people will notice quicker than if you were a nobody.â
âIâm busy studying,â Tommy said. He didnât want to say that his engineering classes were much harder than he had expected and twice as boring as he had feared. âSurely thatâs an acceptable thing to do as a Seminary student.â
âNot if youâre a social outcast,â Bern said. âFather is having to adjust, too. Heâs not exactly a social person either, but Hywel hosted regular parties, and now Father feels like itâs expected of him.â
âTalking to these people makes my brain go numb,â Tommy said.
âYouâre being judgmental,â Bern snapped. âYou have no idea if these people will be boring. You havenât met any of them.â
âWhat do you mean?â Tommy said. He was expecting to see the same group of men as alwaysâthe stalwart Carvers who had supported Colston for years.
âAfter the cottager violence in August, Hywelâs men became part of the Carver faction. Remember how Father warned everyone that a cottager rebellion was coming? The cottager violence gave him credibility. And once the Zunftmen were finally listening to him ⦠well, you know how good he is at striking fear into the hearts of men. Their allegiance is the point of tonight. By attending, people are publicly declaring their loyalty to Father.â
âNo one will actually say that, though, because that would be too obvious,â Tommy said, switching to an obnoxious voice: âI hereby join the Carvers because I am opportunistic and fickle.â
âWatch your mouth, Tommy,â Bern said. âDonât say stuff like that.â
âNow that they know Hywel was kidnapped, why are they still loyal to Father? Itâs not Hywelâs fault.â
âActually, it is his fault,â Bern scoffed. âHywel coddled the cottagers, and they turned on him anyway. Fatherâs in charge now so itâs smarter to stick with the Carvers. The chief administrator gets to assign positions in government, after all.â
Tommy sighed. So some of the new Carvers were terrified and some were greedyâeither way, his father had majority control of the Chamber. They turned on Piper Lane and could see their fatherâs home at the end of the street. Like most of the town houses in the North District, it was a three-story rectangular building with a flattop roof and a high wooden fence around the property. The town house had recently been painted light blue with white trim around the tall windows. The door was still a glossy black but the golden Shore crest had been replaced by a silver Zunft symbol, which hung above the knocker. Tommy found himself wishing for an explosion or an earthquake, anything to get out of the festivities.
A servant met them at the door and escorted them to the library. The last time that Tommy had been here, an oversize mahogany desk dominated the room. Now that was gone, and a smaller cherrywood desk was tucked in the corner. One wall had been ripped out and replaced with glass doors that opened onto the garden terrace. Leather-bound tomes filled the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. They had been acquired by Tommyâs maternal grandFather, who was an avid naturalist and mapmaker. Colston kept the books because they were rare and expensive, but Tommy doubted heâd ever read them.
A uniformed officer and a Zunftman in a tailcoat were seated on two new couches that had been placed in a cozy arrangement in front of the marble fireplace. The two men rose when the boys entered the room, but Colston remained seated. The Zunftman in the tailcoat offered his hand and greeted each of the boys. The officer nodded at them but kept his distance.
âRight on time,â Colston said approvingly. âLet me introduce you to my guests. This is Officer Sanneral, a Zunft army investigator, and Mr. Anderson, a member of the Zunft Chamber. These are my
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