Labyrinth Gate by Kate Elliott

the Bishop Rivers by Queen Caroline the First before she was beheaded. Converted to its current use as Parliament by Queen Jasmina the Second. The current heir’s great-grandmother,” he added, glancing at Chryse’s somewhat perplexed expression. “Of course, the Princess Georgiana is in a peculiar position, being the first undisputed heir to descend from the male line—from her father, brother to the previous queen. Am I confusing you?”
    “Not really,” said Chryse. “It just takes a moment for me to get my history straight. Bishop’s a funny name for a river, isn’t it?” Across from her, Kate lounged beside Julian, with a single booted foot braced carefully by the door to absorb shocks.
    “From my research,” replied Julian, “the name doesn’t actually come from bishop, the church title, but from some form of ‘bissoff,’ an archaic word whose meaning is now lost. Undoubtedly, in medieval times, devout city folk began to render it as bishop.” He clasped his hands together, as if warming them against the chill of winter that surrounded them. “Heffield itself is a shortening of the medieval name Hefenfelthe—Heaven’s Field. That is the name this city had in medieval times. And if there was an earlier city, it probably had an entirely different name, one we don’t now know.”
    “Bloody hell, Julian,” said Kate. “This is supposed to be a guided tour, not a lesson in languages. There’s St. John’s Palace. Princess Georgiana—the heir—lives there with a chaperone and her younger brother and sister, Prince William and Princess Jasmina. The Regent—that’s their aunt, you remember, the younger sister of the princess’ father—lives across the Tens in Blackstone Palace.”
    “Let me get this straight,” said Chryse. “Queen Jasmina the Fourth died childless, leaving her younger brother next in line, but he had already died, leaving his three children, all underage, so Jasmina’s youngest sister, Blessa, was appointed Regent until Princess Georgiana turns sixteen. Which will happen in one year. Do I have that right?”
    “Very impressive,” said Julian appreciatively.
    “Blessed Lady,” swore Kate. “Took me years to figure it out. Of course, some say it shouldn’t pass down through the male line, that the crown should have gone to Princess Blessa, as the sworn daughter of Jasmina the Third, but—” She shrugged. “Politics. I’d rather drink.”
    “Kate,” said Julian, “you’d always rather drink.”
    “You slander me, Julian. I can think of at least two things I’d rather do than drink. Unfortunately, my parents—bless their noble and small-hearted souls, if a soul can have a heart—forbade me from studying to be a physician, and disowned me for indulging too openly in my taste for men. So what was left me but drink?”
    “Gambling,” offered Julian.
    “Easy for you to say, Julian. You have the devil’s own luck with cards. I wish you’d pass a bit of it on to me.”
    “You would have better luck if you didn’t play so impulsively.”
    Kate’s expression changed abruptly, and a certain tension sprang into being between her and Julian, charging the carriage air.
    Chryse glanced at Sanjay, but he was staring out the window, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. “Why would your parents forbid you from studying medicine?” she asked quickly.
    Kate waved a deprecating hand. “Why, our line can be traced back to the Conqueror’s. A daughter of an aristocratic house should not be engaged in a trade, a profession. No matter how impoverished.” Her voice, always a little raw, took on a deep bitterness.
    “I’m sorry,” said Chryse. “It’s terrible to have to give up something you’ve always wanted to do.”
    “Oh, I suppose I could have disowned myself and gone ahead and done it anyway, but they scared me off it. It was right at the time that the Earl of Elen became notorious—rumor had it he was raiding cemeteries for bodies and raising the dead