The Emperor’s Chapel - Bergraz Palace

173rd Summer – The First Year of the Regency (Earth Date 21st January 2017)

“Anna my dear, I’m so glad you made it,” The tall, thin, dark-haired man gave me a genuine smile of welcome and made to kiss my hand. I deftly avoided his elegant gesture and enveloped him in a bear hug.

“Now you’re married to Father, I'm allowed to do this,'' I said, squeezing, feeling the heat of his body under his fine silk shirt. My new dad gasped in surprise then laughed as I managed to lift him off the ground.

“Anna put my husband down before you break him,” Father said laughing. I released him then gave Father the same treatment. He was more robustly built than his new husband and returned the hug with enthusiasm.

“You’re still as skinny as a Scanlan herder,” he exclaimed, picking me up without effort. I let out an involuntary squeal of surprise as he whirled me around like he had when I was little.

“Not where it counts.” I replied when I was safely back on the ground and making sure the bits that counted weren’t in danger of being counted.

“Yes, I’ve noticed men noticing. We were worried you wouldn’t make it back in time.” Father said, glancing over at my small entourage.

“Oz was kind enough to bring me back, I hope you didn’t mind me bringing uninvited guests…” I said, suddenly realising how few people there were here. Just my mother, Prince Madoc, my mother’s lover and Oz’s father. Apart from that there was just the officiating priest and a senior Druid who was keeping her eye on proceedings, probably making sure the elderly priest didn’t get confused and marry people he wasn’t supposed to.

“No, no Anna, don’t worry, the place would have looked empty without them and it’s always good to have independent witnesses to things like this. Anyway, Oz is practically family and I’ve wanted to meet Lady Kate for a while now. Who’s the young lady? Has some socially climbing matriarch finally managed to pin a handmaiden onto you, the poor child looks like a fish caught in torchlight.” I giggled and shook my head.

“She’s not mine, she's Lady Kate’s, her name’s Scarlett. She’s the Bishop of Trafalgar’s daughter.”

“Ohh, was she one of those kids who got themselves kidnapped? I thought they’d all been safely packed off the Citadel where they couldn’t cause any more trouble.”

“Not Scarlett. She was the one who stayed at home and did her homework. She’s meant to be advising Lady Kate on how to be a proper Lady.” I replied, glancing at Mother who’d literally written the book on how to be a ‘proper’ Lady, a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ if ever there was one, she was being introduced to Kate by Oz. Given Mother’s fixed smile and clipped politeness she wasn’t happy about having to acknowledge the Empire’s youngest head of its newest noble house.

“That’s a pity, Lady Kate has given the court some of the best gossip since little Bloddy got pregnant. I suppose having a Bishop’s daughter in tow will keep the scandals in check and make sure she is suitably attired, or at least wandering around the palace in more than just her underwear… Ahh Lady Kate, Milady Scarlett.” Father greeted my two companions as they approached.

“Congratulations, my Lord.” Scarlett said, curtseying, her skin, although darker than Kate’s unusually pale skin, was still light enough to show she was blushing.

“How’s handmaiding young Lady, I hope Anna’s showing you the ropes.”

“Nothing is what I expected, my Lord. But I am enjoying it. And Lady Anna’s been very kind.” Father nodded regally and turned to Kate.

“And Lady Kate, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, my Lord. Anna tells me you’ve waited a long time for this.” Kate replied in her Northern Irish drawl.

“Call me Douglas. We never thought the Church, let alone the Druids would allow it, even with my wife’s support. I love your hair by the way, do you use Earth made dyes?” father asked, indicating Kate’s rainbow-coloured hair.

“Yes, It’s a pain having to go all the way back to Earth to get my hair done but I think the effect’s worth it.” Kate replied, patting her elaborate multicoloured plaits that Scarlett had spent ages perfecting, much to Kate’s irritation.

“How did Anna persuade Oz to abandon his Imperial Courier duties to bring her all the way downriver.”

I half listened to Kate’s reply which somehow involved her unicorns, suddenly aware Scarlett was trying to get my attention.

“Lady Anna, I’m confused, your mother is still married to your father…?”

“She is,” I replied, smiling.

“And your father has just married… umm…”

“Callum, my other father, I suppose he’s Lord Callum now.”

“You have two dads?”

“Three actually. Prince Madoc is my biological father, my mother has been his mistress for years. Oz is actually my half-brother.” Scarlett looked around the chapel to where Oz, known to the world as Prince Osric, the dashing Imperial Courier, had been pinned into a corner and was being talked at by Mother.

“And they all know? Is it all allowed?” Scarlet asked in horrified fascination. I guessed this wasn’t the sort of thing that was discussed in the rarefied atmosphere of the Holy City, at least, not in front of Scarlett.

“They all know, and it’s not, not allowed.” I replied carefully.

“Does Prince Madoc’s wife know?

“He’s not married now but his two previous wives both knew,” I leaned in and lowered my voice, “although when his first wife found out Mother was pregnant with me, she forced him to fight a duel with Father. It’s famous for being the only duel ever fought where both participants managed to injure themselves with their own swords.” Scarlett looked at me wide eyed, no doubt wondering whether or not to believe me.

I looked up, realising I’d taken my eyes off Mother for more than a minute which was always a mistake, she was bearing down on me with a determined look in her eyes.

“Anna, a word. No not you, this is family business, go attend your Lady.” Mother said, dismissing Scarlett as if she were a servant. Scarlett wisely fled.

“Mother, be nice.”

“Never mind that, while you’ve been gallivanting around the Empire with not a thought to your reputation, I’ve been worrying my way to an early grave trying to find you a suitable husband. It’s been bad enough with you spending a year hiding away in the Orston Sacred Pool. Look at Elizabeth, she’s already made a respectable marriage and had a baby.”

I involuntarily put my hand to my face where a barely visible scar was all that remained of the terrible injury I’d sustained in the first Iron Brotherhood attack, the one that had decimated the nobility, the one that had left Emperor Duncan and poor Queen Freya dead.

I’d spent a year hiding away from the world, barely able to talk and unwilling to confront the outside world, especially the bit occupied by Mother. That was until Brand tricked the Goddess of the River into healing me. I still wasn’t quite sure what had happened in that operating theatre but Her Holiness had transmuted the painful, disfiguring scars down my face and chest into almost invisible lines and I’d found myself dragged into the mysterious and sinister business of the Interesting Times Club, a group of what my biological father would disparagingly refer to as ‘concerned citizens’ dedicated to preventing the Empire descending into civil war and the annihilation of the Iron Brotherhood.

“I was on Imperial business and I’m not Liz. I’m not interested in getting married… yet.” I snapped.

“Well I hope it was important Imperial business. There is not the choice of eligible suitors there was in my day and I’d hate you to miss out. You haven’t attended any of the summer balls, there’s only the Samhain ball left.

“Really? What paragons of manhood did I miss out on?” I asked sarcastically.

“Ah… Well there was young Lord Octavius,” Mother replied, suddenly sounding a little less sure of herself.

“I suppose he would be pleasant company if he didn’t speak.”

“Yes, he does have a rather inflated opinion of himself. I almost feel sorry for young Ravvi,”

“Don’t, she deserves him. Who else?”

“Lord Joseph. Scanlan’s forth son,”

“Eww… he’s thick as shit and has bad breath. Who got stuck with him?”

“Some Guildmaster’s daughter, not even minor nobility. Hmm, who else, oh yes, Lord Harvey, didn’t he walk out with you once?”

“He’s an octopus in a suit. Hands everywhere.”

“Not always a bad thing if you’re in the mood, I remember once, at the Beltane ball one of my suitors got his hand all the way up my…”

“Ewww, mother, I don’t want to know. And I wasn’t in the mood.”

“I was quite impressed at the time, especially considering I was sewn into my dress.” Mother replied dreamily, then seeing my expression she hastily backtracked. “I hope he took no for an answer.”

“Eventually. After I broke a couple of his toes. He may not be able to have children either.”

“That’s my girl. What was this Imperial business you were on, anyway?” Mother asked.

“I was at the Citadel, helping with the Dragon Treaty negotiations,” I improvised. It was partially true and not even Mother could argue that the negotiations weren’t a suitable occupation for someone of my status.

“So, you didn’t stay with Lord Sorgi in Sandbeck. For several weeks? I hear that upstart is holding court like the Emperor we don’t currently have.”

“Oh… I umm….”

“And I hear Lord Jake was present as well?” I felt my face heat up and tried to think of some acceptable excuse for spending large amounts of time with a notorious former pirate and a pit fighting smith, even if they were now both Lords of powerful demesnes. “Is their conversation more stimulating than you’d find at an Imperial ball?” Mother asked.

“Well yes actually.” I replied, deciding not to add that when I’d cared for terminally ill patients who were drugged into almost permanent unconsciousness at the Sacred Pool, I’d still had more intelligent conversations than I’d had at the average ball. To my surprise mother smiled.

“I can’t say I approve of this democracy phenomenon that seems to be sweeping the Empire, but if playing politics with the peasants makes you happy….”

“It is what Marcus wanted…”

“No dear, Marcus, like his father, wanted to stop the Empire falling apart. Unlike his father Marcus decided to listen to the peasants. No good has ever come of listening to the peasants, even if some of them now have titles now.”

“Oh mother, you are so prejudiced.”

“And proud of it. You may be happy to speak with the common people, but I am going to stick with my own kind… although I may make an exception for your Lord Jake.”

“He’s not my Lord Jake… we just, well… have interests in common.” I felt my face heating up again.

“So, you won’t mind that Lady Linda is planning to descend on Genna with all her daughters, all of whom will do anything to snag such an eligible Lord?”

“Oh.” I replied, suddenly worried. Jake, despite being a Master in the Smith’s Guild, a member of the ruling High Council, a champion pit fighter and the Goddess of the River’s big brother, was hopelessly and wonderfully naive when it came to courtship. And Lady Linda had no money, no principles, four daughters and a burning ambition to make it big at Court.

“I thought so. Although it would be a terrible marriage for you I think there would be advantages to you to be seen walking out together, he is after all, a member of the High Council.”

“And why would Lord Jake make such a bad marriage for me?” I demanded before I could stop myself. Mother looked at me and smiled.

“Ohh, so you do like him.”

“Well maybe…”

“Does he make your lady bits quiver when he touches you?” Mother teased.

"Mother! Lord Jake has been a perfect gentleman. He’s hardly touched me at all.” I protested, not quite able to keep a slight note of disappointment out of my voice.

“But you’d like him to?”

“Mother!”

“Don’t you ‘Mother’ me. You are Lady Kate’s shadchan so I assume it was you who advised her to break into Orston Castle and ravish poor Osric.”

“Oh, that.” I giggled, “that was actually Her Holiness’ idea and Oz was more than happy to be ravished.

“Yes, men usually are, dear.”

“But you were going to explain why marrying Lord Jake would be such a bad idea.”

“I thought it would be obvious… No? You are the sole heir to Sarthville. If you marry Lord Jake you will be stuck in Genna, nothing but a provincial wife, and when your father dies I can’t imagine whoever the Emperor is next will let you have Sarthville. I’m not even going to mention the difference in your ages. And then there’s the rest of his family, his sister might be the Goddess of the River but she’s hardly our sort of people.”

“Okay, mother, you’ve made your point. I shouldn’t marry Lord Jake. So what do you suggest I do?” I asked. Mother sighed as if the answer was obvious.

“You don’t have to marry Lord Jake, just use your womanly wiles to get what you want. Make sure you are seen walking out together and a few public displays of affection would not go amiss either. Have some fun, create a bit of mild scandal and I’m sure you could persuade Jake to support some of Madoc’s proposals, he is Regent after all and it’s a bit embarrassing when the whole High Council opposes him all the time. It’s getting him down. When you get bored with him you can find some Lordling or maybe even a Prince who will make a more suitable marriage partner. It’s how things work deary… I say, is that messenger trying to interrupt us?”

I looked over to where a messenger in the Emperor’s livery was trying to catch my eye. I extracted myself from Mother’s clutches and went to see what he wanted. He was an older man, a veteran member of the Imperial staff.

“Lady Anna, Lady Kate?” The messenger greeted us as Kate joined me at the entrance to the chapel.

“That’s us, what’s the craic?” Kate asked.

“My apologies, but the Duke of Bergraz has requested you attend him at your earliest possible convenience.” The man managed to sound apologetic but firm.

“Now you mean?” Kate asked.

“Yes, My Lady. If you have no other pressing business, please follow me.” The messenger turned, and without seeing if we were following, walked in the direction of the private apartments of the Royal family. I waited while Kate had a quick word with Scarlett, then we hurried after the messenger

“What were you and your mother talking about?” Kate asked as we hurried along the corridors.

“Lord Jake. About how I shouldn’t look on him as marriage material.”

“Is he not noble enough for your family?”

“It’s more than that. If I marry him, I won’t be eligible to inherit the Sarthsville Lordship when my father dies.”

“Oh, right. You should just be fuck buddies then.”

“That is pretty much what my mother just said. She wants me to seduce him so I can influence his High Council voting,” I replied feeling a little weak at the knees at the thought of the handsome, muscled Master Smith and the phrase ‘fuck buddies’.

“So, do you want me to ask him out for you?” Kate asked. I looked at the slim, exotic Earth flower who had all the tact and delicacy of a unicorn charge through a ballroom. Jake hadn’t got any of my subtle hints I’d been continually dropping that I was interested in him. Maybe it was time to deploy Kate as my shadchan.

“Errr…yes, okay. Only I don’t know where he is at the moment. Genna probably.” I sighed.

“One sec, I’ll check,” Kate reached into a pocket of her voluminous dress and pulled out her phone and I realised I could just get out the phone that Kate had given me weeks ago and just call Jake, like magic, at any time. I didn’t even have to talk to him, I could send him a message. Or maybe even a picture. Kate played with her phone as we followed the messenger through the palace.

“He’s here in Bergraz, somewhere on the fifth level.” Kate passed me her phone showing me a dragon’s eye view of Bergraz with a blinking dot where I assumed Jake, or at least his phone was. I felt butterflies stir in my tummy. He was so close. Before I could process this information, the messenger came to a stop outside a door guarded by two extremely handsome Imperial Guards, members of Marcus’ old bodyguard who perked up when they saw me.

“Hello boys,” I purred, fluttering my eyelashes at them as the messenger tapped on the door.

“Hi Anna,” they replied together, the messenger frowned at this break in protocol then opened the door.

“My Lord. Lady Kate and Lady Anna.” He announced and waved us in, closing the door firmly behind us.

George was sitting at a paper strewn desk at the far end of the large airy room that had been Marcus’ office while he was Crown Prince. George hadn’t changed anything since I’d last been here, the furniture had all seen better days, I could probably tell the story behind every scar, stain and dent. This was where I’d spent a large proportion of my adolescence hiding away from family duties with Brand, Liz, Blod, Marc and of course George, that was before the world changed though. George stood and waved us over to the large sofa. On the low table next to it sat a steaming teapot and three cups.

“Sorry to drag you away from your father’s wedding.” George said, looking tired and nervous, not at all like his normal suave self.

“George, what’s wrong?” I asked, suddenly worried. I’d never seen him like this, not even after Marcus had died. The Empire depended on him holding everything together.

“Sometimes everything gets a bit much. I’ve just had some information… drop into my hands. Would you like tea, Earth tea?”

“I’ll pour.” Kate said, and we both watched her pour three cups of tea, then add milk and three spoons of sugar to each cup.

“No sugar for me,” George protested when Kate thrust a cup at him.

“Yes, sugar. You look done in, you need proper soldier’s tea. It’ll put hairs on your chest.”

“Mine too?” I asked, having already taken a sip of the hot, sweet liquid. I made a show of inspecting my décolleté. George took a sip of his own tea, visibly relaxed and chuckled.

“It’s good to see you Anna, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, George. Now tell us, why have you had us dragged kicking and screaming from my father’s wedding.”

“Rescued you from your mother’s attempts to marry you off more like. Actually, I’ve never had anyone dragged kicking and screaming from anywhere. I really must do that some time.”

“Can I volunteer Mother?” I asked. George laughed, took another sip of his tea then pulled a small plastic bag from his pocket and handed it to Kate.

“What do you make of that, my Lady?” He asked.

“It’s a police evidence bag containing two small calibre bullets, probably fired from an Earth made pistol, one of them looks like a ricochet. Where did you get this?” Kate asked.

“Her Holiness extracted them both from Marcus, the ricochet from his back, the other one… from his chest.” George tapped the location of his heart.

“He was shot twice?” Kate exclaimed.

“By, I suspect, two separate guns, although Brand and the Governor were in earshot, not to mention a handful of Imperial Guards and none of them mentioned two shots. Our perpetrator may have used a silenced gun.”

“You’ve been watching too many Earth films, there’s no such thing as a silenced gun and Xavier would have noticed if another gun was fired.” Kate said flatly.

George nodded as he’d expected this answer, walked to Marcus’ desk and picked up a heavy leather-bound file and handed it to me, together with a heavy black envelope sealed with red wax. Even with my privileged upbringing I’d only ever seen one of these in my life and I certainly never thought I’d be handed one with a cup of sweet tea.

“Is this what I think it is?” I asked.

“Yes, official Imperial orders authorised by me and countersigned by Commander Joanne. That file is all the information the Guard collected at the time, and I have added my own notes from… information I have received.”

“What is it?” Kate asked, peering at the envelope in my hand.

“An Imperial Warrant. I have been made a Lord Auditor.” I replied in shock.

“What does that mean?” She asked

“It means I speak with the voice of the Emperor,” I replied, looking at the envelope in shock. To my surprise George handed an identical envelope to Kate.

“Actually both of you do. Lady Kate has expertise that no one else on this planet has, not to mention her rather fearsome reputation, and you, Anna, are welcome at any of the noble houses in the Empire. I want you both to find out how that second bullet came to be in Marcus’ chest. The Commander will give you any help she can, but this is your show and I need you to be incredibly discrete. I strongly suspect whoever fired that second gun is affiliated to someone in the High Council.” George explained.

“How is this even legal? The Emperor has to sign and seal these,” I asked, opening my envelope and pulling out the thick piece of paper.

“Marcus signed them some weeks before he died. He knew what he was planning was going to upset a lot of powerful people and suspected the worst might happen.” I looked at my name at the top of the surprisingly brief one-page document and Marcus’ signature and seal at the bottom. They looked genuine.

“You are investigating the possible murder of an Emperor. Whatever resources you need for this investigation, you will be given them.” George said.

“Does that mean I can use Oz to ferry us around.” Kate asked hopefully. George raised his eyebrow.

“I’d really rather you didn’t. I have other duties for Oz and the Little Rascal. Last night the fleet moved up to the tributary that leads to the Iron Mountain the assault has begun...”

“Finally,” Kate interrupted.

“… I need Oz on the River, sooner rather than later. The Iron Brotherhood may still have agents on the River and I can’t imagine they’ll pass up an opportunity to cause a little chaos. If you need transport anywhere there’s a vessel called the Esmerelda that will be here for the next couple of weeks. Her Captain is expecting you.”

“What’s our cover story?” Kate asked.

“I have asked you to go through Marcus’ things. That gives you an excuse to be here, and I’m sure you will think up an excuse to travel if you need one.” George glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “And now ladies, I will bid you adieu. I have an emergency meeting with our glorious Citizen’s Council in five minutes.” He picked up his tea, drained it in one go, then walked out the door, closing it gently behind him.

I opened the file and spent a few minutes looking through it. All the statements agreed on the fact there had only been one gunshot and it had been a matter of seconds from when Brand had jumped out the first-floor window of the unicorn stables in pursuit of Bonner to the arrival of the first guard at Marcus’ side.

“I think the bullets were fired by two different guns. Guns Trafalgar supplied.” Kate murmured, continuing to inspect the bullets through the plastic of the evidence bag using a magnifying glass she’d found in one of the desk drawers.

“Where do we even start?” I asked her.

“Ask Lord Aldred why he did it,” she replied, absentmindedly, still concentrating on the bullets. I stared at her in astonishment.

“What? How do you know it was Aldred?”

“I thought he was behind every dodgy scheme around here and I know he was in contact with Bonner on more than one occasion. And if he didn’t do it he would know who did,” she replied. “Don’t look so surprised. I am a spy… well I was. I don’t do that sort of thing anymore of course. I’m a Lady now and according to Scarlett, Ladies are not spies…” I couldn’t help smiling. Scarlett had a mental list of things ladies weren’t supposed to do and Kate had done nearly all of them.

“Where is Scarlett by the way? You didn’t leave her with my mother, did you?” I asked, suddenly worried, Mother was capable of destroying the self-esteem of even the thickest-skinned person with a few ill-chosen words, what she would do to poor Scarlett I didn’t dare contemplate.

“Don’t worry, she’s gone with Oz to unload the unicorns.” Kate replied, I relaxed and pictured the charming and outrageous Lord Aldred. He’d long been one of the more controversial figures at court, a constant thorn in the side of the more traditional Lords, he’d gained the reputation as a ruthless schemer who put his own self interests ahead of the Empire’s needs.The gossips also said his wife hated him so much that she’d banished him from his own lands, although she must have called a few breaks in hostilities to produce three children that looked so uncannily like Lord Aldred they had to be his. I suspected the truth was that his wife hated court politics far more than she hated her husband, even if their marriage was more of a business arrangement rather than a love match, his wife very competently managing their lands while Lord Aldred played games with the fate of the Empire.

“How do you know Aldred was in contact with Bonner?” I asked.

“We had people scanning the radio frequencies the Iron Brotherhood used and… umm… swear you’ll never tell anyone this…” Kate said.

“Tell anyone what?”

“Trafalgar can listen in to the phones, even when they’re turned off.”

“What?” I said, pulling my phone out and staring at it in horror. I liked my phone and the thought of someone listening in was a bit frightening.

“Don’t worry. It’s something they can do, but really Xavier doesn’t have the manpower or the inclination to go through hours and hours of mostly nothing unless it’s a major incident.” Kate tried to reassure me, “There was a team that took weeks to pick through what happened last Beltane and even then it was only chance that they realised the Iron Brotherhood’s radio broadcasts matched up with what they heard on Aldred’s phone.”

“And you didn’t think to tell someone at the palace?”

“Nothing to do with me anymore, but Xav did tell George within minutes of finding out. That was a few weeks ago.”

“George knows?” I asked, still staring at my phone.

“I think Lord Aldred may have been a double agent. James thinks he was trying to play both sides.” I nodded. Aldred hadn’t been the only one. During the last years of Emperor Duncan’s reign the Empire had lurched from crisis to badly managed crisis and there were more than a few powerful Merchants and Senior Guildmembers who would have quietly welcomed a change of regime.

“James is Xavier’s spymaster isn’t he?” I asked, remembering the fidgety white man in the Earth suit.

“He’s rather more than that, but yes he’s Xavier’s spymaster, his oldest friend… and my former boss. It was his idea to turn my ballgown into a nightmare killing machine… and he tracked me when I snuck off to seduce Oz.” Kate complained.

“I know, I was there. He was worried about you… and he cut the feed before it got interesting.” I added. Kate sighed.

“I forgot you were there. Did you see much… umm…”

“I saw all your tattoos.” I giggled. To my surprise and delight Kate’s face turned bright red.

“It was James’ idea to put a few pistols into circulation after the attack on Trafalgar. He wanted to see where they would all end up. Anyway, one of them just happened to end up with Lord Aldred,” Kate continued, her face still flaming. She paused and looked at me, “You saw all my tattoos?”

“I think so, you must have been extremely good friends with the artist,” I replied, now a bit embarrassed myself.

“Oh I was,” Kate said, grinning. “Now go give Lord Aldred a call. I scrolled through my contacts, found Lord Aldred, pushed dial and put it on loudspeaker.

“Hello… Anna?” Lord Aldred answered immediately. Kate had her phone out and was desperately trying to open an app.

“Hello, my Lord, I hope you don’t mind me calling you like this, but I am in need of some advice, and I thought, who knows more about the Empire than you.” I purred seductively. Kate stared at me open mouthed.

“Ahhh, sounds intriguing, I am so glad I talked my way out of that Citizen’s Council Meeting. It would be a pleasure to have your delightful company to enhance a so far rather tedious day. Why don’t you pop round for afternoon tea?” Lord Aldred replied smoothly.

“Oh yes, that would be lovely. You don’t mind if Lady Kate accompanies me?” I asked, giving Kate a bright smile. She glared back at me

“Now I am really intrigued. Two of the brightest lights in the Empire gracing me with their presence, what have I done to deserve this pleasure?”

“Well, according to my mother you’re to blame for just about everything wrong in the Empire today.” I replied.

“Ahh yes, the peasants are revolting and all that.” Lord Aldred laughed, “Very well, I shall prepare for your visit.” I said my farewells and hung up. Kate still said nothing, making a gesture for me to be silent as she listened intently to her phone. After a few minutes she sighed and turned it off.

“Dammit. He put his phone in a drawer. We need to agree on a strategy for this date.”

“He doesn’t think it’s a date,” I protested, “he’s not that sort. He thinks it’s a political strategy meeting.”

“He does actually,” Kate admitted, “I heard that much at least. And we’re getting the good china.”