Chapter 32

Benedict was silent a moment and then he sighed. “This city makes me sad. The people make me sad. Disappointed. I would think they would be grateful for the changes which are being made but the more I hear change is wanted, the more I see a city of people content to sit around and complain about their fortunes or lack thereof while they blame everyone else.”

“Yes they do, your Majesty. It is a cancer.”

“Are you unhappy with my decision lady?”

Hester coughed briefly, smiling as she did so. “Your decision was not mine to make. Why should I have an opinion?”

“We know about Gelyn’s involvement with Atomas lady. ‘Tis no secret.”

“That’s right. It is no secret. But it was not her fault that Atomas all but kept me as a buffer between the people of the kingdom and himself. He strayed long before Gelyn. To her credit, she was able to make an honest man out of him. His philandering became exclusively reserved for her after he met her. I no longer had to be embarrassed by a string of girls,