Elantris - Brandon Sanderson [64]
“He might lose his title?”
“Not ‘might’—he’s going to lose it as soon as the next tax period comes around and Iadon realizes just how poor the baron’s become. Edan has about three months to either discover a gold mine in his backyard or overthrow Iadon’s system of allocating noble titles.” Kiin scratched his face, as if looking for whiskers to pull in thought. Sarene smiled—ten years might have passed since the burly man’s face had held a beard, but old habits were more difficult to shave away.
“Edan is desperate,” Kiin continued, “and desperate people do things completely out of character. I don’t trust him, but of all the men in that room, he’s probably the most anxious for us to succeed.”
“Which would mean?” Sarene asked. “What exactly do these men expect to accomplish?”
Kiin shrugged. “They’ll do about anything to get rid of this silly system that requires them to prove their wealth. Noblemen will be nobleman, ’Ene—they’re worried about maintaining their place in society.”
Further discussion was halted as a voice called from the dining room. “Kiin,” Duke Roial noted pointedly, “we could have raised our own hogs and had them slaughtered in the time this is taking you.”
“Good meals take time, Roial,” Kiin huffed, sticking his head out the kitchen door. “If you think you can do better, you’re welcome to come cook your own.”
The duke assured him that wouldn’t be necessary. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait much longer. Kiin soon proclaimed the pig cooked to perfection, and ordered Lukel to begin cutting it. The rest of the meal quickly followed—a feast so large it would even have satisfied Kaise, if her father hadn’t ordered her and the other children to visit their aunt’s house for the evening.
“You’re still determined to join us?” Kiin asked Sarene as he reentered the kitchen to grab the final dish.
“Yes,” Sarene said firmly.
“This isn’t Teod, Sarene,” Kiin said. “The men here are a lot more … traditional. They don’t feel it’s proper for a woman to be involved in politics.”
“This from a man who’s doing the evening’s cooking?” Sarene asked.
Kiin smiled. “Good point,” he noted in his scratchy voice. Someday, she would have to find out what had happened to his throat.
“I can handle myself, Uncle,” Sarene said. “Roial isn’t the only one who likes a good challenge.”
“All right, then,” Kiin said, picking up a large steaming bean dish. “Let’s go.” Kiin led the way through the kitchen doors and then, after setting down the plate, gestured to Sarene. “Everyone, I’m sure you’ve all met my niece, Sarene, princess of our realm.”
Sarene curtsied to Duke Roial, then nodded to the others, before taking her seat.
“I was wondering who that extra seat was for,” mumbled the aged Roial. “Niece, Kiin? You have connections to the Teoish throne?”
“Oh come now!” The overweight Ahan laughed merrily. “Don’t tell me you don’t know Kiin is old Eventeo’s brother? My spies told me that years ago.”
“I was being polite, Ahan,” Roial said. “It’s bad form to spoil a man’s surprise just because your spies are efficient.”
“Well, it’s also bad form to bring an outsider to a meeting of this nature,” Ahan pointed out. His voice was still happy, but his eyes were quite serious.
All faces turned toward Kiin, but it was Sarene who answered. “One would think that after such a drastic reduction in your numbers, my lord, you would appreciate additional support—no matter how unfamiliar, or how feminine, it may be.”
The table went silent at her words, ten eyes studying her through the steam rising from Kiin’s several masterpieces. Sarene felt herself grow tense beneath their unaccepting gaze. These men knew just how quickly a single error could bring destruction upon their houses. One did not dabble lightly with treason in a country where civil upheaval was a fresh memory.
Finally, Duke Roial laughed, the chuckle echoing lightly from his slight frame. “I knew it!” he proclaimed. “My dear, no person could possibly be as stupid as you made yourself out to be—not even the queen herself is that empty-headed.”
Sarene pasted a smile over her nervousness.