Intruder

“One has reservations on that matter, aiji-ma. One acquired reservations while reading that letter. Do you think he may have been behind the coup against you? That all prior suspicions were correct that blamed the whole event on him?”

“That does leave out his northern neighbor, who turned out to host the shadow Guild. If Machigi was colluding with the lord of the Dojisigi—he has a talent for the stage. There truly seems deep animosity there.”

“But the Shadow Guild itself could easily have switched patrons.”

“Certainly it could,” Tabini said, with a tight, unpleasant smile. “ Manythings are possible once the Guild itself starts directing politics instead of responding to the interests of the lords and the people.”

Which brought it down to a very uncomfortable question. “Have I made a mistake, aiji-ma? I confess—I thought I was understanding his motives and his reactions until I read that letter. Since then—”

Tabini gave a short, silent laugh. “I most fear stupid people. Stupid people will do anything. Truly smart people will do only what is logical for them to do. That should more often put us on the same side as Machigicif he composed the letter himself.”

“It is at least his turn of speech, aiji-ma. And one might add, it is his sense of humor.”

“How much of his opinion do you think represents his bodyguard, and how much is the man himself?”

“He has taken their advice, but if a human can read him at all, he is not at all their puppet. And he shifted from opposition to reasoning responses to my statements, which sounded genuine.”

“This bodyguard of his,” Tabini said, leaning back in his chair. “My bodyguard has had difficulty getting at Guild records until quite latelycin fact, until the resignation I mentioned. But between you and me and the ears of our bodyguards, it is possible the fathers of those four men, his bodyguards, were put there by my grandfather. Orby my grandmother.”

“ The aiji-dowager, aiji-ma?”

“Ilisidi. You may have met her. —Gods less fortunate, paidhi, she is a persistent woman!”

“One is shocked, aiji-ma. Things in what you have told me have astonished me, but this one—I am quite absolutely shocked to think so, but—indeed, she might.”

“This business in the Marid is an agenda predating both of us, paidhi! The woman is following a persistent purpose my father refused and my grandfather before him died cursing. And here she is with me—proposing two new lordships, allying with the Marid, upsetting the entire aishidi’tat, and all this without the least advisement to us what she had in mind. What she has alwayshad in mind, from the foundation of the world, for all we can tell!”

Bren drew in a long breath, and braced himself. “Yet—if it brings peace and stabilizes the aishidi’tat, aiji-ma, might it be right?”

“Only one man in the court would dare say that to me.”

“Forgive me, aiji-ma,cbut—still—”

“You have backed the Edi question, paidhi! You have taken her side—you have spent far more time with her than I have, since she has not seen fit to consult me on such matters. You lived with her for two yearsconly scarcely in the Bujavid. You have not only represented her—you have represented this Taisigi warlord!”

Dangerous. Dangerous edge.

“Have I indeed erred in my judgment, aiji-ma? One thought—one thought that a peace with the Marid benefited the aishidi’tat and therefore benefited you. One thought—with potential trouble in the heavens—having your administration at peace with all elements was good. One thought, however, that you did not wish to be informed until this had either failed or gotten to a workable statec”

Expressions warred on Tabini’s face, somewhere between real exasperation and anger. Finally he said: “Deniability on my part does not mend things my grandmother may have upset to the northof here. Do you know any less obviousplan my grandmother has in mind?”

To the north of herec

Northward sat, of most note, the Ajuri. Damiri’s clan. The maternal relatives of Tabini’s heir. With whom Tatiseigi of the Atageini had an ongoing feud. “No, aiji-ma. I do not know of any plan.”

“You agree with the aiji-dowager?”

“I have agreed with her that what solves the long difficulty on the west coast makes the aishidi’tat that much stronger. That was my opinion. —But—”

“You have not yet had to deal with the northwest,” Tabini said glumly. “Ajuri and interests in their district will not be pleased with this: it challenges the arrangement of power within the aishidi’tat, and they view themselves as emergent influences. Nor will the Padi Valley, which has suffered directly from the Marid’s actions. That covers a considerable portion of the aishidi’tat, and we have not even gotten to the eastern mountains, where no two people hold the same political opinion.”

“Aiji-ma, if I have failed to comprehend, if I should have consulted—”

“You could not consult. The situation within the Guild unfolded as she sent you to Machigi in the first place. And she knows, gods unfortunate, she well knows what Ajuri is up to, and my grandmother is not a patient woman.” A long, deep breath. “Paidhi, I sent my son to the Atageini with her because his life was in danger in the Bujavid; I separated my household so they could not strike us all at once. I sent him to space because it was safer than his being on earth, and because, should I fall, I wanted him taught revengeby his grandmother. The Ajuri were irate at his being a guest in Atageini. They were not happy when I removed him to space, completely out of their reach. Now that he is back, they are bent on gaining influence to check the Atageini. There are also those trying to counter any rise in Ajuri influence—I number among them the Kadagidi, who also oppose the Atageini. My grandmother may unite the west coast, yes. But one has to fear that she will also unite the northwest with the north central, and not in a good way.”

“Lord Dur is loyal, of clans in the northwest. The Gan certainly will be. There is lord Geigi’s surrogate in Targai, in the southwest, not to mention the Edi. They are firm beyond any doubt. And there is the Eastc”

“Where my grandmother proposes to create another raging controversy. One has no doubt she is out there in Malguri at this moment doing far more than marrying off that fool Baiji to that ambitious relative of hers! One is quite certain she is also meeting with the Eastern lords and proposing to overturn order there!It is no guarantee the villages of the coast will be grateful to have Marid foreigners sailing into their fishing grounds, if such ships ever survive the southern seas to get there.”

“Yet—if she can cure Marid poverty—and eastern poverty—with one stroke, then the things prosperity can buy, the technology, all of that comes from the central clans and from the trade with the space station. Such things come from alliance with you,aiji-ma, and while Machigi seems worried that you may choose to embarrass him during his visit, one believes he sees exactly where this mustgo, which is toward full participation in the aishidi’tat, or toward his eventual demise as a minor lord in a divided Marid. One believes he hovers between fear this is all a plot to kill him and take over the Marid—and the hope that what the dowager has presented him might work, because it would certainly be hard for Shejidan to rule the Marid. This is a young man who, offered a ship to go to safety during the action down there, instead went overland to confront what was happening on Taisigi land, for the protection of his people. This was not the act of a coward. Or a selfish ruler.”

Tabini listened to him, thoughts flickering in those pale gold eyes. “You hold a good opinion of him.”

“I did, aiji-ma—at least until I read that letter.”

“The letter is interesting. And you say he agreed to my seeing it.”