proper. They met in the hallway to compare notes, and indeed, everything they had left behind in the van on the road was here.
“A kind gesture,” Bren said, and his bodyguard avowed themselves uncommonly pleased and, for once, surprised.
Machigi’s servants arrived to help them dress for dinner, and this time Bren did not decline the help. He had professional assistance with the dress coat and with the braid, which had wilted a bit from the weather, and he changed to the comfortable boots.
It felt a little chancy, having Machigi’s servants about, but there was not a single item with them this visit that they had tohold in secret—all of the sensitive items were already sent on to Shejidan.
And with the staff’s help, they were very quickly in order for a formal dinner. Banichi and Jago to go stand dinner duty, while Tano and Algini nominally to guard the room—but one doubted they would only be sitting and watching the furniture. They would very likely, Bren thought, have Guild visitors in his absence, people with things to report and to ask—conversations in which no civilian was welcome and which had very much to do with the future of the Marid, from quite another viewpoint and involving quite another power.
So downstairs he went with Banichi and Jago, this time into the dining hall, where he met, immediately, Gediri, the one minister he knew, the four other ministers he had just met, and relevant spouses, to whom he was introduced. There were, besides them, several notables, with spouses, to whom he was also introduced, all this quite properly accomplished before Machigi arrived. They were a table of twelve as they took their seats.
Twelve became felicitous thirteen as Machigi came in alone, filling the last chair. The mood was light over an excellent pastry, as Machigi chatted easily with the ministers and the other guests.
“The paidhi,” Machigi said, somewhat violating the no-business rule, “has brought us interesting proposals and, more, a signed intention of the aiji-dowager and several others of interest. We are well on track this evening to see this bargain completed.”
That definitely produced a happy mood at the table—not least in the paidhi-aiji. The advisors were not frowning. A decided plus.
It was small talk, then, chatter about impending weather, shipping to the Isles, the seasonal ban on hunting and the consequent rising price of the better fish…which happened to be the menu of the evening.
Then there was a quiet invitation to after-dinner discussion, whichincluded only Gediri and the minister of trade without his spouse. That meant serious business about the agreement. They repaired to an adjacent sitting room and settled to talk over brandy.
“So. We are down to the actual agreements,” Machigi said. “We are definitely to assume, nandi, that the dowager will return within the month?”
“Easily within the month, nandi,” Bren said.
“And you assure us that we shall be welcomed in the legislature.”
That was irony.
“You will meet some opposition, and I know who will lead it. But, nandi, I know this man quite well, an elderly gentleman, very, very traditional—a staunch ally if you can gain his approval. A respectful approach, a personal approach—that would be a good beginning with him.”
“One closely associated with the aiji-dowager?”
“Indeed, nandi.”
“Tatiseigi.”
“Indeed. Lord Tatiseigi.”
“There is no dealing with him!”
“Yet you have things in common, nandi.”
“Do we? Enlighten us!”
“You are both patrons of the arts—you, from a region which produces extraordinary works in porcelain. He is a collector, a great admirer. And an expert. If anyone will be looking at the exhibition with a knowledgeable eye, it will be nand’ Tatiseigi. And his sense of kabiu is quite respected.”
A moment of silence. Machigi rested his chin on a crooked finger, running it over the old scar, and his eyes sparked with thought. “You are
“A kind gesture,” Bren said, and his bodyguard avowed themselves uncommonly pleased and, for once, surprised.
Machigi’s servants arrived to help them dress for dinner, and this time Bren did not decline the help. He had professional assistance with the dress coat and with the braid, which had wilted a bit from the weather, and he changed to the comfortable boots.
It felt a little chancy, having Machigi’s servants about, but there was not a single item with them this visit that they had tohold in secret—all of the sensitive items were already sent on to Shejidan.
And with the staff’s help, they were very quickly in order for a formal dinner. Banichi and Jago to go stand dinner duty, while Tano and Algini nominally to guard the room—but one doubted they would only be sitting and watching the furniture. They would very likely, Bren thought, have Guild visitors in his absence, people with things to report and to ask—conversations in which no civilian was welcome and which had very much to do with the future of the Marid, from quite another viewpoint and involving quite another power.
So downstairs he went with Banichi and Jago, this time into the dining hall, where he met, immediately, Gediri, the one minister he knew, the four other ministers he had just met, and relevant spouses, to whom he was introduced. There were, besides them, several notables, with spouses, to whom he was also introduced, all this quite properly accomplished before Machigi arrived. They were a table of twelve as they took their seats.
Twelve became felicitous thirteen as Machigi came in alone, filling the last chair. The mood was light over an excellent pastry, as Machigi chatted easily with the ministers and the other guests.
“The paidhi,” Machigi said, somewhat violating the no-business rule, “has brought us interesting proposals and, more, a signed intention of the aiji-dowager and several others of interest. We are well on track this evening to see this bargain completed.”
That definitely produced a happy mood at the table—not least in the paidhi-aiji. The advisors were not frowning. A decided plus.
It was small talk, then, chatter about impending weather, shipping to the Isles, the seasonal ban on hunting and the consequent rising price of the better fish…which happened to be the menu of the evening.
Then there was a quiet invitation to after-dinner discussion, whichincluded only Gediri and the minister of trade without his spouse. That meant serious business about the agreement. They repaired to an adjacent sitting room and settled to talk over brandy.
“So. We are down to the actual agreements,” Machigi said. “We are definitely to assume, nandi, that the dowager will return within the month?”
“Easily within the month, nandi,” Bren said.
“And you assure us that we shall be welcomed in the legislature.”
That was irony.
“You will meet some opposition, and I know who will lead it. But, nandi, I know this man quite well, an elderly gentleman, very, very traditional—a staunch ally if you can gain his approval. A respectful approach, a personal approach—that would be a good beginning with him.”
“One closely associated with the aiji-dowager?”
“Indeed, nandi.”
“Tatiseigi.”
“Indeed. Lord Tatiseigi.”
“There is no dealing with him!”
“Yet you have things in common, nandi.”
“Do we? Enlighten us!”
“You are both patrons of the arts—you, from a region which produces extraordinary works in porcelain. He is a collector, a great admirer. And an expert. If anyone will be looking at the exhibition with a knowledgeable eye, it will be nand’ Tatiseigi. And his sense of kabiu is quite respected.”
A moment of silence. Machigi rested his chin on a crooked finger, running it over the old scar, and his eyes sparked with thought. “You are
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