To keep up the pretenses of the marriage negotiations, Finn had his private Council plus select members of Council sit in on the meeting with King Logan and Queen Abigail plus any of their advisors they'd brought along. Attia sat with Mason on the left of Finn while Claudia and John sat to the right. Victoria had opted to skip the meeting and Finn had supported her decision, so of the Council members lining the wall, she was missing. On the other side of the room, King Logan and Queen Abigail sat beside each other, their advisors on each side of them, and their numerous guards from both Finn's Royal Guard as well as King Logan's army lined the walls behind them.
"And what of her responsibilities as Queen?" Finn asked as he stared at King Logan speaking about Princess Avery. It was a valid question and had everyone in the room fairly convinced he was serious about the marriage negotiations except the select few who knew otherwise.
"Her responsibilities?" King Logan repeated. He shifted in his seat to lean towards the table where he propped up his elbow. "Beyond providing a male heir?"
Finn's eyebrow rose before he could control his initial reaction. "I'm not concerned with male heirs. Females will do fine, and if there are no heirs, we have a secondary Act of Succession in place that would instate the High Duchess as Queen until her son took the throne after," Finn explained. All of that had been worked out years ago, long before their children were old enough to know if they wanted to be in politics or not. By the time they were old enough, that line of succession remained in place because Attia had gotten over any reservations she had about ruling the Realm, Princess Charlotte decided she hated politics enough to give up any rights she had to the throne should her brother not have children, and little Finn liked politics enough to take over after his mother when the time came. King Finn had absolutely no worries about the future of his Realm, nor did Claudia, who'd agreed to every bit of the secondary Act of Succession.
"She will provide male heirs," King Logan repeated, his voice laced with a bit of anger as though Finn's explanation had offended him. "What else is expected of her?"
"The Queen is expected to attended a majority of Council meetings, unless she had good cause not to such as sickness, pregnancy, or family to attend to. She's to be as involved in the inner workings of Court as the King. The Queen also inherits a number of lands by virtue of her title and will be expected to maintain them herself or find a suitable property manager to do so on her behalf. The Queen also runs her own household and personally selects her ladies-in-waiting."
"None of that is handled by you? Nor will it be by your son?" King Logan asked, eyes narrowing at Finn. Finn drew in a breath as he reminded himself of the roles of women in Mallery. He glanced to the side to Claudia, who only met his gaze, her diplomatic face in full effect. When he turned to the other side and glanced at Attia, he saw she wasn't as good at keeping her face in place, though with the added stress of Morgan at Court, Finn was glad she hadn't yet made some kind of outburst.
"No," Finn answered finally. "As of right now, Lady Attia handles the Queen's personal lands and accounts as well as the personal finances of the entire royal family, but those jobs aren't under her title as High Duchess. When my son takes the throne with whomever he marries, they are free to appropriate those jobs to whomever they feel fit. The daily workings of Court are dependent on those the King keeps closest around him, and his Queen will need to fit into that."
"She knows nothing of politics or of finance. She knows all the things that are expected of a woman."
"In Mallery," Finn added, and King Logan's eyes narrowed suddenly. The room fell quiet for a few moments even as John leaned over and whispered in his mother's ear. Claudia's face remained unmoved as she listened to her son, then leaned to her other side to relay the message to Finn.
"He said don't try too hard or we won't have a Crown Prince at all at the end of the month," Claudia said. Finn let out a dry laugh as he peered over at his son. John met and held Finn's gaze, completely serious in his threat.
"I'd say don't worry too hard about that," Finn told him, carefully choosing his words as vaguely as possible.
"Don't really think that's going to be very possible," John responded as he shifted his eyes straight forward. His eyes focused on some point on the wall between Attia and Mason. John drew in a deep breath and sighed as he leaned back in his chair, obviously uninterested in the meeting.
"What is your concern?" King Logan asked, his gaze shifted between John and Finn, unsure of where to settle.
"What will become of Mallery afterwards?" Finn asked. "You have no other children and if she's to be Queen here, what will become of your Kingdom?"
"Your son will rule."
John let out a huff at the words as he turned and met King Logan's gaze. "Are you kidding?" John questioned, not even bothering with going through the process of telling his father his concerns before voicing them. "That's doubling the size of my lands, and Mallery isn't nearly as developed, and you're plan is to make that my problem?"
"John," Finn sighed as he turned to look at his son, but John held King Logan's gaze.
"You've no official academy, no real infrastructure. A bare minimum of crops to support your population, and I'm to inherit all that and all I get out of it in return is kids? I'll take the Queen's lands here and manage them on my own if she keeps Mallery and runs it all by herself."
"She knows not how to do such a thing."
"Sounds like a problem, doesn't it?" John questioned as he stood up from the table. "I have other things to attend to today," he announced simply as he turned and started to leave the room. Finn watched John leave, aware he'd lost any patience he had to feign interest in Princess Avery. When the door shut behind John, Finn met King Logan's gaze, but his attention was pulled to the side when Attia leaned over the table towards him. Finn leaned towards her as well.
"I don't think this will hold up for very long. He won't keep this act if Victoria can't handle it," Attia said softly to Finn so only he could pick up her words. Finn nodded to her as he went back to his seat entirely.
"I agree," Finn said rather diplomatically to give the effect that Attia's comment had pertained to the serious nature of the negotiations. "But I don't know what to do about it."
"Why don't we arrange a trip to the market for the next few days and pick up these negotiations after," Attia suggested as she turned her head to King Logan half way through the comment.
"That sounds wonderful," Queen Abigail said as she smiled then turned to look up at her husband.
"Why don't the ladies go, then," Finn suggested as he turned to Attia, then Claudia. "And we'll talk tomorrow again. Perhaps, less formally," Finn added as he turned across the table to look at King Logan. After a few moments, the other King nodded then turned to his wife to smile in her direction.
The next day, Mason, little Finn, and Attia selected a number of guards to accompany Attia, Claudia, Anne, Queen Abigail, and Princess Avery to the market. All the guards sat mounted on their horses as Attia and Mason walked by the front of them. Mason read off their names and any additional side comments he might have for each man, and Attia just nodded along as she followed him. She'd become less involved in the Royal Guard over the years, but she and Mason conversed enough on a regular basis for her to still know and trust a select few of the Royal Guard.
"I think that'll work, Mason," Attia finally said after they'd gotten to the last man. Mason nodded to her before he waved his arm up, signaling the men to form two lines the proceeded to the front of Court, little Finn leading them on his own horse. Mason turned over his shoulder and whistled, calling over a groom leading Mason's horse. After Mason secured himself onto his horse's saddle, he held down his hand for Attia's hand, then used his strength to pull her up to his saddle behind him. The ride to the front of Court was short, and Attia slide back down to the ground just as Claudia and Queen Abigail walked out of Court arm in arm. Anne and Avery followed them and the four joined Attia while they waited for their carriage to arrive.
In the larger carriages, the five women could be seated more or less comfortably with Claudia on side and Anne and Attia on either side of her. Queen Abigail and her daughter had the other side of the carriage to themselves. They traveled the short distance to the market in that manner, with a line of guards on each side of the carriage led by Mason and Finn. When they reached the market, Attia slipped out of the carriage first, followed by Avery, then Claudia, Anne, and finally Queen Abigail. Claudia moved to stand between Princess Avery and Queen Abigail to better speak with each of them and keep either of them from bothering Attia, who followed behind them with Anne. Mason walked one step behind Attia and Anne while Finn walked on the side of his mother and behind Princess Avery. The other guards formed a loose boundary around the group of women, their eyes peeled for any sign of movement.
The market was half indoor and half out, and over the years had been cleaned up and modernized to feature electrical lights and other amenities Court and other urban areas enjoyed. Attia had no interest in paying much attention to what was going on, but she'd gone on the trip solely to get out of Court and away from Keiro and Morgan and Lucas, and any combination of the three. Anne and Claudia were aware of her reasons for going on the trip, so neither questioned her motives or her silence.
As they passed a store featuring racks of rolled fabrics, Princess Avery touched Claudia's arm while she stared at the store, her eyes moving up and down the racks until her eyes landed on a roll of a vibrant blue fabric. Claudia smiled at the girl's interest before she led the group into the store. Claudia, Princess Avery, and Queen Abigail went to the blue fabric that caught Avery's attention while Anne and Attia went in their own direction, pulling only Mason and two other guards while the rest went with the Queens or remained at the door of the store.
"What do you think of these?" Anne asked suddenly and Attia forced her attention to her. Anne was holding up a roll of lace she'd partially unrolled so she could see the detailing. "For the trim on Kyra's gown," Anne added, fully attracting Attia's attention.
"It's nice," Attia told her simply. She cared about the details of Kyra's wedding, she just didn't have the attention to detail necessary to really take part in all the decisions.
As a saleswoman approached the pair, Anne asked for a length of the trim, then offered the woman payment in the form of gold coins. As the woman bagged the lace, Claudia, Queen Abigail, and Avery approached her to ask for a length of the blue fabric plus a number of other things such as pearl beading and lace.
"Going to have a gown designed?" Anne asked sweetly as she looked over at Avery. The Princess met Anne's smile before she casted her eyes downward in shyness. Claudia paid for the Princess' materials then Mason took the bag of goods to carry for the women.
"You should look into having a gown designed in the latest Court fashions," Claudia suggested as she looked over at Avery. "It takes less fabric, and you might find you like it better. It's lighter than the traditional gowns."
"Perhaps I'll meet with a designer then," Avery responded with a soft smile as the women left the shop and continued down the market way. They stopped every so often to look at different things. Sometimes little knick knacks, sometimes jewelry or accessories. Eventually, they grew hungry, and Claudia pointed the group to a small restaurant where they would have the privacy to dine without interruptions. After they were all seated, Mason and Finn lined the walls with a few other men while the rest guarded the front and back entrances of the buildings.
Attia had maintained her quietness for the majority of the trip, so Queen Abigail peered up at her just as Attia reached for her glass. "Still no wedding ring, then?" Queen Abigail asked and Attia looked up to find a wide smile across the Queen's face, a sign of the woman's sense of humor.
"No," Attia answered her, and allowed a brief but real smile to cross her lips. "Still no ring."
"Something tells me that's perhaps a good thing," Queen Abigail answered as she glanced down to rearrange her napkin before she met Attia's gaze once more. "Means nothing too drastic has changed over the years we've been apart."
"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," Attia replied simply. "I'd say sometimes a lack of change can be a problem in and of it's own."
"I should hope that is not the case between you and the High Duke. I liked you together too well last time to take any news like that easily."
"I don't remember you liking us that much," Attia admitted and the corner of Queen Abigail's lips twitched up quickly before her smile returned.
"I think you were too preoccupied with him to have taken notice," Queen Abigail explained as she collapsed her fingers together over her lap. Once glance to the side told Attia that Avery had done the same while she, Claudia, and Anne kept their idle fingers busy by keeping a hold on their glasses.
"I admit that may have been the case," Attia said, a ring of truth to her voice that even Mason and Finn were able to identify. Only Mason, however, noticed when Attia's comment caused Finn's shoulders to relax even if just slightly. "Either way, lack of change… or addition to my ring collection, if you will, is not a problem."
"That comforts me," Queen Abigail answered with an honest smile as she held Attia's gaze. "You're the kind of woman my mother used to tell me about. It's nice to have known you, even if just briefly. Even if we've spent more time at odds than in agreement, and even if our affections for each other are one-sided."
"What did your mother used to tell you?" Attia asked, deciding not to touch on the last part of Queen Abigail's comment.
"That in the realm where nobility, royalty, and politics intersect, a woman can still have a place among the men in the ranks, so long as she knows how to survive. From the day I met you, I saw you were a survivor by nature. Though I've been blessed to reach high places by virtue of my marriage, you've done the same in a much more… honest and difficult manner, a manner where your marriage, or lack thereof, has no role in it. Something I've always admired you for."
"You said something like that to me once before," Attia replied, after swallowing. Between thoughts of Morgan and Lucas, and Kyra's wedding, Attia found herself stretched thin and unable to keep up a level of conversation she usually would have been able to.
"I'm surprised and honored you recall that," Queen Abigail said with a brighter smile than before. "As I remember, I may have offended you without meaning to and thought perhaps my convoluted apology was forgotten or not entirely heard in your anger towards me."
"I wouldn't survive Court if I couldn't hear the things people don't say, let alone the things they do," Attia answered. Queen Abigail nodded once and smiled to Attia before she turned her attention to Claudia once more.