In that case, I’d need to—
Edwin, walking at my side, cleared his throat slightly. “Your Highness, I have a question for you.”
My mental thought wentsnipas I switched my focus to him. “Of course, what is it?”
“Why include me in the meeting?”
I looked down at him, puzzled by the question. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He met my eyes levelly. “I didn’t have to be there. The three of you planned just fine between yourselves.”
“Excuse you? You brought a whole arsenal of testimonies and records I didn’t know existed and you think you were superfluous to the meeting?” I rolled my eyes expressively. Why was Edwin like this? He always downplayed his own part in matters. “Edwin, I amquiteaware of how capable you are. You could run this entire palace without issue even on a bad day. I included you in the meeting because you have your finger squarely on the pulse of this place and because you think of things I fail to consider. I will, in fact, take you with me everywhere for this reason.”
At that, his eyes twinkled a little, and he seemed satisfied. “I understand.”
“Well, now that you understand, you can help me with the next item on the agenda. The seawalls, I mean. I need a meeting set up with the mayor and a foreman—in fact, I think Jethro Bates is the foreman for the projects.”
“You’re correct, he is.”
“Excellent. Set up a meeting with those two. The sooner the better. I need to get those seawalls fixed before we lose people and buildings to the next serious Wrath.”
“I’ll do that next.”
“You’re motivated,” I teased him. “Because your house is down there, I assume.”
“You assume correctly.”
Look at him, bantering with me. Still nothing like we used to do, but hopefully, we’d get there.
Sunday dawned and it was a relief to see the sun. I still wasn’t sleeping well, unfortunately. Vuheia’s symbol over my bed gave me peace of mind, and it did seem to help me at least relax in the bed, but true sleep eluded me. I supposed even a religious symbol could only do so much. Sleeping potions were easy to get addicted to and left me groggy the next day, so I avoided using them every night. It might have been a mistake to skip using it last night, however, as I hadn’t slept at all, just tossed and turned before giving up at around one a.m. and going to the yard to train. I’d trained for three hours before I felt exhausted enough to sleep again—and even after all that, only managed two hours before waking up screaming from yet another nightmare.
Would it be sacrilegious to ask Vuheia to knock me out tonight?
Eh, I probably shouldn’t.
I’d definitely need to down some kind of sleep aid tonight, because exhaustion left me barely able to form sentences. Still, I must get two things done today before I could retreat to my rooms and lounge about uselessly on the sofa.
I longed, with every fiber of my being, to be a useless sofa demon. It was the bane of my life that duty forced me into boots and conversations instead.
Still, needs must. I dressed, downed three cups of the blackest of khavés, and picked up two knights on my way out the door. Namely Captain Rowan and Sir Pedan, as they were on duty today and both completely trustworthy.
First, to my company. I really had to check in on King’s Paper and sign a few things. Rhody insisted on this for some reason. Then I could use the cover of looking into my company to have a very pointed meeting with my spy, Tremon.
So I skipped to my business office (please note the profound sarcasm) and signed the signy things, and then promptly ignored the lot of it so I could focus on the very competent spy in my office.
Tremon excelled at his job for two very good reasons. One, the man had a memory like a vault. He forgot absolutely nothing. Two, he looked so everyday man, so average in appearance, he could blend into any background. I still praised the day I’d met this man and hired him. It was one of the best decisions I’d ever made across two lifetimes.
Tremon greeted me with a little bow. “Your Highness.”
“Sit,” I said. “Ah, don’t mind Captain Rowan or Sir Pedan, either. They’re both trustworthy.”
“Yes, I know,” he answered calmly.
Come to think of it, he likely had looked into every single person now surrounding me. Tremon was thorough. Snorting a laugh, I oriented my chair behind the desk to face him properly. “All right. I need you to—actually, no, I’m curious…do you know why I called you in here?”
“You want me to look further into Lord Gillespie and into anything to prove Prince Victor incompetent enough to axeany possibility of him being declared king.” Tremon’s tone was matter-of-fact.
He was absolutely correct, too. “I knew you could read between the lines. I do have one of my staff members looking into Gillespie. Stedman’s a natural-born spy who sadly got somehow sidetracked and became my secretary instead. Partner up with him, if you’d like, to see what he’s already dug up. I trust you to find the truly shady shit, though.”
