I realized I was supposed to incline my head in return. “Oh, I’m sorry!” As I did, he coughed. “Are you feeling unwell?” I asked.
He glared even harder. “The dungeon proved cold for my lungs.”
The dungeon … wait … this must be Head Cardinal Augustin! “I’m so sorry!” I cried.
In the corner, Donya buried her face in her hands. It just slipped out. I didn’t even mean to apologize for throwing him in there since I hadn’t done that—it was only a sorry-something-bad-happened-to-you. The cardinal raised his eyebrow very slightly, then turned and walked to his seat.
By the time everyone was seated, my throat felt dry and sweat dripped down my forehead. I picked up the small golden cup in front of me and drank from it. The beverage was so small, I downed it in one gulp. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be all the water we’d get with lunch.
Everyone stared. Donya pinched her forehead.
“Isn’t that the water for washing our hands?” a noblewoman in a blue dress whispered. She sounded like she was genuinely doubting herself, but as soon as I saw the white towel lying next to the cup, I knew she’d been right. I wanted to sink into the polished wooden floor.
Donya jumped in before I had a chance to respond. “I know that looks a lot like the Arahasnor washing cup, but it’s actually a Sherdan toast cup. Just look at the little line of diamonds around the top of the cup—that’s the giveaway. Everyone, let’s drink a toast to the health of our new lady regent.” She picked up her cup and drained it. Under Donya’s aggressive glare, everyone else drank as well.
I wanted to cry. Thank goodness Donya had saved my heinie. How many other such mistakes would I make?
Several maids brought in the real water in crystal glasses. Next came glasses of red wine. Then a celery soup with a hot bun.
This time, I was determined to wait for someone else to eat so I could watch what they did. No one made a move toward the soup. Instead, everyone gazed at me with hungry eyes.
Donya clapped her hands. “It’s the honor of the duchess regent, the highest-ranked person, to begin the meal.”
Sweet Sun God. I had to go first. And everyone was staring at me.
I reached for a piece of bread to dip into my soup. Donya shook her head frantically.
Right, nobility probably didn’t do that. I reached for the spoon.
Donya shook her head even harder. She touched a different spoon at the top of the plate.
It mattered which utensil I used? Why did we even need more than one spoon? I picked up the spoon from the top, dipped it in the soup, and took a sip.
The slurp sounded worryingly loud in the silent room. Hopefully no one noticed, because immediately they all went for their own meals. I ate slowly, scared of doing something wrong or spilling on my expensive clothes. Everyone around me drank their soup so elegantly and took small bites of bread.
The man on my right turned to me. “What do you think of the plans to add additional guards to the city walls?”
“A great idea,” I said. After all, I’d been able to sneak out pretty easily, which didn’t bode well for our security. “We should pay the guards more, too.” Then hopefully they’d be less susceptible to bribes.
From the other end of the table, a woman cried, “You already want to raise taxes to pay off our debt! Now you want to spend even more on guards? There’s barely any purpose for them since we made peace with Conollia. We should be laying off half of them.”
“Oh,” I said, shrinking down in my seat. “Maybe not, then.”
Questions flew at me fast and furious. “Will you negotiate with Sherda to lower their tariffs on our turnips?”
“What’s your response to the Head Cardinal’s demand to limit the number of chickens in the same coop under the prevention of cruelty to animals law?”
“Should we dismantle the stadium from the last World Games or use it for entertainment?”
“How do you plan to pay off the debt from hosting the World Games?”
“Is it true that we’re in debt to the Dragon Emperor? You know how terrifying dragons can be about debts …”
“What is your reply to the latest protest march by the Construction Guild demanding their unpaid wages?”
“Do you think redleaf should be legal?”
I blurted out, “Red leavesare illegal? Whatever do you do in autumn? Arrest all the trees?”
