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Long enough after marrying then-Prince Jonathan IV of Conté’s to suspect she might be pregnant, but not long enough to share that news beyond the immediate family (and Baird, of course), Queen Thayet of Conté and Hau Ma (which most of Tortall would either ignore entirely or claim no longer applied), nee jian Wilima (which she was perfectly happy never to claim again) found herself in Duke Roger of Conté’s rooms.
Not alone, of course. No matter Jonathan’s assurances that Duke Roger was perfectly safe for his people, Thayet wasn’t certain she counted as Roger’s people. In any case, the topic for discussion was one which required others: Jonathan was there, as were both Gareths of Naxen, Duchess Roanna of Naxen, Baird of Queenscove, and his Duchess Wilina of Queenscove. All wore deep mourning: even with the power Duke Roger and Alanna had lent to Baird, Queen Lianne had passed mere weeks after the wedding, and King Roald had followed her shortly after formally abdicating in favor of Jonathan. (He made it to Jonathan's coronation. Barely. No one was saying in public that it was suicide, but ... it was definitely suicide. She of all people could see that.)
All of which made the succession of the Tortallan crown urgent enough to consider (though not start formal negotiations) during the mourning period. Hopeful pregnancy aside (and the Conté family knew better than most that early pregnancy did not always mean a child), the current succession was now-King Jonathan IV of Conté, Duke Roger of Conté, and then, apparently, civil war. (In law, Thayet’s status as Queen co-regnant should let her hold the thrown in her own right if she survived Jonathan. Jonathan, at least, thought Duke Roger would support her rights in this, but Thayet was less certain. In any case, Duke Roger certainly could not do so if he were dead, so Thayet’s nominal right to the throne would not prevent civil war if Jonathan and Duke Roger both fell.)
So Jonathan took Duke Roger’s tea set out from a cabinet, and Duke Roger pulled a list, written on a rather wider than typical sheet of parchment, from his office. He placed the list on the table.
Six columns across the top – five evenly spaced, with the last squeezed in later, labeled: who, alliances, trade, dowry, relationships, jewel. Her name appeared near the bottom of the list, in the same ink as the added ‘jewel’ column. (She had a YES under jewel and “Alanna +” under relationships, but NO under alliances, trade, and dowry.)
She looked higher on the list. First was a Delia of Eldorne: she had “Alanna –” under relationships and an X through jewel, but to the extent of the knowledge Thayet had of Tortall, the other columns seemed reasonable for a woman considering a royal match. Princess Josianne was much the same, though she had “Raoul -” as well. An Isabelle of the Sandrunners had “Bazhir – less applicable” under alliances and a question mark for jewel, but “Raoul +” under relationships. An assortment of names Thayet didn’t recognize of Tortallan fiefs she now at least knew the names of had information on alliances, trade, and dowry, but blank relationships and generally question marks, written in pencil unlike the rest of the chart, under jewel. A Queenscove had ‘no’ for jewel and “Baird +, Gary +” for relationships. A Sigrid haMinch had “minor” for jewel and “Roger +” for relationships. No one from a family she recognized as Tusani, and she was the only one listed (later, haphazardly) from Sarain, but a few high-ranking Marenites and Tyrans made the list, along with one Gallan lady from a border fief and a “Yolane of Dunlath +” under relationships. None of the foreign (to both her original and adopted homes) ladies were currently at court, and they joined majority of the Tortallans in having penciled-in question marks under the jewel column. A smattering of Carthaki ladies, all with Mastery titles listed ahead of their names (and thus likely all mages from their university), had a mix of question marks and Xs under the jewel column, “Roger +” for relationship, and a focus more on trade (and sometimes asterisked dowries) than alliances.
Thayet raised an eyebrow. “Was this the list you used to consider your own matches?” she asked her husband.
Duke Roger answered first, while Jonathan made a show of focusing on pouring the tea: “Indeed it was.”
She nodded. “The asterisked dowries?”
Duke Roger supplied, “Not dowries per se, but assets the ladies hold in their own rights – Neither Dunlath lady is an option, but if they were then fief as a whole would have an asterisk for Lady Yolane, but the dowry set aside for the infant Lady Maura would not.”
Ladies can hold lands, but not titles, Thayet remembered Alanna telling her. Not the matrilineal inheritance of the K’mir – she was Hau Ma because her mother was Hau Ma, and her children would he Hau Ma because she was Hau Ma – but more than the lowlanders in Sarain had ever recognized. She nodded again. “And the jewel column?” She had a suspicion, but it was best to know for sure.
Jonathan confirmed: “When Sir Alanna brought back the Dominion Jewel, it suddenly became relevant that a reigning monarch be able to use it.”
Gary pointed to the crossed out jewel sections for several ladies. “And let you quickly eliminate anyone you decided you didn’t trust anywhere near it?”
“Indeed,” said Duke Roger. “I like Delia of Eldorne, but with the Jewel in play, considering her as a match for me would be … complicated. As for the others…” he gestured towards the other names with an X under jewel, “I have no concerns letting them remain eliminated while considering matches for me and not for my cousin.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Jonathan said. He gestured at the parchment. “What – and who – are we missing?”
“Stabilization for our borders, particularly those your grandfather expanded, is likely more urgent at this time than foreign alliances,” Duke Gareth said.
Roger nodded. “Likely one of the domestic options, then. Which borders?”
“And keep in mind that with only one Conté available, the problem isn’t finding matches we should consider; it’s figuring out which problems we can address in any other way, or which can wait another generation…” Jonathan added. “Otherwise, we’d need to consider every border fief that was slower to swear to me than to my father, after he neglected their defense. Which is most of them.”
Duke Gareth unrolled a map he had brought with him. “Hill Country has historically been a trouble spot, both the areas we’ve controlled longer – Tirragen, Malven, and Eldorne – and the areas taken from Tusaine along the Drell in the Conqueror’s reign, only some of which has been granted to existing fiefs – a whole other problem to consider. The border with Scanra has been largely stable for generations, though incursions are common and typically repelled by Trebond, Dunlath, or the Minchi. A Trebond alliance is … not needed –”
“By which we mean they barely tolerate each other, and that only for Jon,” Gary interjected.
“I dare say my marrying Lady Alanna would be even less wise than if Jonathan had done so,” Duke Roger allowed, at which Gary snorted.
Duke Gareth shot his son a quelling look, but could hardly do the same to the current heir to the throne. “As for Dunlath, there is … history there, which would make a match desirable, but none is available. The Minchi –”
“Most of Minch is bound more by oaths to the army than by any ties to Conté in particular,” Wilina interjected. “Which would be an entire mess in the civil war eventuality, or possibly sooner if the family and branch heads sworn to the army all retired.”
Duke Gareth cursed under his breath. “I was going to say Minch was loyal, but I suppose you know their internal politics better than I would.”
“They won’t start a war, but they’ll certainly finish one,” Duchess Wilina said. “Best to make sure they’re inclined to support our position if one starts without them.” She tapped the map near the south. “I think we can take the coastal rim out of consideration for now. Next generation, with more heirs, we should think about it, but Feyzi has been quiet since I was a child.”
Duke Roger admitted, “With Alexander as training master and the fact that we were helpful when Tusaine came calling even if your father was … less so, Hill Country should be manageable as long as we continue to support them when it’s needed.”
“It sounds like a Minchi would be ideal,” Duchess Roanna said.
“Keep in mind that not every Minchi will bear that name – I’m still a Minchi” Duchess Wilina said. “But yes, I think we should see which Minch daughters might suit, unless there’s a strong reason not to that I’m missing.”