Maurice, uncomfortably conspicuous in his jet black uniform, followed the steward into the Great Hall which lay at the heart of Cassel Watch. Curious eyes followed his progress around the outer curve of the huge circular chamber. Maurice ignored the whispers as he noted the layout of the room.
There were four tiers circling the floor, at the centre of which was the red basilisk arms of Cassel. The royal blue banner of Margin hung over the Warden's bench which stood on the lowest tier at the top of the chamber. The rest of the lower tier housed the representatives of Margin's body politic. Katherine was already in her place at te left hand of the Warden's bench. To its right were the Knight-Holders. Konrad of the Weald and Caleb of Tormar were in conversation with the Warden's sisters. Ksaver was richly dressed, Maurice noted, in blue and red, the colours of Margin and Cassel. Sat next to him was Lazare and standing on the floor in front of him was the imposing figure of Olin Carlson. All three were in listening intently to Thaddeus Castallion.
The latter's presence in that company surprised Maurice. He had heard that Ksaver was under the influence of the conservative faction of the Guild and Castallion had not seemed to be a conservative on the long journey from Kahrain. There were few others present in the robes of the boundary guild, none from the Kahrain delegation.
Tomas, the Knight-Holder of Martyr's Tor, was also absent.
The Landholders sat next to the Knight-Holders. Maurice recognised Susan Topham, more modestly dressed than at the Void, and Daniel Canning together. They seemed poised in anticipation. Opposite the Landholders sat the Corporation representatives from the town's of the Margin. The Guild representatives sat at the bottom of the hall. Unlike in the capital, the boundarymen had no precedence in the Margin's Council, being treated here as just another guild.
The upper tiers of the hall were given over to the public. The Quarter-Councils in the Margin were still conducted in public.
Maurice was shown to a place on the second tier behind the Corporation representatives. Rather than sit, he kept moving, trailing the disconcerted steward, and took a place on the top tier from where he could see the whole hall. As he turned to survey the chamber, he saw the entrance to the hall filled with perhaps forty Boundarymen in full regalia. From the murmur that went around the hall, Maurice could tell that such an entrance was unusual. The Boundarymen moved to their places in a knot, eyes tight, faces grim.
As the Boundarymen moved to take their places, Maurice a second, smaller, group enter the Hall from one of the side doors. Tomas and four retainers moved towards their seats, the retainers on the second tier directly behind Tomas, unnoticed by many in the room. Ksaver, the Knight-Holder of March, was most definitely one of the few who did notice, the darkness behind his eyes visible even from Maurice's place on the far side of the hall.
And was that Erle sitting on the third tier on the far side of the Hall?
Erle's first impression of the Watch had been reinforced as he had seen its black strength up close. Although it had none of the beauty of the spectacular buildings that he had grown up amongst in the capital, or of the twin-spired Warden's Hold accross the courtyard, it squatted on the Rise as if it would stand here forever.
Inside, the building reminded him more of Southguard Hold where he had completed his military training rather than one of the great centres of the Protectorate. He studied his surroundings surreptitiously while politely acknowledging the attention he was receiving from the townsmen. None made direct mention of the Suf which had attacked Marc Haverford the previous night; apparently the young man's actions while he had been under the control of the creature would not be mentioned again, an acknowledgement that Marc had not acted of his own volition.
Rosanna stayed close to his side they had accompanied Hester Woodbridge on the walk from the town. She had been up and about since dawn helping her uncle to prepare the Inn to be left for the day in the care of Francis Hogwill. Francis professed publicly to be "too old t'be hauling meself up thon hill fer t'Warden nor no one else" and had volunteered to look after the Inn while Felix attended Coucil as a member of Cassel Corporation. Francis could easily have gone up to Cassel, Felix had explained when neither he nor Rosanna had been listening, but then the young woman would have had to stay at the Inn and this was the first year that she had been old enough to attend Council. Now she was here, Erle could see the excitement shining in her eyes. She was wearing what he imagined were her best clothes and although he was used to metropolitan sophistication, he thought she looked quite lovely.
They entered the Great Hall and he allowed his interest in his surroundings to show more openly. The Hall and its occupants were certainly striking enough to excuse his lack of attention to his companions as he took in the sight. From the high, vaulted ceiling to the tiered seating which surrounded the decorated floor, as beautiful as anything in the Protector's Watch itself, the Hall was breathtaking. For a moment he pictured Rex and Gododdin on that floor laying their plans for the Protectorate at the end of the war, generations ago. Hester's touch on his elbow brought him back to the present and her knowing smile told him that his reaction was what the people of the Margin had come to expect from outsiders when they came into the Great Hall for the first time.
Hester guided them to the nearest empty place, on the second tier near one of the three stairways in the Hall, this one about half way between the entrance and the Warden's bench at the far side. Erle had sat long into the night listening to Felix describe the political makeup of the Ward, and he could tell landholders from townsmen, he had no way of putting names to faces. His attention was attracted to the Boundarymen, whose delegation had passed them on the road from the town. He hadn't thought that odd at the time but the grim faces, and the undercurrent of conversation around him, told him otherwise. He noticed that Felix and the rest of Cassel Corporation appeared tense as well.
A tall man in the ceremonial uniform of the Margin marched to the centre of the floor and, standing on the great red Basilisk of Cassel he raised his voice and proclaimed the entrance of the Warden of Margin. Elias entered through the public entrance rather than the one behind his bench. The crowd rose to its feet as the Warden descended the stairway and crossed the circle of the floor, nodding to acknowledge his herald who still stood on the Basilisk. His aura was powerful despite his white hair, and he held his head high as he greeted his daughter before taking his place on the Bench.
Erle was expecting greater ceremony, Council meetings in the north were all ceremony and even here the ceremonial function was the most important with the real business done in closed sessions. But the herald, still in his place at the centre of the hall, called for petitions to be brought for judgement. This was half of the traditional function of Council. It was the right of any citizen to bring disputes to Council for public judgement. For practical reasons, most of such people were content with a private hearing before the Warden. But now, a member of the Boundary Guild rose from his place and stated loudly, "I proclaim my right to speak in Council!"
A frission of excitement went around the Hall. Hester explained quietly in response to Erle's confused look that only someone seeking public judgement would speak up at this stage of the Council. This was unusual, though not unheard of. "On the other hand," she went on, "we always hear if someone wants to use Council as a court. This looks like its surprised everyone."
It was indeed a surprise but no-one doubted the Boundaryman's right to speak. The Herald had glanced towards the Warden's Bench for permission but he obviously knew what the response was likely to be because he responded to a slight inclination of the Warden's head by granting the floor the Boundaryman with the words, "The floor is yours, citizen!"
The Boundaryman moved on to the floor, taking up a position at the foot of the great painted Basilisk and, looking Elias in the eye, he addressed the Hall.
"Council, know me. I am Huebert Howe, Senior Guide of the Guild of Boundary Guardians of March," he intoned. Although he didn't seem to raise his voice it carried clearly.
"I speak for the Guild in the Margin," his face was expressionless, but Erle could sense the satisfaction in his bearing. His words surprised Erle and, he guessed, everyone else. Certainly Hester had tensed at his side. Even Rosanna clearly knew that something was going on, though she still seemed more excited than nervous. Erle felt his stomach beginning to knot. From what he understood, March was a junior branch of the Guild and even its Senior Guide would not normally speak for the whole Guild in the Margin. Indeed the whole Guild would rarely speak with one voice. Too many unusual things were happening, not least his own presence here. Something was going to happen. The knot in his guts told him that it would be something bad.