Worlds of Honor

them and accept their condolences. Tomorrow the lesser nobles and important commoners would be admitted— including the elected members of the House of Commons.

'I wonder if the Queen will be present when we attend tomorrow's viewing?' she said.

'Don't tell me you can't wait to meet her!' Seltman snapped.

'I have already met her,' Marrou said. 'She seemed like a nice child. No, I was not anticipating meeting a celebrity. I was wondering about her treecat.'

'Her treecat?' Seltman spoke the word as if he could not believe that he had heard aright.

'Yes, studies show that they have a marked telempathic sense. No doubt it's strongest with those humans they bond with, but I understand that they can `read' others as well.'

'And?'

'And I was wondering if Queen Elizabeth's 'cat might be able to read us—what we've done.'

'They're telempaths, not telepaths,' Seltman corrected. 'They read vague emotions, not thoughts. Any treecat attending the viewing is going to be so overwhelmed by strong emotions that any inadvertent hostility we let leak out will be part of the flood.'

'I hope so.'

'In any case,' Seltman continued. 'I feel no hostility at all towards our little Queen. I feel nothing but a great deal of affection. If our plan works, she is going to be our ticket to advancement.'

'And to protecting the Kingdom from adverse out-system influence,' Marrou said woodenly.

'Exactly, Jean, exactly,' Seltman soothed. 'The others should be here soon. I wonder what rumors they will have picked up? The Queen's nominee for Regent is going to be announced tomorrow, but Paderweski's savvy. She's going to have permitted some strategic leaks so that the Palace will have responses planned.'

Marrou touched the implant. 'We should know fairly soon. Earl Howell just departed. Paula should be on her way.'

'She wasn't high enough ranking for tonight's little gathering,' Seltman said, 'but she was going to visit with some of the ambitious young turks. They'll have an entirely different line than Howell's.'

They fell into silence then. To be completely honest, neither particularly liked the other. Jean Marrou found Marvin Seltman ambitious and coarse. Seltman distrusted Marrou as a fanatic whose dreams would ultimately come to ruin. Still, for now each believed that the other was useful.

Earl Howell arrived first, Lady Gwinner a few moments after. Padraic Dover, like all members of the Queen's Own, was standing a 'voluntary' extended watch.

As he took his seat in one of the overstuffed leather chairs, Howell looked haggard. Seltman, deferential as always (although privately he found the older man's lack of backbone disturbing), poured him a snifter of Gryphon cognac. By contrast, Gwinner was bubbling with suppressed energy. Seltman embraced her, sniffing lightly for traces of intoxicants. If she had been indiscreet . . . but he found nothing and decided that her effervescence was purely enthusiasm for a project going well.

'Earl Howell,' Seltman said after all were settled with drinks and a plate of delicacies had been in everyone's reach, 'perhaps you could tell us about the viewing.'

He wanted to scream 'Did you learn anything!' but knew the Crown Loyalist needed to be handled with extreme delicacy.

'The King's body was laid out very tastefully,' Howell began, as if by dealing with inconsequential matters he could work his way toward the difficult material. 'And his widow and children were in attendance. They seemed quite distraught, but the Queen Mother spoke kindly to me and the young Queen offered her hand, saying that my loyalty to the Crown had come to her attention and she would remember it.'

Howell's voice broke.

'How sweet of the little Duchess of Basilisk,' Gwinner said, only a touch of acid in her voice. 'Or now that her father is gone, will she be assuming the title of Princess of Basilisk that he took?'

At another time, her approach might have been heavy-handed, but this time it was perfect. Howell stiffened, sipped his cognac, and much of the exhaustion dropped from his features to be replaced by something rather like hope.

'Perhaps we will not need to concern ourselves for much longer with the question of what titles go with that improperly annexed system,' he said. 'LeBrun told me this evening, confidentially . . .'

He paused until everyone had nodded.

' . . . that the Queen is seriously considering a member of our Party for her Regent's council and that, if he were asked . . .'

'Which he will be,' Gwinner interrupted.

Howell raised a chiding eyebrow, ' . . . that I will be his first choice.'

'Congratulations,' Seltman said. 'This also means that you would be considered as a candidate for Regent as well. Do you have any idea who the Queen will be nominating tomorrow?'

Blind Jean Marrou raised a hand for attention. 'May I hazard a guess?'

Seltman was taken aback. Marrou had been with him all evening and had admitted when they met that she had no idea who the candidate would be. Had she been holding out on him? However, her almost uncanny talent for political analysis was one of the reasons he had recruited her. It might be amusing to learn what she would say.

He glanced at the others, saw some reflection of his thoughts in their expressions, and grinned.

'Certainly, Jean. Who do you believe will be nominated as Regent?'

'Normally, I would not hazard a guess based only on listening to news commentary,' she began, clearly enjoying the moment, 'but tonight I had the distinct impression that the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Jacob Wundt, is her choice.'

Both Howell and Seltman gasped. Gwinner shook her head, laughing.

'Incredible, Jean! That's exactly what I heard from my sources. How did you know?'

'Listening to the description of the Queen's party tonight,' Marrou said smugly, 'I noticed that she frequently called the Lord Chamberlain to her side.'

'But this was a social/political function,' Howell protested, 'that is his usual role. How could you tell that anything had changed?'

'The frequency, the proximity, the fact that he also spent time speaking with Cromarty. As you know, Wundt is closer to being a Crown Loyalist than anything else. His new friendliness with the Prime Minister seemed to indicate that Cromarty now finds him useful.'

Seltman nodded. 'Interesting. Padraic's reports confirm that Wundt has been part of the informal council meetings that have been held today. I had assumed his presence was because he could provide information on the inner workings of Palace protocol. However, My Lord, did you hear anything that would confirm this?'

Howell had stopped gaping like a fish, but he continued to study Marrou as if her talents were akin to sorcery. Marrou did not help to settle him by appearing to feel his gaze and turning her blind eyes on him.

'Yes,' Howell managed. 'LeBrun did say something of the sort. He also said that he expected the party to be somewhat torn on confirmation. Our platform usually is complete support for the Crown and, as you've noted, Wundt is by personal inclination one of our own, but his age and the fact that he has not actively participated in debate on the issues make him a poor choice as Regent.'

Seltman rubbed his hands briskly together. 'If even the Crown Loyalists have second thoughts, then some of the other factions must be truly torn. When is the vote for confirmation to be held?'

'The question will open for debate tomorrow at ten,' Howell said. 'Protocol demands that it not be called to the vote until reasonable discussion is held. However, the need to put in place both a Regent and a Regency council suggests that no one will choose to filibuster.'

'I second that,' Gwinner said. 'Since Wundt has never firmly allied himself with any one party, no group will see a benefit from delaying the vote. My guess is that we will have a vote by midday tomorrow.'

Marrou nodded. 'I suspect the pacing in Commons will be similar. Our general support for the Crown will not extend to rubber-stamping the Regent. A few well-made speeches . . .'

'Can we expect one from you?' Seltman asked. 'I am somewhat less popular.'

'That's true,' Marrou agreed. 'Your personal ambitions are too well-known. While they frequently garner