it to one side or another; it’ll only make you a target.”
“The Pavilion never makes judgments,” she said, “until we are approached in the proper way. Then we will play our part as we always have done.” She turned to Joffrey. “You may tell that to Tiarch.”
He inclined his head respectfully. “I will do so. She will doubtless wish to visit you herself, once she is settled here.”
“She will be welcome, as are all,” Agave said.
Joffrey nodded, then looked appraisingly one last time at Nathaway, and left.
When he was gone there was silence in the room. Outside the window, down by the waterfront, they could hear distant shouts and some celebratory gunfire. It seemed very far away, up here.
Agave turned to look at Auster. Silently, he moved to her side and took her hand. “It is all happening so fast,” she said. “We have no time. Just listen to them out there, Auster. Our city is waking.”
3
The Bells of Harbourdown
Just off the rocky coast of Thimish, Harg Ismol was sitting in a place uncomfortably familiar to him, on the horns of a dilemma.
The aft cabin of the warship
Smoke
was still lavishly furnished with the belongings of its absent captain, who had—either through choice or chance—ended up on the Inning side in the mad scramble when Tiarch had sailed from Embo with her navy. When Harg had first inherited the cabin, the sight of the man’s perfect mahogany shaving stand, his wine chest, his silver service, and curtains had said only one thing—that this was a warship that had never fired a gun in war. Harg had
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