An awful feeling of dread came into the room. Trynne squirmed in her seat. She herself felt conflicted about Morwenna. Lord Amrein’s position was not an enviable one.
The chancellor paused and riffled through his papers. “It is my suggestion, based on the evidence, that Morwenna Argentine fell in league with Rucrius at the poisoner school in Pisan. My interviews with Lady Trynne and others suggest that this happened shortly after she began attending the school, when she was very young and malleable. By all accounts, she excelled at her studies—one of the brightest to have passed through that school in a generation. There is no doubt she was ambitious and determined. It is my belief that Rucrius began grooming her to be a double agent for the East Kingdoms. The Mandaryn were charged with finding a suitable bride for Gahalatine, and based on the evidence, it seems they settled on Morwenna. The king entrusted her to visit Chandigarl on multiple occasions. She could have easily used this as an opportunity to provide information to both sides. I do not believe it was her intent to destroy her brother.” He held up his finger as he made that point.
“No, based on Gahalatine’s reputation for supplanting rulers and reassigning them, she may have justified her treason in her own heart and mind with the knowledge that King Andrew would not be killed but sent elsewhere.” He tapped his finger on the solid table.
“But it is still the crime of treason.”
“Are you suggesting that we execute the king’s sister?” Iago said in apparent disbelief.
Lord Amrein pursed his lips. “I am not. There is another suitable punishment that does not require her death.”
“What then?” Iago asked. “Speak up, man!”
“Attainder,” Lady Evie said, sitting forward, her eyes twinkling.
“That’s what he is going to suggest.”
Trynne blinked in surprise, but the answer fit—it seemed an ideal solution.
“My lady, yes,” Lord Amrein said with a chuckle. “I think your knowledge of history exceeds even that of Master Urbino. Do not tell him that I said so, if you please. Yes, she is correct. A bill of attainder against Morwenna Argentine would strip her of all rights, lands, and privileges of her noble blood. It would not preclude her from inheriting, say, lands in Atabyrion, or anything else from her mother’s line. But it would strip her of all rights to the throne of Ceredigion. It would, in essence, remove the opportunity in the future of her ever becoming queen.”
Some murmuring began around the table as the peers of the realm began considering the solution.
Lady Evie spoke up. “Normally attainder follows a crime of treason or felony. For example, if a member of the nobility arranged a murder against another peer—not the king, but a peer—a bill of attainder could be passed to strip away the rights of the criminal’s spouse and heirs before he or she is sent into the river. What you are suggesting is the same legal precedence, only there would be no execution.”
“Precisely,” Lord Amrein said with a bow. “It protects the king’s interests while showing compassion for his sister.”
“Brilliant,” Duke Ramey muttered, nodding vigorously.
“But she’ll not continue serving as his poisoner,” Iago said, tapping his fingers on the wooden round, shaking his head vehemently.
Lord Amrein nodded in agreement. “Clearly not,” he answered.
“She would be confined to an estate, a castle, for example, that could not . . . be reached easily.” His underlying meaning was clear —she would not be allowed near the ley lines. Banished, in essence.
“She seems . . . contrite. She’s cooperated fully with my investigation. Then again, she may be trying to avoid execution.”
“Attainder,” Duke Ramey said, knocking his knuckles on the table.
There was unity in the decision. Trynne felt a twinge of relief, but it was accompanied by a feeling of foreboding. Where could they keep someone like Morwenna? Someone both powerful and dangerous? It seemed like no genteel prison could hold her.
A loud knock sounded at the door and the king’s herald entered.
“Lord Gahalatine of the East Kingdoms,” he announced before sweeping the door open to introduce Trynne’s husband.
Trynne’s heart thrilled when she saw him march into the audience hall, but the feeling was instantly extinguished when she saw the look on his face. There were soot stains on his cheek and his eyes were wells of grief and raw anger. Trynne pushed away from her chair and rose. Something awful had happened.