“In truth we are speaking of a mage who by rights should not have been appointed tutor at the College,” Sallis replied, his voice clipped with distaste. A vein pulsed at his temple. “I’m sure you’ll recall I had my doubts at the time.”

“And you aired them, Sallis,” said Brice. “Comprehensively. I certainly recall that.”

Shari’s lips thinned. “Sallis was right. Bellamie Ranowen’s appointment was a mistake. The woman comes from some nothing and nobody family in the Seventh district. Her appointment flies in the face of all tradition and undermines the exclusivity of the College. Furthermore, her ideas are contradictory. They challenge years of accepted wisdom. And now she is threatening the daughter of a highly ranked First Family. The entire situation is unacceptable!”

“Ranowen has launched some kind of vendetta against Nevin’s daughter,” said Sallis. “If she’s not stopped she’ll single-handedly destroy the girl’s future.”

Brice’s stilled fingers drummed again once, slowly. “Vendetta? That is a very serious accusation.”

“And I make it very seriously,” Sallis replied, brows pulled low. “Nevin’s daughter is failing Ranowen’s class. A vendetta is the only explanation.”

“It’s my understanding,” Brice said at length, “that, contradictory or not, unranked or not, Mage Ranowen has proven herself a gifted tutor. In the field of transmutation I’ve heard her expertise is unrivalled.”

Sallis shook his head. “That’s hardly the point.”

“Given that she’s the girl’s tutor, I feel it is a little to the point,” said Brice. “Has Lord Jordane taken his concerns to the College proctor? Has he spoken to Mage Ranowen himself about his daughter’s progress, or lack of it?”

“Or did he simply run to his good friend, the councillor?” Venette asked. “Assuming that with his influence, this inconvenient, unranked tutor would be dismissed out of hand?”

Sallis shifted to stare at her. “Perhaps I imagined it, Venette, but I seem to recall you were also vocal in your opposition to Bellamie Ranowen’s appointment.” His expression twisted. “Or is the problem that Nevin Jordane is my friend?”

Caught hypocrite, she willed herself to hold Sallis’s taunting gaze. “Your friendships aren’t the point, Sallis. And yes, I expressed reservations at Bellamie Ranowen’s appointment. I don’t make any apology for that. But as Brice rightly points out, it seems she has proven her worth. To every rule it appears there is an exception.”

“Seems. Appears.” Sallis sneered. “For myself, I prefer evidence to supposition.”

“Except you don’t have any evidence,” she retorted. “You have the wild accusations of a biased father. And you’d destroy a woman’s career on no more than that? Shame on you, Sallis. Be they ranked or unranked, Dorana’s mages deserve a fair hearing.”

“Agreed,” said Brice, before Sallis could gather himself for an angry reply. “And it is this Council’s responsibility to see that justice is done.”