Dead silence held the room for half a minute. The Colonel didn’t even breath. Ragnarson. Blood enemy of the Greyfells for a generation. Responsible for the assassination of one duke and the bloody abortion of half a dozen family projects. Probably the man most hated by everyone in the room, saving himself. He was just a soldier. He didn’t hate anyone.

He began to sense the shape of the shadow and didn’t like it. It was in the tradition of Greyfells schemes.

The six all started talking at once. The Duke held up a hand. “Please?” He waited. Then, “Gentlemen, if that news isn’t enough to excite you, consider this. Those fools down there are going to make him King. They couldn’t find anybody else willing to take the crown. Do you see? This is an opportunity not only to avenge ourselves on an ancient enemy, it’s a chance to steal the crown of the richest and most strategically placed of the Lesser Kingdoms. A chance for us to move our base out of Itaskia entirely and free ourselves of the miserable nuisance of a perpetually inimical Crown. A chance to seize the most important counter in the conflict between east and west. A chance to recoup the greatness we’ve lost.”

The Duke’s excitement communicated itself to the men at the sides of the table. The Colonel was less intrigued. Here was more Greyfells dirty work, and he had a feeling he would be asked to carry part of the load. Why else was he here?

The Duke said, “The simple, basic question is, should we let our cousin accept?” He smiled. “Or, do we dare not let her? It would be a sin to ignore an opportunity like this. Eh?”

No one demurred. Someone said, “But we couldn’t just let it go and hope.”

“Of course not. Inger would be the lever. The foot in the door. The distraction. Right now she just wants to see her leman again, but I imagine we can get her to be the family’s agent. For insurance, and to take charge of the day-to-day details, I suggest we send the Colonel here.”

The Colonel kept his features rigidly controlled. So there it was. And it stunk. There were times when he wished he didn’t owe this family a debt of loyalty.

The Duke asked, “Can anyone propose a reason why we shouldn’t pursue the policy I’m suggesting?”

Heads shook. One man said, “Something as good as this, you needn’t have asked.”

“I wanted unanimity of purpose going in. Carried, then? Pursue the possibilities, at least till we see some insuperable stumbling block?”

Heads nodded.