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“Lady Lenore,” Baris said.
“Pardon?”
“Refer to my intended as Lady Lenore.”
“She is not a noble. I understand she has a professional title from Earth. Doctor.” He suppressed the last syllable like the human word was particularly difficult to pronounce. “Should I use that?”
“She is noble. She has bonded with a karu.”
Des fell behind again. “I see.”
“The mate to this one, actually,” Baris said, giving the karu another scratch. He felt a flood of comforting affection, as warm as stepping in from the cold.
“A mated pair. How auspicious.”
“You understand the inspiration behind my impulsivity.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
Des remained silent until they reached Baris’ place of business. It was more than a suite of rooms for administrative tasks. It was an annex built for purpose by his grandmother, Queen Taras, and unfortunately, was showing its age. Des’ desk dominated the space when one entered. The aide was the first managerial layer. Meeting rooms were to one side. Undersecretaries were to the other. The archives were up. The treasury was down another level still. Clerks were scattered where a desk could fit in. Space that had once been a closet or storage had been converted for their use. Soon, they would have to expand again or move a department to another part of the palace.
Baris had his own chamber at the end of a long corridor, dominated by a desk kept tidy by the efforts of several undersecretaries. They moved documents onto his desk and off in a constant rotation, stressing what needed his attention now and what should wait.
The administrative center was a flurry of activity at all hours. The kingdom spanned star systems. It did not keep conventional hours.
Council chambers were kept in an entirely different section of the palace for security reasons.
“I wish for Lady Lenore to accompany me to Councilor Raelle’s celebration. Please see that she is suitably outfitted,” Baris said, settling behind his desk. The morning light reached across the floor, creating puddles of light and shadow. The karu found a perch on the back of his chair.
Des nodded, taking notes. “I’ll send an urgent request to the tailor. I’ll also arrange for fresh supplies for your karu.”
The rest of the day was consumed with mundane tasks. For the first time in longer than he cared to remember, the work was not a trial. The world was moving forward, and he was optimistic about the direction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LENORE
Time both crawled and flew by. Lenore’s already full schedule was not packed to the brim. While no official engagement announcement had been made—Baris explained the various reasons for the delay—there was still work to be done. Once the engagement was announced and was official, things would be set in motion. Right now, it was the calm before the storm. If being poked by the tailor, told she spoke like a country peasant during elocution lessons, and informed she generally behaved like a barbarian by the etiquette instructor counted as calm.
And now this.
She and Harol waited in a corridor at the Royal Academy outside the heavy wooden doors of the board meeting room. At the very end of the corridor, her guard waited discreetly. This part of the academy was used for administration. While the academy was older than the palace and its style more reserved, the building’s luxurious roots showed. The wooden floor had a parquet design inlaid with white marble. The century’s worth of hurried footsteps to and fro and a thick layer of dingy floor wax could not disguise the quality craftsmanship. Dark wood panels clad the walls. The ceiling was timber and plaster. A large window sat at the end of the hall, taking up the entire wall with stained amber glass. Morning light filtered in, warm and nearly comforting.
Lenore didn’t feel particularly warm or comforted. At least this part of the building didn’t get much traffic. Occasionally, a person walked by, their shoes squeaking on the floor and doing nothing to disguise their blatant curiosity. She felt very much like a naughty student waiting to be reprimanded by the school principal.
“I was told I’d have a year to prepare for the exam,” Lenore said. She sat on an uncomfortable wooden bench, the kind aggressively designed to make the occupant repent for the sin of sitting. Her feet didn’t quite touch the floor, but the waxed wooden seat had a slight tilt, subtly sliding her forward until she had to use her toes to stop from sliding off altogether.
Trouble stood on the bench next to her, his talons digging into the wood. He flapped his wings at anyone passing by who stared too long in her direction. Lenore was discovering that her karu was a bit of an overprotective dick, and she loved that about him.
Harol must have known about the slippery bench because he stood. “This is a review.”
“No one told me there would be reviews.”
He hesitated before answering. “It is unusual.”
The heavy doors opened. A grim-faced man informed her that the board would now speak with her.
She was going to be expelled. That was what this had to be. There had been a patient with an allergic reaction. Perhaps they filed a complaint. Or she wrote a script that conflicted with medication the patient was already taking…so many things could have gone wrong. Too many things. Lenore wasn’t reckless and diligently researched all medication before prescribing. Besides, she couldn’t actually prescribe anything. She didn’t have a medical license. Harol was the one to actually sign the scripts, which had to be the reason he was here.
