Marcello smiled at that. "Well," he said. "We're hoping to break people of some of those habits. And it's lucky we have Pepita, too. She'll help with that."

"People are afraid of change," she said. "And as you can imagine, here, it's a whole different level of fear. It's not like some grandmother who gets cranky because shopkeepers won't stop and chat like they did in the old days and all these young women are running around lacing themselves so tight it looks like their boobs are going to pop out. These are people who live for centuries. And they're not worried about an uprising from the younger generation, like any sensible society would be, because there isn't enough of the younger generation to be that big of a threat."

"So what is it then?" Marcello asked. "What's the fear? Apart from dying out?"

"That someone is going to come along and tear apart the system," she said. "That's why they work so hard to keep people out. That's why anyone who challenges things is vilified. It's not enough to just keep them from doing what they're doing; they have to be rubbed out of existence."

"So then we most certainly want to side with Cabhon, don't we?" Marcello asked. "it will at least show that we respect the old ways, while Duncan is the insurgent."

"Marcello." She looked, for a moment, annoyed with him. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and went on, more calmly. "The thing is, you seem to think somewhere deep down these rational people who will reciprocate any kindness shown and I can't guarantee that's the case."

"Well, we have tO choose one or the other, don't we?" Marcello asked. "And she seems safer, doesn't she?"

"Marcello, you are the earl now," she said, patiently. "Don't make decisions based on what's safest. If you want to get technical the 'safest' thing to do right now is to give this douchecanoe what he wants. You guys are going to have to start slinging your weight around."

Marcello sighed. "I feel like there's something you want me to do but you're not saying what it is. Unlike present company, I'm not omniscient."

"Niabheara has been getting along doing whatever keeps her safe," she said pointedly. "She's not a natural peacemaker; she's afraid to start trouble because up until now, people have beaten the shit out of her whenever she even looked like she was stepping out of line. Look at Auberon." She gave Marcello a hard look. "She made one move against him, and it wasn't even a very big one, for fuck's sake; it was asking him 'what did you do to my father?' And he reacted by hurting her badly enough that she would never, ever try something like that again. You had barely even dipped a toe in this mess back then, and Auberon thought you were enough of a threat that he tried to break you, too. Who were you then? Joe Nobody. Now you're in power. Real power, not just moral support to the countess. What do you think they'll try to do to you first?"