Beale, Helene, and Holt were working at the Hall when Jaenelle and the coven were adolescents. They all looked suspiciously stoic.
“What went wrong?” Daemon asked—because it was clear to him that something had gone wrong.
“It was Jaenelle and the coven,” Lucivar replied. “They had no problem with following whoever was supposed to lead that day as long as an assignment went smoothly, but as soon as there was trouble, they reverted to their natural order of dominance. And when one of them was assigned to be a bad Queen and do something . . . hurtful . . . in some way—and defend her position—there was a lot of yelling. Usually at Father, because he’d made up the scenario.”
“Hurtful?” Daemon asked too softly.
“As in being a guest in another Queen’s court and being discourteous to members of the court or the servants working at the residence, or trying to persuade a servant to let the guest into a room that was private—or into Beale’s pantry to snitch a bottle of wine. Or being a Queen who allowed someone in her court to steal from a merchant. Problem was, they all rebelled at being a bad Queen, even in an exercise.”
“The time they were told someone in a visiting Queen’s court kicked a puppy,” Holt murmured.
Daemon’s temper went cold. The men—and Helene and Nadene—shuddered as the air in the room turned frigid. Brenda just called in a heavy wool shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Well,” Lucivar said, eyeing Daemon, “it’s a good thing you weren’t here for these scenarios. As it was, we almost had a war inside the Hall when the coven, the boyos, and the kindred exploded into a hunt for that person.”
“Who was imaginary,” Holt said. “And thank the Darkness for that.”
Lucivar nodded. “Yeah. That was invigorating. It wasn’t even an approved scenario. A servant, thinking to add some drama into the exercises—or maybe wanting a bit of malicious fun—spread the rumor.”
“It sounds terrifying,” Raine said.
“That’s what Lucivar meant by ‘invigorating,’ ” Daemon said dryly.
“After that, the High Lord purchased a dressmaker’s dummy and a few outfits for various social functions,” Helene said. “Lady Dumm became the Queen with shaky scruples whose court got up to all manner of unsavory things. A couple of the maids were assigned to be Lady Dumm’s dressers, and a couple of footmen were responsible for putting her in the proper room for whatever was happening. She was even assigned a guest room to hold her wardrobe, and was sometimes seen taking a stroll through the gardens or being driven through Halaway. When the shopkeepers in Halaway understood the purpose of Lady Dumm’s existence, they participated by submitting complaints about misconduct by one of Dumm’s First Circle.”
“The point was for the coven to experience the conflicts that can occur when the line between what is right and what is wrong starts getting smudged,” Lucivar said. “It didn’t work well because all the Queens in the coven were already united around Witch. But the girls who are here now aren’t united. There are rivalries. Bring those out into the open. Force the girls—and the boys—to take a stand. And then we’ll see what happens.”
Daemon sat back. “It sounds risky, both physically and emotionally.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t,” Lucivar replied. “And it’s possible that things will happen here that will never be forgiven.”
“We can’t let it get that far,” Brenda said. “We have to intervene before a scenario becomes too scalding, or you’ll have Queens who are enemies for the rest of their lives—and that’s bad enough when people live decades instead of centuries. And I’m thinking that kind of anger is some of what happened in Terreille that turned that Realm into such a mess.” She looked at Daemon, then at Lucivar. “Am I wrong?”
“You’re not wrong,” Daemon replied. “Allowing the children to act out a scenario and then discuss it during their classes might be useful at this point. But I don’t feel easy about this. Corruption begins with something small. Giving in to that small act makes it harder to refuse to do the next thing you’re asked that you know is wrong, and the thing after that.” He thought about where he needed to draw the lines for the children—and for himself. “No scenario will include a physical or verbal assault. Not even something as small as slapping someone’s hand as discipline. And nothing that involves the kindred.”
“Shuffle the deck,” Raine suggested. “Four Queens in residence. Each morning, tell them who is ruling that day and what tasks need to be performed. The ruling Queen distributes the assignments. The rest of the students report to whichever Queen they’re assigned to that day. Obeying someone you like and trust isn’t the same experience as obeying someone you don’t know as well but still need to follow in order to do the work.”
Daemon nodded. “A valid point.”
“Daemonar and Grizande should be excluded from this exercise,” Lucivar said. “Daemonar because he won’t pretend to serve another Queen and he’ll simply fight anyone trying to give him orders. And Grizande has already seen enough of what bad Queens will do. I don’t think she’ll understand pretending, especially if anyone gets carried away and smudges a line in terms of honor.”
“Agreed.” Daemon pushed away from his desk. “We’ll start with something simple.” And keep it simple. “Lady Brenda, Prince Raine, your participation is appreciated.”
Raine gave Daemon a small bow. “Sir.” He held out a hand to Brenda, who gave Daemon a long look before allowing Raine to lead her from the room, followed by Weston and Nadene.
Daemon focused on Holt, Beale, and Helene. “A dressmaker’s dummy as an adversary sounds like a good idea.” He hoped. “I don’t suppose Lady Dumm is residing in the attics somewhere?”
The three servants exchanged a look.
Beale cleared his throat. “Lady Dumm made a disparaging remark about the young Ladies within the hearing of Jaal, Kaelas, and Ladvarian. We were never sure if the cats at that age understood all the words, but Ladvarian did and . . . Well, it was Jaal and Kaelas.”
“Ah.” The cats might have been disappointed that the bad human had no meat, but that wouldn’t have stopped them from ripping the enemy to pieces.
“I’m sure my staff and I can come up with a new Lady Dumm,” Helene said, “if you’ll give your consent for us to purchase a basic wardrobe from the shops in Halaway.”
“That’s fine. Just keep in mind, our guest doesn’t need to be extravagant in her tastes.”
“Of course, Prince.” Helene gave Daemon a nod before walking out of the study with Beale and Holt.
“I’m in trouble,” Daemon said.
Lucivar nodded. “Probably. But between the kindred who live here and the senior staff and the instructors, you should have enough observers to make sure no one crosses a line.”
“This friction between the girls happened when I wasn’t here. I can’t always be here, Prick.”
“It came to the surface because you weren’t here,” Lucivar countered. “You can’t say that Zoey doesn’t get special treatment, because she does—and some of the girls know why. Those who don’t? It’s none of their business. But once Surreal was through with them, I think all the children acquired some understanding of at least part of what Zoey endured.” A pause. “If you’re uncomfortable with this, don’t do it.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Anything you want me to ask the Keep’s residents about this?”
Daemon groaned. “Hell’s fire, no. Helene looked sufficiently gleeful about bringing Lady Dumm back as a guest. I don’t need suggestions from Jaenelle and Karla.”