Well, so could Great-grandmother if she wanted to. But mani just leaned both hands on her cane in front of her, smiled, and nodded politely to the Grandmother of the Edi.
Servants came from their station at the back wall and brought a stout chair for the Grandmother, and she settled in, still with her scowl. What with her size and her fringed, flowered shawls and thick skirts, she fairly well filled the chair in one angry lump, with her two armed young men standing beside her.
Cenedi came in. And if things blew up, those young men had better think twice, facing mani’s and Lord Geigi’s Guild bodyguards at once. Even with rifles, those two had no chance, and neither did the Grandmother. Trust Cenedi to cover mani and Geigi’s bodyguard to protect him—and if he had to dive for safety, there would be about six shots, none of them from the Grandmother’s men.
“So what is your distress, Grandmother of the Edi?” mani asked pleasantly. “Be clear, even blunt, and we shall hear you.”
“ Whyis the paidhi-aiji in Tanaja, Grandmother of the East? And whereis our agreement?”
“If you have news other than the news we have consistently relayed to you, nandi, one would be interested to hear it.”
“He isthere, is he not? Negotiating with the lord who attacked your own great-grandson at Kajiminda and who assassinated yoursister, Maschi lord!” This with a jut of her chin toward Lord Geigi. “You cannot forgive that!”
“One does not forgetit, honored neighbor,” Lord Geigi said. “One will never forgetit. But rather than see more of your people die, rather than see the Dojisigi in the ascendant over the Marid tomorrow morning, I have shut the door on some reckonings and count them a private grievance.”
“Your own sister, Maschi lord! Shame!”
Geigi frowned. Cajeiri had never seen Geigi frown that darkly, never imagined that pleasant, happy face could take on so dark an expression.
“At our request,” mani said sharply, and thump! went the cane on the carpeted floor. “And for the good of the people, Maschi, Parithi, andEdi, we have asked the paidhi-aiji, though injured, to use all available leverage with a lord who, yes! has been troublesome to this district, and troublesome to my grandson—but notas troublesome as his northern neighbors.”
Up went the forefinger. “ Onwhich matter we have recent news, Grandmother of the Edi, which contradicts some of the things we have taken as fact, and the news is not good!”
The Edi lady looked as if she had met a strong wind; she drew in a breath and folded her shawls closer about herself. “If you have news more than ours, Ragi Grandmother, we will be interested to hear.”
“ Senji, not Machigi, has been behind the corruption of the Maschi lord in Targai, over a number of years. Lord Machigi of the Taisigi moved to do the same with the otherMaschi lord, Baiji in Kajiminda. The Maschi lord Pairuti, in the hire of the Senjin Marid, attempted to move his own allies into Kajiminda. But there they allran onto the rocks, Grandmother of the Edi, because a clanlessagency has moved in on the Senjin Marid and the Dojisigin Marid alike and poses a threat to all the aishidi’tat and to the displaced peoples.”
Mani paused there, to let the Grandmother of the Edi take that in; and Cajeiri found himself confused, having no idea what mani was talking about.
“The Assassins’ Guild has fragmented,” mani said next. “The Guild who supported Murini, the force behind the Troubles in Murini’s years, fled south when my grandson retook the aijinate. And theyhave infiltrated the northern clans of the Marid! We suspected it. The Guild has tracked these individuals as to location, but only recently, as late as today, it has communicated its findings to us, and they present a very disturbing picture. We can now state with some assurance that the two northern clans of the Marid were heavily infiltrated by these lawless elements. Taisigi clan, though not infiltrated to the same extent, found its operations in Kajiminda taken over by these persons. Its allies of the Southern Association, the Sungeni and the Dausigi, have been troubled, but to a lesser degree.”
“What has this to do with us?”
“We are stating, Grandmother of the Edi, that the enemy is notwho we assumed it to be. In fact, this enemy has attempted to bring down an attack on the Taisigi lord because he is their major obstacle. We do not maintain that he is innocent of offenses. But this renegade group, a splinter of the Guild, is bent on creating chaos in the south of the continent, and we cannot afford to pursue any grievance that takes out the Taisigin lord. He is the focus of their attacks.
He is the stone in their path. So for the moment, he is notour objective.”
“So we abandon our grievances? We do not!”
Thump! went the cane. “Grandmother of the Edi, we are your allies. We have gone to the aishidi’tat to right wrongs done you. We have called on the aishidi’tat to defend you. We have sent the paidhi-aiji into a hostile district as a personal favor to negotiate an end to Marid adventures in your district.”
“Without consultation!”
Nobody talked to mani like that. Mani could snap her fingers and that would be the end of it.
Cajeiri paid strict attention, in case he and his had to dive for that table.
“The information was classified,” mani said, “and the opportunity to get the paidhi-aiji there without raising a general alarm throughout the Marid required decision within half an hour, Grandmother of the Edi. While one appreciates your willingness to consult, one could not consult without disseminating sensitive information across a broad area. Lord Geigi will inform you that we did not consult with him, either, though the message went to Lord Bren within his district.”
“That is so, Grandmother of the Edi,” Lord Geigi said. “All these things were done in support, not to the detriment, of the agreement between the Edi and the aishidi’tat. When one exists within the framework of the aishidi’tat, one has to accept that one’s neighbors will move in their own defense, and likewise one has a right to expect they will move as energetically in one’s own defense in return. It was, initially, your time to be defended. And now it is your time to defend.”
The Grandmother of the Edi hitched her shawls tight about her and glowered, but she said,
“We are here. Explain why we should abide this situation.”
“Indeed you are here,” mani said. “You are in this room, with arms and attendance. No outsider to our councils would have access here. You are partof this undertaking, Grandmother of the Edi. We confidently left to you the defense of Lord Geigi’s estate at Kajiminda, while, reciprocally, Guild from my district anddirectly from my grandson have defended this peninsula and Najida village as well as this estate. We have at no time operated in indifference to the Edi people. You continue within our counsel, and we look to you to go on defending Kajiminda and the deeper peninsula as part of this operation—which is far from over!”
A second resettling of the shawls. “Then tell us, Grandmother of the East, what the paidhi-aiji is doing. What is he trading to the Taisigi?”
“He is seeking abandonment of any Marid ambitions in the West.”
“That will never happen!” Another nervous rearrangement of the shawls. The Grandmother was not as furiously angry, but she was still agitated. “Machigi is our enemy, Grandmother of the Ragi. And he would destroy us without hesitation!”
“And we have made him an unexpected proposal. We are prepared to see him and his ships visit ourcoast, Grandmother of the Edi, far, far to the east, to give you peace. We have offered him trade—deep-sea trade—if he leaves you in peace.”