Shalador's Lady

enough to accommodate their whole First Circle?” Cassidy asked, hoping he’d give her the answer that would help make her point.
    “There are no official courts in the Shalador reserves,” Ranon said. “The Queens merely help the elders keep the people under control so they will not offend the Province Queens or Territory Queen.” Then he stopped, and his expression revealed a man torn between loyalties.
    “What you mean is, in order to protect the Queens and the men who were loyal to them, the Shalador Queens have no official- looking courts that might have been viewed as a challenge,” Cassidy said gently. “A Queen who can’t form an official court has no more power than any other witch because the court is the instrument by which she rules.”
    Ranon said nothing. It was one thing for him to deny the truth about the Shalador courts once. That was an instinctive effort to protect his people, and probably something he’d been doing since he was a boy. But denying it twice would mean lying to her and that would be a break in trust.
    “I have met the Shalador Queens, Ranon,” Cassidy said, “and I’m sure their courts are very official. But not obvious to an outsider who expects a Queen to have a big house and lots of frills and ruffles.”
    *Which is Ranon?* Shira asked. *A frill or a ruffle?*
    Cassidy couldn’t hold back the quick burst of laughter that had all the men looking from her to Shira and back again.
    Shira kept her head down and her hands folded in her lap. She would have looked demure if she could have stopped smiling.
    “The point, gentlemen,” Cassidy said, not daring to look at any of them yet, “is that this court’s living accommodations should follow the arrangements that are typical for a Queen living in a small village.”
    “You don’t rule a small village, Cassidy,” Powell said respectfully. “You rule the Territory of Dena Nehele.”
    “Morghann is the Queen of Scelt—a Territory in Kaeleer. She lives in a small village not much bigger than this one. The only member of her First Circle who lives with her is Khardeen, the Warlord of Maghre. And the only reason he lives there is because he’s her husband as well as her Consort. Their house is divided between family and court. There are offices for her and the Steward, a smaller office for the Master of the Guard, a large meeting room, and a room where the First Circle can gather to relax, plan, or do whatever is needed. There is a large dining room that can accommodate the whole First Circle for a meal—or be used for social functions. The rest of the house belongs to the Queen and her family.”
    “Then where does everyone else live?” Gray asked.
    “In the village,” Cassidy replied. “And that’s what I’m proposing we do here.”
    “It’s not safe.” Half the Circle growled that opinion—including Ranon.
    “This is what I had in mind.” Cassidy raised her voice in order to be heard above the growls and mutters. “Talon and Powell will reside here with me. So will Gray, Shira, Ranon, and Reyhana since a young Queen training in a court requires a chaperon, and that is one of the duties of the First Circle. There are several cottages on this street and nearby streets that look abandoned, and they’re all close enough to the stable we’re using for the horses. If the village elders have no objections, the rest of the men can take up residence in those cottages.”
    “In Kaeleer, why don’t those men want to stay close to their Queen?” Gray asked.
    “Most of them have families,” Cassidy replied. “For the First Circle, their work is the court. They’re paid from the tithes. They have families. They have expenses. They have a life just like everyone else in the village.” She looked around the table. “You’ve never seen this, have you?”
    Talon didn’t respond, but the rest of them shook their heads.
    “Ranon, you must have seen this in the Shalador villages where the Queens lived.”
    “I can’t say,” he replied. “The Queens’ safety depended on the rest of us not asking too many questions.”
    “A Queen is entitled to a private life too,” Shira said.
    Suddenly no one was looking at Cassidy—or Gray.
    Powell cleared his throat. “Well, if such living accommodations are customary in Kaeleer, we can . . .”
    “I have a wife,” Shaddo said suddenly. He stared hard at the surface of the table. “I have two sons. There’s no formal marriage contract. We couldn’t risk