Her success had, at least, quieted ShoduchoOda for the moment, making it harder for him to keep up the pressure to remove her as an ineffectual leader. Over the years, he had grown less guarded in Constance's presence. She knew now that he was an ambitious man, one who felt uncomfortable in the shadow of a woman. He wanted full and complete control of the O5P, and did nothing to conceal that ambition from her. Oda did not seem to consider her a factor in the Order's future at all.
She wondered if Takashi knew of Oda's opinion, if he was making her look good to divide the Order's leadership, setting one against another as he did the Warlords who were the de facto rulers of the Combine's five main districts. The day would no doubt come when he would ask for something. On that day, he would remind Constance that he had helped to consolidate her position, of the debt she owed him.
Had that day come?
The invitation to take tea with the Coordinator had arrived this morning, polite but peremptory. Like those she had received from her masters in the order, the message specified no time. Unlike those summons, she knew there was some small time allowed to prepare herself. Her maids were quick and thorough, their expert attentions readying her in an hour, in spite of elaborate formal robes and hair style.
Now Constance stood and waited, unwilling to sit or kneel lest she wrinkle her kimono. She wandered to the window and rested her hands on the weather-stained teak railing as she stared out at the snow clouds gathering in the northern mountains. The winter comes early this year,she thought. Lowering her gaze, she looked over the palace walls and into the confined court two levels below. By the shadows of the rocks among the raked gravel, she estimated that she had been waiting for two hours. Takashi was demonstrating his estimation of her importance.
Finally, a servant arrived to lead her to a small, wood-paneled room where the Coordinator waited. The rich aroma of the tea herbs almost masked the sweet scent of the blossoms in the room's traditional alcove, a properly subtle enhancement to the serenity of the chamber. Takashi's reception was cordial, but he reserved his words for the conventional dialogue of the tea ceremony. Constance replied in turn, trying to slip into the almost trancelike state of peace fostered by the soothing ritual. But she was too nervous for more than a superficial show of tranquility.
After Constance pronounced the tea well-made and Takashi humbly thanked her, there was silence. Knowing Takashi's eyes were on her, Constance kept her own lowered. At last, Takashi's resonant voice broke the stillness.
"Something disturbs you, Constance. Your mind was not on the ceremony. What is it?"
"Nothing, Tono,"she lied, hoping that he would believe her.
Takashi breathed a gentle sigh. "You may be honest. We are cousins as well as leaders of our clan. I had thought you would be more open with me."
Constance's mind raced. He knew she was upset. What could she tell him? She could not bare her concerns about the Order. She needed a safe subject, something that he would believe concerned her, yet not something that touched on her office.
"The ..." she started to say.
"Theodore," he finished for her. "You and he were quite close when young, were you not?"
"Yes," she answered in sudden relief. His son and heir was clearly on his mind; otherwise he would not have picked up the name from her hesitation. Discussion of his son would certainly steer him away from the O5P. Shimatta! What if he knows how we are helping Theodore,she thought with rising fear. This is not a safe topic, after all.
"I have seen little of him since Rasalhague," she continued.
"Yes," Takashi said thoughtfully, "He has been moving about quite a bit since the Wedding Plot."
From Takashi's inflection on the word "wedding," she knew she had started in the wrong direction. Constance decided to shift the focus of the conversation. "Theodore now serves on the staff of Warlord Cherenkoff, does he not?"
"That is his assignment, but he is here on Luthien."
That was not news to Constance, but she felt it best not to reveal her knowledge. "How wonderful! You have kept him away for so long."
"I have not summoned him here," Takashi said ominously.
So much for that being an innocuous angle,Constance thought. There seemed to be no safe area of discussion concerning Theodore.
"Has there been another problem with the Warlord?" she ventured.
"Probably, but that is not the issue.”
“Perhaps it is just time for a new assignment," Constance suggested.
Takashi said nothing, and Constance let her mind race over the last several years.
Theodore's marriage to Tomoe had surprised her and Florimel when a fearful but uncontrite Tomoe had reported it to them before their departure from Rasalhague after the abortive conspiracy. Florimel had been less enraged than Constance expected, and had finally decided to support Theodore's plan to keep the marriage a secret. Maintaining secrecy was easy enough; steering Takashi's plans away from other arranged marriages was somewhat harder. But the O5P had managed. She knew that the ISF also had a hand in scuttling more than one arrangement. What lever could Theodore have with Director Indrahar that the spymaster would support the son rather than the father, his childhood friend?
Constance had not seen much of Theodore these last few years, but she knew his service record quite well. After the Wedding Plot was unraveled, his assignment to the Rasalhague Regulars had been canceled, and he had been shipped out to the Benjamin District. In the year that followed, he had been shuttled through three regiments of the Benjamin Regulars, including the Third, Warlord Yoriyoshi's own command. He had ended the year with a stint in the Second Sword of Light Regiment, one of the Combine's elite military units. Through all those travels, Tomoe and the rest of his command lance had accompanied him.
She remembered a note from him received at the end of 3020. In it, Theodore reported that his father had raged at Theodore's latest refusal to consent to another marriage. The heir's attitude had insulted the woman's father, who had withdrawn from the arrangement. In reaction, Takashi had ordered Theodore's lance out of the Sword of Light. Theodore had been philosophical. While pleased at the chance to work with that elite unit, his assignments had all been similar since Rasalhague. None were near the front, where he might earn glory.
His next assignment was with the Arkab Legion, apparently a punishment that would make him long for the Japanese customs that permeated most of the Combine. The Arkab Legionnaires were primarily soldiers native to the strongholds of Islamic culture in the Combine. They lived by folkways alien to the Kurita norm. Yet Theodore's letters had revealed him to be more intrigued than repelled by the differences of those Islamic warriors. His only complaint was their attitude toward Tomoe.
The whirlwind rotation had continued. Theodore had served with seven regiments of the Dieron Regulars, none for more than four months. His letters still mourned the lack of opportunities to prove himself as a warrior, and Takashi had finally responded to his continual requests for a frontline post by transferring his son to the staff of Warlord Yoriyoshi. Much as Theodore hoped to see action on the Davion border, it was relatively quiet. And when things did heat up, Theodore's assignments always seemed to lead him elsewhere.
The easy duty came at a fortunate time. The Order, by virtue of a request from the non-existent Lord Sakade, was able to arrange for Tomoe's absence without arousing suspicion. She passed her time in the safety and security of Benjamin, eventually presenting Theodore with a son.
After Theodore had been on Yoriyoshi's staff for nine months, Takashi advanced another likely candidate for marriage to Theodore. Constance knew far better than the Coordinator how the girl in question became involved in compromising circumstances that forced Takashi to repudiate the deal. Perhaps in frustration, Takashi transferred Theodore yet again. This time he sent his heir to serve on the staff of the fat and obnoxious Warlord Vasily Cherenkoff, General of the Armies. With the transfer, Theodore had received a promotion to Chu-sa."For appearances," Theodore had claimed in a letter. "He really has done this to punish me. The Warlord is overbearing and utterly stupid. The only initiative he shows is in claiming credit for any good ideas his staff hands him." Theodore and the Warlord argued constantly and Cherenkoff reported nothing good to Takashi.