Her father had been beloved until his death, the entire city grinding to a halt for days after the announcement. So beloved that, even now, there was the constant headache of people addressing post to George Street when they meant George Lane or George Avenue or George Road or, rarely, George’s Square, to say nothing of the three public houses which featured her father’s name in some fashion.
It was the kind of charisma impossible to put to words, at least in her estimation. His name would be under the definition of affable. Rare was the person he could not hold a conversation with, able to pick out such topics that neither offended nor grated, a man with always precisely the correct joke for the occasion. While he had never lowered himself to the crassness of the peasant men, he could drink a cheap ale at their side, offering polite chuckles, and sharing such anecdotes that any would think them old friends.
Such would have been enough to keep him in good graces. However, after addressing the alleged corruption, his appointed mayor ushered in merciful and practical policies. Ill-gained properties were taken and duly given to charitable endeavours, that the poorest could eat one warm meal a day, the orphaned children had a place to stay, and that widowed mothers could earn a respectable wage while their children were looked after. Taxes were reorganised to be easier to collect and leaned more on businesses, yet altogether lesser in amount.
In his later years as ruler, he even married to one of the local families: a Ms Nicole Nelli. The Nelli family were by no means mere commoners, distant descendants of Italian nobility that could still support a similar lifestyle. However, these days, they were merchants who made significant donations to churches, that much charity could be traced to their coin. Nicole in particular was a socialite known to advocate for good causes, particularly persuasive and effective in doing so.
It seemed to all a natural match. Although he could have married someone of greater connections or prestige, his aspirations had always centred on his land, and Nicole was this land’s rose in both beauty and nature.
Such a thing endeared him to the people. It was hard for Julia to understand, but, in a way, she thought they saw it as entertainment. That the people enjoyed the romanticism of it all and the ironically-held belief that they could also partake of such a tale one day.
Regardless of her musings, it was indisputable that her parents were beloved, individually and as a couple. Even now, the anniversary of their wedding was a day where nearby churches were packed with those to be wed.
As their daughter, she naturally inherited some of their adoration. However, with how matters had proceeded after her birth and then after her father’s death, she had become more of an echo. A name known, but no face to put to it nor any particular feelings.
Her father had written much about how to be loved. She had no disagreements with his writings. Her mother, on the other hand, had written much about how to be feared, which she found far more agreeable.
Alas, she unfortunately failed at the unwritten first step, which was to be a man. There was only so much she could accomplish in this regard without resorting to torture. Men of power in particular had a particular disregard for women, that they were thus incapable of fearing her. A quirk of human nature. It pained her, really. Even in Grosburg’s death, she felt sure he feared his butler more than her.
So that this day she sat to the side in the room. At the head of the meeting table sat a man of middle-age, his loose, fabric cap in his hands as he carefully adjusted the hem, shifting it between his fingers. His hair fell longer than most men, if only for how straight it was, slightly pooling on his shoulders, and his sense of dress was simple, a lingering feature of his previous life in the church.
That was not to say he had been a man of God. In truth, she knew little of his past, that he had no surname beyond the town of Antemnae where he had been born, his unwed mother passing shortly after, naming no father—afraid to name a father. While he had been given the name Christopher by the church, he had abandoned it the day he left, working as an apprentice for various merchants having learnt to read as well as teaching himself numbers. He was a quick learner and it was the Nelli family that eventually recognised his talents on a trip south.
While she had not much interaction with her mother’s family, that did not mean she lacked respect for them. What was more was that this situation benefited them all: she had a suitable replacement, they had someone amenable to their business, and the people had a competent mayor.
As for the man from Antemnae, she saw in him great ambition. It was not the kind she desired in a suitor, nor was he of a suitable age, but it was an ambition nonetheless. From her meetings with him so far, she had grasped his desire to understand the world. To understand something, it was easier if it could be controlled, its reactions studied.
While she could not say that he did not act in such a way to appeal to her, thus was life. There was nothing without risk, even sitting idle giving others opportunities to plan and grow, and no benefactor was so kind as to expect nothing in return for protection.
However, she hoped her impression of him was correct. He seemed to have three interests: man, money, and metal. That, in their meetings, he had been more curious in how she thought than what she had to say. That he had a natural grasp of a coin’s intrinsic and extrinsic values and how they differed. That he would like to work with the smiths in particular, eager to measure the various properties of iron, in his mind some things of interest which could thus be built.
Only glimpses, but she often had to make do with little.
Today was to be his first true test and so her own. Although she had advised him, she did not know if he would take it to heart. Regardless, how the meeting went would be a reflection of her, this the mayor she so chose. Of course, her role was only known to those of some standing. Those, though, were the very people she needed to convince. It was not enough to be her father’s daughter, she had to prove herself worthy to be his heir.
The door opened and a handful of men entered; one of them, upon seeing her, elbowed the man loosely at his side, leaning in to share a whisper and breaking out into chuckles. Others took note of her, but no more than a glance.
Once they were all seated, the man who called himself Galileo d’Antemnae put his cap back on his head, carefully adjusting it into position.
“Good sirs, I shall not waste our time. When I found myself recommended for this office, I thought of many things I would like to do, and I must say that something I thought important was the dissolution of the guilds.”
At once, they all rose to their feet, each shouting louder than the other, yet he did not so much as flinch. Rather, he breathed in deep and then screamed, “Silence!”
It was loud, harsh, and effective, their noise ceasing even if the redness to their faces lingered.
“Please, sit,” Galileo said, tone as it was before while he gestured.
There was a long moment of glares, then they did.
“As I was saying, I saw that as an important matter. In my time working for the Nelli family, I have seen that there is no shortage of people making goods and, with enough capital, these goods can be moved in the most profitable way. If they so wished, they could put each and every one of your guilds out of business within the year.”
He paused there, taking the time to look each and every one of them in the eye.
“However, the Nelli family did not, so I thought to understand what it is they saw in the guilds. What I found is something beautiful. While each of you and your masters could live lavish lives with your skills, you instead insure that your successors have suitable training to continue to offer such fine goods, that the widows and orphans of your members still enjoy the life they deserve, that, even if one of your brothers falls on hard times, it is not the end of his time.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
She followed the mood of the room, pleased to see the initial outrage settle—but not dissipate entirely. These may have been men of common birth, but politics was a disease that forever and always sprang up when people met.
“Say you won’t waste our time, then wax poetic. Which is it?”
“Master Keefer, I asked for silence,” Galileo said, his voice quieter by a touch.
Keefer scoffed. “D’you think you’re in a position to demand it, talking to us like a bunch of children?”
“The question isn’t whether or not you think I am capable, it is if you think that I think I am capable. If this city must burn for a week, even a month, then so be it. I am a patient man and I have the backing of the Nelli family.”
Such words were said with little flair, yet his voice surely reached every corner of the room—and no further.
While Keefer looked ready for more, he was silenced by the man two seats down who then spoke up. “Mr Mayor, you would not be making threats against us, would you?”
“I would and I would write them down and staple them to every noticeboard for the people to read. If the leaders of the guilds cannot so much as listen to polite instruction, what use are they to me?”
“Mr Mayor—”
“I asked for silence,” Galileo said, his voice again quieter, yet heard.
She felt this atmosphere was not quite fear, or rather it was the kind of fear one had for a rabid dog more than a powerful man. However, it was fear, enough to still their tongues. Of course, it would only last while they remained in the room.
So he had time.
“As I was saying, the guilds are a beautiful thing which I wish to support. I am a great admirer of beauty. As for why I have invited my guests here today, it is not to wax poetic, but to begin to ratify such beauty.”
He paused there, gesturing behind him to wear she sat.
“We are joined today by our most esteemed guest, Countess Augstadt,” he said.
So began a shift she saw in their faces, that she would sit here politely as he screamed at them.
“She has recently come into the titles left by the late Lord Grosburg. What exactly, I am of course not privileged to know, but suffice to say that there are now more people under her excellent rulership. Not only that, but there are people outside of the city who would benefit from some of the guilds’ beauty.
“This kind of expansion cannot be done carelessly. I know it, and I know that you all know it too. However, to entrust this matter entirely to the guilds—I cannot allow that.”
“Why not, Mr Mayor?”
His gaze snapped to the man, staring at him with a blank expression. “Do not think that because the people must address you as ‘Your Honour’ that you may speak whenever you so wish. Rather, you should be well aware that there is a suitable time for all to speak. Is that understood, Mr Schulz?”
After a moment of disbelief, he stood up, firmly saying, “I would not be talked to like this.”
“Then leave.”
For a good few seconds, they locked gazes, one with a look of indifference and the other righteous indignation. However, Schulz finally broke to look at her.
And she gestured at the door.
His hands clenched and, without thinking, said, “Your father would be disappointed in the woman you’ve become.”
“Then he should not have died so early,” she said flatly.
It was such a simple and blunt answer that it actually calmed him down, for a moment too stunned to be angry, only for his anger to return and he stormed out, slamming the door behind them.
There was an unease in the room after that, the others looking at each other.
“If anyone else wishes to join him, please do,” Galileo said, gesturing at the door. “I would gladly build the new guilds from the ground up myself. With the Nelli family, I am sure there will be no shortage of suitable applicants and, being under My Lady’s rulership”—he gestured back at her—“there would be no issue of monopolies or tariffs.”
Of all of them, it was again Keefer who spoke up. “Is that a threat?”
“Master Keefer, you should know by now that it is indeed a threat and one I am fully capable of seeing through. Or rather, even if you all rushed me right this moment and strangled the very life out of me, I am merely enacting My Lady’s will,” he said, ending with a broad smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
A flicker of unease ran through them—and surprise through her, not expecting to be brought into this matter quite so centrally. Yet she did not hate it, that those men who had looked so proud walking in now looked at her with a hint of dread.
Picking up her role in this, she looked at them with only a gentle smile, no words.
“As I see it, I am offering the guilds a fair voice in the expansion of their guilds. If the result is something you are not happy with, then we may negotiate the price of suitable monopolies. If there is still no consensus between us, I will examine the issue afresh with what I have learned from the process.”
He tapped on the table.
“I am willing to let this city burn that, from its ashes, something more beautiful arises. However, my guests here are master craftsmen, so I would rather carve beauty into what we already have,” he said, gesturing at them all. “Are there any questions?”
It spoke to his charisma that, after what he had put them through, they appeared tamed, one man raising his hand and waiting.
“Master Hafner,” Galileo said, nodding at the man.
“It’s just unclear to me how this is any of the city’s business.”
Galileo stared, bringing up his hand to his chin. “So?”
Hafner fidgeted, lowering his head before giving a weak shrug. “Why is the city wanting to involve itself with the guilds?”
“I fail to see how that is at all relevant to this conversation or why you would need to know,” Galileo said.
Keefer crossed his arms. “Want us to work with you, then give us some respect.”
“This is my respect? If I had none for you all, well, you wouldn’t be in front of me to begin with, but let us say you were. How I would treat you at such a time, it would be dishonest. I would politely listen to everything you had to say and say whatever you wished to hear, then send you off with a smile, all to be done with you as swiftly as possible.
“Honesty is my respect. Everything I have said is what I feel necessary to establish I am here in good faith. If that has not been properly conveyed, I apologise. To show my sincerity, as part of the negotiation, the city is willing to extend the guilds a line of credit for the purposes of building the new guild halls. No interest, our recognition that the guilds are doing so as a service to the city. My Lady even has some properties that may be suitable with some renovations.”
Money had a way of shifting the hearts of rich and poor alike, but especially those who counted it.
“This matter, though, it is not entirely clean. We have had reports of being denied entry to certain guilds, that it is often sons and nephews who take what apprenticeships are available. Of course, it is natural that, if there is a job, you recommend someone you know who is capable—I wouldn’t deny you that.
“Rather, I know there is worry about supplying too much and driving down the price. As someone who spent many years in the Nelli family, I want to assure you that, if more apprentices are trained, the Nelli family can sell more goods. In fact, you might be surprised. If more goods are sold abroad, they can bring back more materials, bringing the cost to produce down. They would even build warehouses to facilitate this, ensuring there will be no shortages.”
He stopped there as if realising something, settling into position with one hand atop the other as they rested on the table, his smile apologetic.
“Look at me: I invite you all to talk and I am the one who is talking and talking and talking,” he said, pausing to chuckle. “You have all been so patient, please, let us talk together.”
It was not a simple matter to discuss; however, while voices may have grown heated at times, she followed Galileo’s metaphorical movements. How he proposed certain things, how he picked which voices to focus the discussion on, how he sometimes provoked disagreements on a matter of wording or acted as mediator, finding a suitable middle-ground, appearing as if a neutral party while in fact the party opposite them.
Of course, such a discussion was not a legally binding affair. Especially as, at her request more than suggestion, he had targeted the leader of the guild which managed the judges and their clerks.
What it did do was set the foundation. Hase had been competent in the matter of running the city smoothly, but his methods were subtle, breaking obstacles by undermining their support and trading favours. He was powerful because he was seen as weak.
Right now, Galileo was weak, so he needed to be seen as powerful. Feared. That was, ultimately, her advice. He needed to act unpredictable and outrageous, then make rational and serious proposals. He needed to appear impossible and disrespectful, then become the perfect host. He needed to threaten to take, then freely give.
As if the abusive father from whom they would come to crave approval.
While she was by no means an expert and nor was he, she felt like he had taken to heart the poison her mother had written of. How long, she wondered, would it take to spread?
Once the last of the men filed out, closing the door on their way, only her and Galileo were left. He let out a sigh, taking off his cap and fiddling with the hem. “My Lady, not that I doubt you, rather I anticipate how you would wrest control of your fief once the Nelli family sink their claws so deeply into it.”
“I rather anticipate how I shall do so as well,” she replied.
His hands stilled, then a laugh bubbled out of him, gentle, yet deep, as it filled the room. “My Lady is most curious.”
“As I see it, I shall only become wiser, that such troublesome issues are left to the better woman I shall be. Until such a time… it is indisputable that I have much to learn from the Nelli family.”