The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1)(28)

“Count Claremont,” Ghreni Nohamapetan said, bowing.

“Lord Ghreni,” Jamies said. “A pleasure.” He gestured toward Marce and Vrenna, who stood. “You remember my children, no doubt.”

“Of course. Lord Marce, Lady Vrenna.” Ghreni gave a head nod to each, which they returned before sitting again. Formalities thus satisfied, he turned his attention back to their father. “My lord, my duke has sent me on a mission of some delicacy, and I wonder if it might be better if we spoke alone.”

“My children are my foremost advisors and I don’t keep secrets from them. You may speak to me in front of them with the same assurance of confidentiality as you would if we spoke alone.”

Ghreni paused for a moment and Marce was certain he was going to insist on speaking alone with their father. He glanced over at Vrenna, who had a wry smile on her face. Then he nodded. “Yes, very well.”

“What is your business, Lord Ghreni?”

“As you are no doubt aware, the duke is facing a serious challenge with the rebels.”

Vrenna snorted at this. “You mean to say he’s on the verge of losing his dukedom, my lord,” she said.

“The duke is somewhat more optimistic than your daughter,” Ghreni said, to Jamies. “Nevertheless, the challenge is real and the duke is now looking for ways to increase his tactical advantages.”

“Such as?”

“Weapons, my lord.”

“I have an antique bolt thrower left here by the previous count,” Jamies said. “And I believe Vrenna carries a sidearm at all times. Other than that I don’t believe we have any weapons.”

“The duke is aware that you don’t have weapons, my lord. But you do have money.”

“Not really. The title ‘Count of Claremont’ comes with remarkably little rentable land and no local or larger monopolies. It’s largely a courtesy title. I have my salary as chief auditor and an upkeep allowance for the palace. I recently sold some properties, but it’s still not a lot.”

Ghreni laughed. “Not your money, my lord. The emperox’s. We want to use it to buy the weapons the duke needs.”

Jamies’s expression darkened at this. “Explain yourself, sir.”

“The duke is aware that in your role as chief auditor, all imperial taxes and levies run through your office before they are sent forward to the treasury at Xi’an.”

“My office doesn’t send them forward. That’s the role of the chief of the imperial bank here on End.”

“Of course. And we have spoken to Chief Han, and she is willing to assist the duke in this endeavor. Chief Han also informed us that any transfer of imperial taxes or levies outside of their usual route to Xi’an must also be approved by your office.”

“That’s correct but simplistically presented. I may approve direct application of taxes and levies to imperially approved projects, like construction or infrastructure. Things that those taxes would go to anyway. That saves time, rather than sending the money away and then bringing it back.”

“Yes. And if you consult your records, you’ll see that two years ago, when this current uprising began, the duke asked for, and the imperial parliament approved, funding for the purchase of weapons to help suppress the uprising.”

“I don’t need to consult the records, Lord Ghreni, to be aware that the funds for those purchases were already allocated and the weapons purchased and shipped.”

“Then you’re also no doubt aware that the ship carrying those weapons, the Tell Me Another One, was attacked by pirates and boarded when it came out of the Flow. Its captain and crew fought valiantly to repel the attack but in the end many of the crew died, including the executive officer, security officer, and the owner’s representative, and the ship’s cargo was taken. The Tell Me barely limped into port intact.”

“I’m aware of the Tell Me,” Jamies said.

“The point is that the weapons are now in the hands of pirates. Pirates who intended to sell them to the rebels but who can be persuaded to sell them to the duke.”

“That’s what the duke’s own treasury is for,” Marce pointed out.

“Alas, Lord Marce, two years of fighting have depleted the duke’s treasury and also made it more difficult to collect taxes and other revenues. He needs help.”

“He got the help,” Vrenna pointed out. “The parliament authorized the weapons. But it’s also the duke’s responsibility to patrol the space between the Flow shoal and the planet. If pirates are operating there, it’s because the duke hasn’t been doing his job.”

Ghreni turned his attention back to the count. “The duke is aware that asking for this disbursement is unusual. His argument, and I think it’s a good one, is that parliament intended those weapons for the duke, and therefore in allowing these additional funds to go to the duke to repurchase the weapons, you are following their intent.”

“I don’t think that argument is as good as the duke thinks it is,” Jamies said. “As I’m also aware that the imperial garrison here has been told not to intervene in the matter.”

This got a nod from Ghreni. “The duke knows full well that the only noble currently under the protection of the imperial military is you, Count Claremont. He finds that interesting.”