delegation that we are developing a new array of programs and incentives to appease the labor force here and persuade them back to work. That’s all they’ll want to hear.”
“Programs and incentives like what?” Viktor asked, frowning.
Arian rolled her eyes. “Renovation of slums, improved distribution of staple foods through work-assistance programs, state-subsidized access to a greater share of the Mishrah-Khote’s services.”
“Since when? With what funds? Our tax revenues are plummeting, Arian. Now is hardly the time to start —”
“Do you suppose for a minute,” she cut in, “that this delegation will go crawl around the raft warrens or down into Hell’s Arch or Alm’s Crib to ascertain the truth? I am trying to tell you that all they want is some passable way to claim they’re working on solutions to the world’s unmanageable problems without incurring any actual responsibility to do so in earnest. Give them that, and they will leave us in peace.” She paused, then added, “We might even consider some of the options I’ve just mentioned. Could it hurt to discuss them? Quietly? Why should this ‘Butchered God’s’ priest be allowed sole claim to concern for Alizar’s poor? Even in times like these, haven’t we resources to do at least as much as he can about any of this?”
“You’re telling me to lie to the delegation?” Viktor blinked, seeming to have heard nothing else she’d said. “That seems most unlike you.”
Arian drew a deep breath and shoved her frustration down once more. “It is not a lie if we are looking into it.” She could not solve all the problems of their nation’s poor tonight. She was just trying to help her husband find some breathing room. Was he too dull to see even that? “So let us just look into it, all right? I promise you, this delegation will not come back to check on our progress. And these current troubles will get better, Viktor, precisely because you are not to blame for them. Just buy us time to get there.”
He continued to gaze at her curiously, then shrugged. “It is as good as any other plan at my disposal. I thank you for the council, wife. It is a great help to have someone so much wiser in the ways of this game at my side.”
“There are many kinds of wisdom, husband. Yours are no fewer than mine, just of a different nature.”
“If you say so.” He gave her a rueful smile.
She rose and went to kiss him on the cheek. “I do. And on this occasion, I am right. Now, I must go to see our son. It is getting late. He will be sleeping soon.” I hope , she added silently. The more Konrad needed sleep, the further off his fever seemed to keep it.
Only when she’d stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her did she allow herself a huff of exasperation. The very idea that her father would wish his own daughter’s husband toppled … Viktor was not a stupid man by any stretch. How he managed to arrive at such bizarre conclusions, she was unable to imagine.
As she continued through the Factorate House’s labyrinthine hallways, silent at this time of day but for the soft rustling of her silken robes and the ever-present calls of this fecund country’s strange wildlife, Arian considered the baroque columns, continental embellishments, diamond-tiled floors, and mosaic ceilings around her. Marble, malachite, alabaster and stained glass. Viktor and his family had brought all of this from the mainland, entirely remodeling the island nation’s modest palace at unimaginable expense, as a wedding gift for her. To make you feel at home , Viktor had told her grandly the first time he had shown it to her. She’d never had the heart to tell him that this great fantasy of ‘continental architecture’ was as oddly out of step with anything she’d known in Copper Downs as it was with her adopted country’s culture or native architecture. The grandest expression to date of her husband’s … impressive … imagination.
As she
“Programs and incentives like what?” Viktor asked, frowning.
Arian rolled her eyes. “Renovation of slums, improved distribution of staple foods through work-assistance programs, state-subsidized access to a greater share of the Mishrah-Khote’s services.”
“Since when? With what funds? Our tax revenues are plummeting, Arian. Now is hardly the time to start —”
“Do you suppose for a minute,” she cut in, “that this delegation will go crawl around the raft warrens or down into Hell’s Arch or Alm’s Crib to ascertain the truth? I am trying to tell you that all they want is some passable way to claim they’re working on solutions to the world’s unmanageable problems without incurring any actual responsibility to do so in earnest. Give them that, and they will leave us in peace.” She paused, then added, “We might even consider some of the options I’ve just mentioned. Could it hurt to discuss them? Quietly? Why should this ‘Butchered God’s’ priest be allowed sole claim to concern for Alizar’s poor? Even in times like these, haven’t we resources to do at least as much as he can about any of this?”
“You’re telling me to lie to the delegation?” Viktor blinked, seeming to have heard nothing else she’d said. “That seems most unlike you.”
Arian drew a deep breath and shoved her frustration down once more. “It is not a lie if we are looking into it.” She could not solve all the problems of their nation’s poor tonight. She was just trying to help her husband find some breathing room. Was he too dull to see even that? “So let us just look into it, all right? I promise you, this delegation will not come back to check on our progress. And these current troubles will get better, Viktor, precisely because you are not to blame for them. Just buy us time to get there.”
He continued to gaze at her curiously, then shrugged. “It is as good as any other plan at my disposal. I thank you for the council, wife. It is a great help to have someone so much wiser in the ways of this game at my side.”
“There are many kinds of wisdom, husband. Yours are no fewer than mine, just of a different nature.”
“If you say so.” He gave her a rueful smile.
She rose and went to kiss him on the cheek. “I do. And on this occasion, I am right. Now, I must go to see our son. It is getting late. He will be sleeping soon.” I hope , she added silently. The more Konrad needed sleep, the further off his fever seemed to keep it.
Only when she’d stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her did she allow herself a huff of exasperation. The very idea that her father would wish his own daughter’s husband toppled … Viktor was not a stupid man by any stretch. How he managed to arrive at such bizarre conclusions, she was unable to imagine.
As she continued through the Factorate House’s labyrinthine hallways, silent at this time of day but for the soft rustling of her silken robes and the ever-present calls of this fecund country’s strange wildlife, Arian considered the baroque columns, continental embellishments, diamond-tiled floors, and mosaic ceilings around her. Marble, malachite, alabaster and stained glass. Viktor and his family had brought all of this from the mainland, entirely remodeling the island nation’s modest palace at unimaginable expense, as a wedding gift for her. To make you feel at home , Viktor had told her grandly the first time he had shown it to her. She’d never had the heart to tell him that this great fantasy of ‘continental architecture’ was as oddly out of step with anything she’d known in Copper Downs as it was with her adopted country’s culture or native architecture. The grandest expression to date of her husband’s … impressive … imagination.
As she
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