Page 107 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

Jesse finally sets down his knife. “I believe you have a factory on the border of Wales.”

“We do,” Bishop says carefully. “A small textiles mill near Bristol.”

“That is our price.”

Doyle winces and looks at Bishop. “I’m sorry for his bluntness. That’s why I do the talking. But, yes, Jesse believes that there should be a price for our help, over and above the offer of alliance, and I guess he has a point, even if it makes me uncomfortable. It’s a small mill, you say?”

“Small but very profitable,” Bishop says.

“Maybe something else, then?” Doyle says. “A cash payment—”

“We want the mill,” Jesse says. “I know it’s small. I know it’s profitable. That’s why it’s our price.” He meets Bishop’s gaze. “Nonnegotiable.”

Earlier Bishop said he didn’t want us splitting up, but when Doyle suggests Jesse negotiate with Julius—the seconds-in-command working through this unpalatable business talk while we eat—Bishop decides he’ll speak to Jesse alone. Julius agrees, pointing out that while he might be Bishop’s advisor, he’s not his controller, and finances are really more Bishop’s forte.

Is Jesse’s goal to get the mill and only the mill? If so, I suspect Bishop would breathe a sigh of relief. He’d negotiate hard, but ideally, Jesse is simply a greedy man who wants to line his pockets and will happily do so at the cost of Cambrian lives. Yes, I realize that’s hardly “ideal” for the Cambrians, but Bishop’s focus must be on his Pack, not the Cambrians. Just as mine must be on my Pack and not Hanora.

Bishop is a good man. He is kind and thoughtful and generous. But he can be all those things while being ruthless, and this is a lesson I need to learn. Ruthlessness can feel like cruelty, but if it’s in support of people you’ve vowed to protect, then it’s an asset in a leader.

I can tell Rufus doesn’t want Bishop alone with Jesse, but Julius suggests they go into the next room to talk. In other words, stay close enough that we’d hear a cry of alarm.

That’s what they do. Bishop and Jesse take coffee and a plate of food into the adjoining room, and then Doyle launches into a story, obviously eager to distract us from the unpleasantness of the financial haggling next door.

For all his coarse manners, Doyle reminds me of some members of the nobility, men and women who shudder at the thought of doing business, as if money carries a filth that never comes clean … when that money is what gives them their lifestyles of leisure. They have people to handle that nasty business. And so does Doyle, though to his credit, he appears actually uncomfortable, like the person who hates mentioning an owed debt to a friend.

We can’t hear Bishop and Jesse, their voices too low, and we talk for nearly an hour before they return.

“We have reached an agreement,” Bishop says stiffly.

Doyle glances at his second, who nods.

Doyle claps his hands together. “Excellent. So now the fun begins.”

Jesse definitely rolls his eyes at that.

“Fine, fine,” Doyle says. “Now the work begins. How soon can we do this?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Bishop says.

“Today then. We set out today, reunite you with your Pack, and make plans to retake Trevelyan.”

We head to our room to pack, because Doyle really does plan to leave as soon as possible, getting everyone on the train by noon if he can.

“Is that all he wants then?” Julius whispers once we’re safely behind closed doors. “The mill?”

“I can work with him,” Bishop says.

“That isn’t the question I asked.”

“I believe the situation is complicated,” Bishop says. “But what matters is that I also believe I can handle it.”

“Bishop…” I say. “What have you agreed to?”

He squeezes my hand. “Do you trust me?”

I sigh, and he leans in to kiss my cheek.

“I will explain more when I can,” he says. “I am still working it through. But for now, I can say that the most we’ll lose is the mill, and perhaps not even that.”