Devices and Desires Read Online Free PDF Page B

Sirupat for a marriage alliance. In his reply, Sirupat —”
    “Just a moment,” Valens interrupted. “Marriage alliance. Who was supposed to be marrying who?”
    Licinius had the grace to look away. “One of Sirupat’s daughters. And you, obviously.”
    “Fine.” Valens frowned. “Which one?”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Which one of Sirupat’s daughters?”
    Licinius frowned, as if this fascination with trivial details perplexed him. “The fifth or the sixth,” he said. “The older
     four had already been married off, and there’s some interesting implications there, because —”
    “The fifth
or
the sixth.”
    “They’re both pleasant enough, so I’ve heard. Anyway, Sirupat gave his agreement in principle, as you’d expect, because it’s
     the obvious logical move. Before anybody had made any definite proposals, I took over as Chancellor; which shouldn’t have
     made the slightest bit of difference, obviously, but suddenly Sirupat wasn’t answering my letters. Next thing we hear, he’s
     negotiating a marriage with his sister’s eldest son, Orsea.”
    “Orsea,” Valens repeated. “You don’t mean my cousin Orsea, from Scandea?”
    “Him,” Licinius said. “Well, you can imagine, we were a bit stunned. We all assumed it was just tactical, trying to get us
     to up our offer, so we decided to take no notice. I mean —”
    “I remember when he came to stay, when I was a kid,” Valens said. “I suppose he was a hostage too, come to think of it. I
     just assumed he was here because he’s an off-relation. But we got on really well together. I’ve often wondered what became
     of him.”
    “Not much,” Licinius said. “He may be related to our lot and their lot, but really he’s nothing more than a small-time country
     squire; spends his time counting his sheep and checking the boundary fences. But if he were to marry Sirupat’s daughter, that’d
     make him the heir presumptive, when Sirupat goes on —”
    “Would it? Why?”
    Licinius pulled a face. “It’s complicated. Actually, I’m not entirely sure why; I think it’s because the first three weren’t
     born in the purple, and the fourth came along while the marriage was still nominally morganatic. Anyhow, there’s a damn good
     reason. So in practice, Sirupat was practically appointing him as his successor.”
    “Assuming the marriage goes ahead,” Valens pointed out. “And if it’s just a bargaining ploy…”
    “Which is what we’d assumed,” Licinius said. “But apparently we were wrong. They were married last week.”
    For a moment, Valens felt as though he’d lost his memory. Where he was, what he was supposed to be doing, what he was talking
     about; all of them on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t quite remember. “Last week,” he repeated.
    “Bolt out of the blue, literally,” Licinius said. “No warning, no demands, nothing. Just a report from our ambassador, not
     even formal notification from the Court — which we’re entitled to, incidentally, under the terms of the treaty.”
    “Which daughter?” Valens said.
    “What? Oh, right. I’m not absolutely sure. I think it was number five; which’d make sense, because they’ve got rules over
     there about the order princesses get married in. But if it was number six, the effect’d still be the same. Now I’m not saying
     it was meant as a deliberate provocation or an act of war, but —”
    “Can you find out?” Valens said. “Which one it was, I mean.”
    “Yes, all right. But like I said, it’s not really important. What matters is, Sirupat has effectively rejected our claim —
     some might say the treaty itself — in favor of some nobody who just happens to be a poor relation. In basic diplomatic terms
     —”
    “Find out which one,” Valens cut him off. “Quickly as possible, please.”
    He could see Licinius getting flustered, thinking he hadn’t got across the true magnitude of the political situation. “I will,
     yes. But if