The Right Side of History (Schooled In Magic Book 22), Christopher Nuttall [books to read romance TXT] 📗

the conference, at the very least. They’d certainly feel no obligation to honor any agreements made in their absence.

Perhaps I should try to suggest Dater takes his loyalists into the Blighted Lands, she thought, snidely. That would give them lands of their own, if they want to work for them...

She put the letters to one side and leaned back, allowing the water to soak into her aching muscles. It wasn’t going to happen. The aristocrats weren’t going to give up the lands their families had owned and ruled for generations, not for anything. They certainly weren’t going to move south, in hopes of founding new estates in the Blighted Lands. It would be decades, perhaps centuries, before the new communities and kingdoms flourished. And they’d have trouble recruiting settlers if they introduced serfdom. The aristocrats had to tie their serfs to the land because they were too miserly to pay what their serfs deserved.

The heat made her yawn as she closed her eyes. She didn’t want to rest, not really, but... it was hard not to fall asleep. The water lapped at her naked body, splashing at her mouth. She kept her eyes closed until she heard a knock on the door. Her eyes snapped open. Who’d be disturbing her in the bath?

Silent stepped into the room. “My Lady, Councilor Aiden is downstairs. He wishes the pleasure of your company.”

Emily sighed. The water had cooled - perhaps she’d nodded off for longer than she’d thought - but it would be easy to reheat it. She could cast a spell... she sighed again, then stood and reached for a towel. Silent looked away, politely, as Emily wrapped the towel around herself, pulled the plug out of the tub and stepped onto the toweled floor. She didn’t really want to create more work for the maid.

“Thank you for the bath,” she said, and meant it. “It was lovely.”

Silent dropped a curtsey. “Thank you, My Lady.”

“I left you alone with the prince,” Emily said. “Did he... did he behave himself?”

“He was a perfect gentleman,” Silent said. “He spent most of the day in his room. I was able to get on with the cooking without interruption.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Emily said. “If it changes...”

“I will inform you, My Lady,” Silent said. Her voice didn’t change. “My Lady... there is something I must bring to your attention.”

Emily frowned. “What?”

“I have been purchasing food every day since we arrived,” Silent told her. “The prices have been going up, day by day. Meat and bread, in particular, have been growing more and more expensive. And some items have proven impossible to source. Your dinners may suffer.”

“I see,” Emily said, trying not to wince. The maid looked as if she expected to be slapped. “It doesn’t matter. We can teleport food from Dragon’s Den if we have no other options.”

She frowned as Silent dropped another curtsey, then withdrew. If Silent was having trouble finding food... Emily didn’t like the implications. The revolution had begun because of the price of bread, if the rebels were to be believed. Their government would have problems if it couldn’t bring in more food and stabilize the prices quickly, both of which might prove impossible. People would starve, even if the government implemented price controls. They’d never worked in the past and they wouldn’t work here. Farmers would simply refuse to sell their crops - or grow more - if they couldn’t be sure of a fair price.

Let them eat cake, Emily thought. The hell of it was that it wasn’t that stupid a thing to say, from the point of view of a dim-witted aristocrat, but it hadn’t gone down very well with people who could no more afford cake than bread. And when the food runs out completely...

She dressed rapidly, then checked the clock as she hurried down the stairs. It was nearly noon. She had slept in the bath... she smiled, then batted the thought aside as she saw Aiden waiting in the lobby. Silent stood beside her, looking shy. Emily wondered if Aiden had been trying to interview her maid. It wouldn’t have gotten her anywhere, but she might not have realized that.

“Aiden,” she said. Even knowing that Aiden was female, it was very hard to see through the disguise. “Did the council write a response to the royalists?”

“Not as yet,” Aiden said. “But I was wondering if you would like to take a stroll with me.”

Emily nodded, pulled her cloak over her dress and allowed Aiden to lead the way onto the street. She certainly acted like a particularly courteous man, someone whose attitude was either welcoming or irritatingly condescending. The spies wouldn’t see anything odd about her attitude. Emily was tempted to let Aiden take her arm, just to keep up the pretense, but she’d never been comfortable allowing anyone that close to her. She needed to keep both her arms free.

Aiden grinned as they walked down the street. “The council is still arguing,” she said. “They don’t need me right now.”

“Ouch,” Emily said. “I thought they had decided what to do.”

“They did,” Aiden said. “They know what they want to do. But they’re still arguing about how they should do it.”

Emily glanced at her. “And you don’t need to be there?”

“Jair says something. Storm says something else. Oskar says something else, too. Jair repeats his original point...” Aiden laughed. “It goes on and on and on, while time slips from our grasp like... a very slippery thing. They won’t even be able to shout DEATH TO ROYALIST SCUM in unison by the time this is over.”

She grinned at Emily. “Althorn is very good at letting everyone have their say,” she said, wryly. “It’s important to get a wide range of opinions. But I think he overdoes it.”

“It looks that way,” Emily agreed, neutrally. They stepped into the marketplace. “What are we doing here?”

“I thought you could do with a walk,” Aiden said. “And I’m on the watch for stories.”

Emily frowned. She wasn’t sure she