Chapter 261 --261
The second consort arrived shortly after.
She was forty-two, northern family, the one who had come forward with her testimony three weeks ago. She had been, of all the consorts, the most straightforward in her accounting — no softening, no performance, just the facts in the order they occurred. Elara had noted that quality at the time and had noted it again in the weeks since. The second consort did not waste words or emotions on things that didn’t require them, which was a quality Elara found functional and slightly restful.
She looked at the room with the expression of someone who had not expected to be invited to something like this and was in the process of deciding what to do with the unexpected.
"Sit," Elara said.
She sat.
The last to arrive was Mira, who had apparently finished arranging everything and then stood outside the door for several minutes deciding something. She came in holding a small dish that hadn’t been on the menu and placed it on the table with the expression of someone who had done something slightly outside their instructions and was waiting to see if it was acceptable.
"Candied ginger," Mira said. "I found it in the kitchen records — it was a standing order for this wing. From before." She paused. "I thought it might be welcome."
Elara looked at the dish.
The previous princess had ordered it. Had apparently eaten it when she was working late, alone, in the palace that didn’t quite belong to her.
"Sit down, Mira," Elara said.
Mira stared at her.
"You’ve been managing this household’s finances and half its operational structure for three months," Elara said. "Sit down."