Mask of Gold by Meredith Rose

Author:Meredith Rose [Rose, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Coedwig Books

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The weekend performance of The Silent Traveler was a huge success. Somehow, Lady Grisham and her friends pulled off the last-minute fundraising component, and the performance was opened to the public—many of whom had never set foot in the summer palace before that night. We added two matinees to accommodate the extra audience, and the author of the novel gave a short welcome speech on opening night to further endorse the play and our cause.

Sunday night, after set strike, the cast and crew gathered in the Green Room for a small party. Some planned to follow up with a night on the town, but more of us realized that the next day, the cogcocity would repeat itself, and we would be far wiser to get a good night’s sleep.

The next morning after breakfast, I was summoned straightaway to the empress’s office where she and Lady Grisham were waiting for me. Given that the empress seemed to think my duties to the theater were far lesser a priority than my training with her, I wasn’t surprised that she’d pulled me away from our blocking rehearsal for the next show. I just hoped that David Hoolihan, who was stage managing this week, would take a few extra notes for me or I’d be utterly lost.

I offered my best show of honor to both women, and the empress told me to take a seat on the settee by the wall.

She seemed just about to speak, but the secretary opened the door and announced both the duke and the prince.

Well. That was unexpected.

When greetings had been exchanged, we all settled in the seating area in the corner of the office.

“Lady Grisham,” the empress began, “have you final totals for the funds raised from the performances over the weekend?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She withdrew several copies of a report from a portfolio and handed one to each of us. “As you can see, here is the amount we raised. And here is the amount needed to pay off the debts of all the prisoners in Cetines.”

I glanced down at the page in my hand with the two graphs side by side. The money we’d raised was impressive. But my heart sank when I saw that only about forty percent of the prisoners could be released with that amount. The benefit had not been my idea, but still, I didn’t want it to fail.

“How is it possible that such poor people can owe so much?” Lady Grisham murmured.

I knew but wasn’t sure if I should speak. Ediswan’s face was unreadable. But the empress had a smug, superior expression as if the rest of us were all foolish first-year students.

I flicked a glance at the prince, whose tense jaw and intense eyes said he wasn’t confused at all.

“Your Highness?”

He met my gaze briefly before returning it to his mother. “The city deliberately fines people exorbitant amounts for minor infractions in order to enrich its budget. The debtors’ prisons add a high rate of interest and rent for the cell, of which the city also gets a cut.

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