Margaret sat at the card tables with her friends. None of them felt like walking about the room; it was too warm for that, and there was no air blowing through the open windows. She waved her fan quickly at her face, trying to cool herself down. If it weren’t inappropriate, she’d have her skirts over her knees to let out the hot air gathering around her legs.
“Have you heard anything from your father about the war?” Clairissa asked Margaret.
She shook her head. “He doesn’t tell us anything about the war. I don’t think he wants us to worry, or he’s not getting reports from his lord general.”
Ingrid sighed. “Well, that’s boring.”
“I’m sorry.” Margaret shrugged. “I can’t give you what I don’t have.”
“Don’t be snippy, Margaret,” Annalise snapped.
Elise waved a hand at Annalise. “Don’t get mad at Margaret. It’s the heat. It’s making all of us cranky.”
Margaret jumped when the doors behind them banged open. One of the older women rushed in and whispered to her friend. Margaret’s brows furrowed when she heard the other woman exclaim and then be shushed. “Do you know them?”
“No.” Annalise strained her neck to see them. “But knowing these court ladies, whatever that news is, it won’t take long to spread.”
“Someone should go over and find out what it is.” Clairissa set down her cards and stood. “I’ll go.” She wasted no time in heading toward the other table.
“What do you think it is?” Margaret asked the remaining group.
“I hope it’s about the war,” Ingrid gushed, moving side to side to keep an eye on Clairissa.
“Oh, me too!” Elise agreed. “We’ve been dreadfully deprived of news, and it’s been going for months already. Shouldn’t it be over by now?”
“It’s been two months, and I think war takes longer than that,” Margaret commented. “Especially with how far we had to go. It takes almost a month by carriage to reach the Frasisca River from here, and they had to walk there.”
They weren’t listening to her. Margaret rolled her eyes. They didn’t want to listen to anything that didn’t suit their need for gossip.
“What’s taking so long?” Annalise complained.
“Here she comes.” Ingrid said. “She looks excited!”
Clairissa sat with little decorum, her face flushed with excitement. “It’s so much better than I could have hoped for.”
“Oh, tell us!” Elise grabbed Clairissa’s arm, nearly bouncing in her seat.
The other girls joined in, begging for the information.
Clairissa basked in their excitement as long as she could before they brought attention to themselves. “A plot was uncovered.”
“You have to tell us more than that!” Margaret groaned. “Don’t be a tease, Clairissa.”
“One of the soldiers was planning with a lord general from Salatia to overthrow His Majesty!” Clairissa let out a squeal of excitement. “I can’t believe it, a plot to usurp the king!”
Margaret gasped, covering her mouth. She briefly uncovered it to say, “No!”
“What’s going to happen to him?” Annalise asked.
Clairissa’s eyes brightened. “Other soldiers are bringing him here for a trial. The Lord General Crompton’s aide de camp brought the news in haste and said the lord general requested they wait until the war was over before he’s tried, in the interest of fairness.”
“But why?” Ingrid’s face scrunched in her confusion. “Shouldn’t they have executed him on the spot?”
Clairissa shrugged. “Apparently, the lord general just thinks he was misguided and wanted to make sure he was given a proper trial that anyone else would get if it weren’t during wartime.”
“That’s unexpected.” Margaret shook her head. “Lord General Crompton doesn’t seem the type for clemency.”
Annalise picked up her cards from the table, tapping them on their edges. “Better for us—that means we get to go to the trial and see this traitor for ourselves.”
“Oh, we do!” Elise agreed. “How wonderful!”
“I wonder if we’ll be able to see him come into the city?” Ingrid asked.
“Of course.” Clairissa nodded. “I doubt anyone could keep it a secret when that happens, and we’ll have a few days’ notice. The streets will be lined, no doubt.”
“People will camp out overnight just to see him,” Elise agreed.
“I wonder how long it’ll take him to get here?” Margaret asked.
Clairissa frowned. “She didn’t know, or she didn’t tell me so she could have some advantage over others.”
“We absolutely have to be there,” Elise said.
“We’ll keep our ears open for any news,” Annalise declared, nodding firmly.
“Shall we continue with our game?” Ingrid asked once their excitement died down.
“Yes, yes.” Clairissa waved her hands in an upward motion. “Pick up your cards, ladies!”