The Queen's Pet (The Augur's Eye Book 3) by Guy Antibes

Author:Guy Antibes [Antibes, Guy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casiepress LLC
Published: 2021-11-12T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

~

W hit sat by himself in the common room before dinner, thinking about the day. He didn’t have many days left in Arbelon, but he hoped that Ritta’s work was enough to merit him an audience with the queen. He took a sip of ale and closed his eyes, feeling the tension drain away. Someone kicked his foot. Whit opened his eyes to see Ritta take a chair.

“I doubt if the innkeeper wants customers asleep in the common room,” she said.

“How did it go?” Whit asked.

“Better than Barrsie expected. Her assistant agrees that the two documents are forged and were slipped inside the portfolios recently. The paper that they use changes color as it ages, like the others. Sloppy work.”

“And probably hurried,” Whit said. “Our meeting with the queen is on?”

Ritta sighed. “Word got back to the queen about the permission document. Barrsie has no idea who told her, but I was working when Queen Glynne summoned her. Her assistant told me that Barrsie wouldn’t be seeing us anytime soon.”

“The pet is in the doghouse?” Whit asked.

Ritta gave Whit half a smile and nodded.

“We will have to find a different way. Maybe we will have to lean on Fistian a bit more.”

At dinner, Barrsie’s assistant arrived and took a seat at Whit’s table.

“Barrsie won’t be able to communicate directly with you,” the assistant said. “The queen was also told about Fistian. We don’t know who found this information, but Merrya can’t be used as an information conduit. I’m sorry. You fulfilled your part of the bargain, and now Barrsie can’t reciprocate.”

“What is with the queen?” Ritta said. “We had a few issues with King Quiller, but Queen Glynne is never available.”

“I haven’t seen her myself for a few months,” the assistant said. “A few courtiers bring in paperwork and retrieve it, and that’s how the country runs. The queen rules lightly, but that’s not a bad thing, in my opinion. Barrsie does more than the queen does in her role.”

“What is her role?” Whit asked. “Everyone calls her the queen’s pet, but we’ve never found out what that means, and Barrsie is evasive.”

“She is almost a hostage. Her ability to come and go from the castle is limited. She can leave on her own, but her trips out of the castle generally require Queen Glynne’s approval. Barrsie sneaks out from time to time, but now it’s not appropriate. With the queen being a recluse, everyone exercises whatever power they want. Up until Larswork began pushing and shoving his weight in Arbelon and scheming to steal the mining output of Collarby, he has been content to be a businessman and play at running the Arbelon Magician’s Circle.”

“But Barrsie can’t make a ruling on Collarby?”

The assistant nodded. “She isn’t allowed to independently accrue power in Collarby. The queen and her predecessors have always been afraid of Collarby seceding or being absorbed by Poxaltia. Charrkan thought he could take advantage of her weakness and grab Collarby’s output, but the documents will put a stop to that.

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