“I am proud to say so,” said Savine. “A beacon of progress intended to bring prosperity to all.”

“Hear, hear,” she heard Curnsbick grunt from the benches behind her. Not loud, but loud enough.

“You have conspired with others to claw profits from the common man!” shrieked Sworbreck.

“I have partnered with others to build things where there was nothing before.”

“Indeed,” she heard Kort say from among the Representatives.

“You have long plotted against the Union with foreign agents!”

Sworbreck’s voice cracked, went suddenly shrill, and he had to clear his throat. “With savage Northmen and degenerate Styrians! You have harboured Gurkish spies in your own house!”

“I have done business across the Circle of the World and cultivated friendships wherever I could find them. My only plots were alongside men of good conscience, to bring down the Union’s callous government.”

“True, true,” called Isher, always reliable in his own defence.

There was a steady grumble from the galleries now. Sworbreck dabbed a greasy sheen from his forehead. “Workers were exploited in your mills, mutilated in your manufactories, all but enslaved in service of your insatiable greed!”

“Workers were given jobs, fair wages and a chance to better themselves. No one was forced into anything.” She eased her breast back into her corset and scooped out the other.

Sworbreck gave an ungainly cough, staring down at his notes as she settled Ardee again. The girl could have fed through an earthquake. “You have participated in usury on a grand scale! Squeezed outrageous rents from the desperate! Lived like an empress while your tenants squatted in filth! You have conspired with the Banking House of Valint and Balk—”

“No!” she barked. “I have never taken money from Valint and Balk. Not one mark. Not one bit. Accuracy is important in a court of law, don’t you think?”

Sworbreck was wrongfooted. He had clearly never had to deal with a defendant who was actually given the chance to defend themselves. He squinted into the sunlight, was obliged to shade his eyes awkwardly with his papers. “Then… well… how would you prove it?”

“I have not your legal expertise, Citizen Sworbreck, but I believe the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.” Some light laughter from the public gallery. She shifted Ardee against her breast. “I could easily furnish evidence, however…” She knew she had to stay calm but could not quite keep the edge of contempt off her voice. “Had you not locked up my bookkeeper on charges of being a sorceress.”

The laughter was louder this time.

“Bitch is making fucking fools of us,” snarled Sarlby. “And with her tits. She pay these bastards off or something?”

Broad would’ve been shocked if she hadn’t. He’d warned Judge it was a mistake to give Savine a chance to speak. But she’d been fixed on a big display. On humbling her as well as punishing her. Wasn’t quite turning out that way. But all he cared about was the letter. It felt heavy in his sweaty hand. Like a square of hot iron.