“I recognize Lord Alexander,” she said in a voice whose pleasant tone fooled no one in the chamber.

“I thank the Honorable Secretary.” Alexander’s tone probably fooled even fewer people than her own had. He paused for a moment, then continued. “Madame Secretary. In a recent speech before both houses of the Congress of the Republic of Haven, President Eloise Pritchart announced that her administration intended to press the Star Kingdom’s negotiators for concrete progress in the peace talks between the Star Kingdom and the Republic. She stated at that time that new proposals from the Republic would be forthcoming, and the implication of her speech appeared to be that she intended to demand a prompt response from us. Have those proposals, in fact, been received? And if so, of what do they consist and what response does the Government propose to make to them?”

Descroix suppressed an urge to shuffle through her note cards. It wasn’t as if Alexander’s questions came as any sort of a surprise.

“I am, of course, familiar with the text of President Pritchart’s speech, My Lord,” she began carefully. “While I would agree that the general tone of her remarks was more assertive and potentially confrontational than we might have wished, I’m not certain they indicated that she intended to ‘demand’ anything from us. There must, of course, be a certain degree of impatience on the part of anyone whose government has been engaged for so long, and with so little success, on the negotiation of a treaty to end such a bloody conflict. Her Majesty’s Government is fully aware of the extent to which this must be true for the Republic of Haven, which, after all, stands in the weaker position in those negotiations. Nor are the members of Her Majesty’s Government immune to such impatience in their own right. Unfortunately, there remain fundamental points of disagreement between the Star Kingdom and the Republic of Haven which continue to preclude the prompt and amicable settlement of our differences which I am certain both governments earnestly desire. President Pritchart’s speech undoubtedly reflected the frustration all of us feel.”

She smiled again. Alexander did not smile back, and her own expression stiffened ever so slightly.

“In response to your first question, My Lord, Her Majesty’s Government is in receipt of a communique transmitted to us from President Pritchart through the offices of Secretary of State Giancola. I would not characterize its contents as a ‘demand,’ however. Certainly, they constitute a body of proposals to which President Pritchart obviously expects Her Majesty’s Government to respond, but the term ‘demand’ implies a far greater degree of confrontationalism than is contained in President Pritchart’s note.

“The exact nature of the proposals contained in her note is somewhat sensitive,” she continued, edging very carefully into potentially murky waters. “The nature of such complex, ongoing negotiations, particularly those in which feelings have indeed, upon occasion, run high on both sides, demands a somewhat greater degree of confidentiality than might otherwise be the case. Her Majesty’s Government craves the indulgence of this House and requests that that confidentiality be respected in this case.”