Chapter 7 (Part A) - Commentary
NOTE: I assume anyone who wants to read this has already read the whole story so far of "Captive Prince", so some comments may not make sense if you haven't. I'd recommend reading the whole thing in any case, it's a terrific story, otherwise I'm going to spoil you for later chapters.
I'll post the second part of the chapter in a day or so, it's done. I just want to proof it a little more before posting it. When I said I wanted to do this bit, I forgot the chapter was in two parts, so I just went ahead and did the whole thing, but there were things in both parts I wanted to comment on, so that worked out anyway.
Chapter Seven
(Part A)
Seeing no reason whatsoever to cooperate with that order, Damen stood up.
This is completely NOT what I had expected to happen going from the ending of the previous chapter. I had thought that Damen would be beaten and would suffer nobly or something like that. You know, something typical for a hurt/comfort fic, so I was surprised when it didn't proceed the way I'd expected.
Not that I was disappointed by being surprised. Not at all. I actually thought this was the perfect way to handle it. I think Freece has an incredible sense of what her characters would do in a given situation, which isn't always the case in original fiction. The unpredictable nature of her characters, acting almost out of their own free will and always in character, I think is what sets this story apart from others.
It had an interesting effect on the guard who brought up short and swung his gaze back to Laurent, seeking further guidance. Radel was also in the room, and at the door stood the two guards who were on watch.
Laurent narrowed his eyes at the problem, but offered no immediate solution.
Damen said, "You could bring in four more men."
Behind him were strewn the cushions and rumpled silk sheets, and trailing across the floor was the single chain linked to his wrist cuff that was no impediment to movement at all.
I LOVE Damen, acting boldly, so confident in the depth of his own skill. I'm sure that nothing less than a handful of men could take Damen by force, even unarmed and chained by the wrist.
"You are really courting danger tonight," Laurent said.
"Am I? I thought I was appealing to your better nature. Order whatever punishment you like, from the coward's distance of a chain-length. You and Govart are two of a kind."
It was not Laurent but the guard who reacted, steel flashing out of the sheath. "Watch your mouth."
I love that it was the guard who protested, and not Laurent, similar to the way that Nicaise had protested being called a child in that earlier chapter: an objection coming from an unexpected source. Laurent was silent probably because he was still trying to pick apart exactly what it was Damen wanted to achieve at this point. The slave is forever perplexing the Prince...
And I LOVE that Govart is universally reviled by nearly everyone, it would appear. He's just as distasteful to the guards as he is to Damen. I guess that explains why the guards seemed to actually come to respect Damen a bit after he had beaten Govart into unconsciousness in the ring match.
He was wearing livery, not armour. The threat was negligible. Damen looked at his drawn sword with scorn. "You're no better. You saw what Govart was doing. You did nothing to stop him."
Laurent raised a hand, halting the guard before he could take another angry step forward.
"What was it he was doing?" said Laurent.
The guard stepped back, then shrugged. "Raping one of the slaves."
There was a pause, but if Laurent had any reaction to these words, it didn't show on his face.
Oh, Laurent clearly did react. That pause spoke volumes. I don't think Damen would have gotten anything from Laurent if someone powerless hadn't been raped or abused. Given what we can infer from Laurent's relationship with the Regent, I think it also makes a lot of sense he'd want to help another innocent keep his life from being ruined, even if he ultimately decided to help the slaves out of some other reason of his own.
Laurent transferred his gaze back to Damen and said, pleasantly, "Does that bother you? I recall you being free with your own hands, not so very long ago."
He's very quick to lash back at Damen when things aren't going his way, to see if he can get rise out of him, doesn't he? I think the give-and-take with them is part of the reason I love this story so much. I love it when they have scenes together. Laurent just loves to push Damen's buttons and Damen, poor guy, makes it so easy to do.
"That was--" Damen flushed. He wanted to deny that he'd done anything of the kind, but he remembered rather unequivocally that he had. "I promise you, Govart did a great deal more than simply enjoy the view."
"To a slave," Laurent said. "The Prince's Guard doesn't interfere with the Regency. Govart can stick his cock into anything of my uncle's he likes."
Damen made a sound of disgust. "With your blessing?"
I admire Damen's getting on his high horse here. Only in Rabat would a prince seemingly endorse rape.
"Why not?" said Laurent. His voice was honeyed. "He certainly had my blessing to fuck you, but it turned out he'd rather take a blow to the head. Disappointing, but I can't fault his taste. Then again, maybe if you'd spread in the ring, Govart wouldn't have been so hot to get inside your friend."
Damen said, "This isn't a scheme of your uncle's. I don't take orders from men like Govart. You're wrong."
"Wrong," said Laurent. "How lucky I am to have servants to point out my shortcomings. What makes you think I will tolerate any of this, even if I believed what you are saying to be true?"
Damen said, "Because you can end this conversation any time you like."
It was a risk. It was partly born of frustration. With so much at stake, he was tired of certain kinds of exchanges; the kind Laurent favoured, and enjoyed, and was good at. Wordplay for its own sake; words that built traps. None of it meant anything.
"You're right. I can. Leave us," Laurent said. He was gazing at Damen while he said it, but it was Radel and the guards who bowed and went out.
"Very well. Let us play this out. You're concerned for the wellbeing of the other slaves? Why hand me that kind of advantage?"
"Advantage?" said Damen.
"When someone doesn't like you very much, it isn't a good idea to let them know that you care about something," said Laurent.
Damen felt himself turn ashen, as the threat sank in.
"Would it hurt worse than a lashing for me to cut down someone you care for?" said Laurent.
Damen was silent. Why do you hate us so much? he almost said, except that he knew the answer to that question.
"I don't think I need to bring in four more men," said Laurent. "I think all I have to do is tell you to kneel, and you'll do it. Without me lifting a finger to help anyone."
"You're right," said Damen.
"I can end this any time I like?" said Laurent. "I haven't even begun."
This scene proves that poor Damen is just out of his league, doesn't it? The game that Laurent is playing is so much harder than any Damen had ever had play before.
It'd be like two soccer (or football for the non-Yanks) players going after the ball who are two different sizes, but the smaller man is more nimble: Damen might be big and powerful, but he's just completely outclassed by a physically smaller and (possibly) physically weaker player who can still beat him because he has better footwork.
In this story, Damen has no chance of scoring *winks* as long as Laurent runs virtual circles around him. I can't wait to see if things will ever be equalized, or whether they will be. Ever.
*
"The Prince's orders," Damen was told the next day, stripped and redressed, and when he asked what these preparations were for, he was told that tonight he would serve the Prince at the high table.
I'm not sure exactly I'd expected here, but Laurent using Damen to serve him at some fancy dinner party wasn't one of them. I was truly intrigued by this turn of events.
Radel, clearly disapproving of the fact that Damen was being taken into refined company, delivered a peripatetic lecture, striding up and down in Damen's room. Few pets were invited to serve their masters at the high table. To offer him this opportunity, the Prince must see something in Damen that surpassed Radel's understanding. It was pointless to instruct someone like Damen in the rudiments of polite etiquette, but he should try to keep silent, obey the Prince and refrain from attacking or molesting anyone.
I love how rude and full of contempt Radel's little speech is. The guy may appreciate Damen on some level, but ever loyal to the Prince he's certainly no fan of the barbarian slave.
In Damen's experience, being taken out of his rooms at Laurent's request did not end well. His three excursions had comprised the ring, the gardens, and the baths, with a subsequent trip to the flogging post.
His back was by now mostly healed, but that was of no consequence; the next time Laurent struck out, it would not be directly at him.
I love how cavalier he is about his own pain or even his own fate, as long as others might be collateral damage. He's very noble, even for such a barbarian. I like that about him. If the court paid attention, he'd show the decadent Rabatians how a real noble should rule. Lead not through a bunch of talk, but by example. He's very heroic and brave, even if he can be bull-headed and so dense about some things.
As a slave, Damen had very little power, but there was a crack that ran right down the middle of this court that might not require much pressure. If Laurent would not be persuaded, Damen must turn his attention to the Regent's faction.
Out of habit, he observed the security outside of his room. They were on the second floor of the palace, and the passage they walked along had a number of windows fretted by grilles, looking out on an uninviting sheer drop. They also passed a number of armed men. Here were the guards that had been absent from the harem, all wearing the livery of the Prince's Guard. A surprising number of men: they could not all be here for his benefit. Did Laurent keep this kind of security about him all the time?
The preceding two paragraphs are interesting on a couple of different levels: One, that Damen sees far more of the real lay of the land than he'd really let us see; Two, that Damen is always looking around, trying to scope out the tactical possibilities (which we know helps him escape later); and Three, that this is a surprising amount of security for a prince who had been in a very similar situation to his own before he had been captured and sent to Rabat.
In rereading this bit while knowing what happens later, the security around him speaks volumes about Laurent's attitude toward his uncle. He isn't going to let his uncle control his security. As we later learn, Laurent's paranoia is completely justified.
I love how clues like this about coming revelations are littered throughout the story. It shows some foresight and planning on freece's part, and it makes this story far more complicated and convoluted (in a good way) than most long WIP fics are and also makes it highly re-readable. I often miss more subtle stuff on the first go round, only to see later revelations to be hinted at upon going through the story again...
They passed through a pair of ornate bronze doors and Damen realised that he had been brought into Laurent's own chambers.
Damen's eyes raked the interior derisively. These rooms were everything he would have expected of a princeling pampered lavishly, extravagantly, beyond reason. Decoration overran everything. The vantage was enchanting; this second-floor chamber had a loggia of semi-circular arches that hung above gardens. Through an archway the bedchamber could be seen. The bed was swathed in sumptuous curtains, a panoply of luxurious embellishment and finely carved wood. All that was missing was a rumpled, perfumed trail of clothing strewn across the floor, and a pet lounging on one of the silk-draped surfaces.
There was no such evidence of habitation. In fact, amid the opulence, there were only a few personal effects.
I'm not sure why, but this surprised me. I had thought that Laurent's apartments would be more personal, but in thinking about it, it's perfect. He doesn't really live in the palace. He only 'resides' there since it's probably not a real home to him.
Maybe Laurent doesn't consider his rooms at the Palace as being not all that much different than the prison that Damen inhabits just down the hall. Laurent only exists there, it isn't a home. He's just surviving as he tries to get out of the other side of his minority alive.
Close to Damen was a reclining couch and a book, fanned open, revealing illuminated pages and scrollwork glinting with gold leaf. The leash Damen had worn in the gardens also lay on the couch, as though tossed there casually.
Laurent emerged from the bedchamber. He had not yet closed the delicate band that collared his shirt, and white laces trailed, exposing the hollow of his throat.
I really liked this detail, it made Laurent, even amidst his Spartan apartment, seem more human and vulnerable. It was like he was caught a bit off-guard, his collar left open, even though he expected Damen's arrival. Maybe Damen had been brought earlier than expected. I wouldn't have thought that Laurent would want Damen to see him as anything less than cool, aloof and perfectly attired.
When he saw that Damen had arrived, he paused beneath the archway.
"Leave us," said Laurent.
He spoke to the handlers who had brought Damen to this chamber. They freed Damen from his restraints and departed.
"Stand up," said Laurent.
Damen having seen Laurent in a more casual situation than he'd wanted, of course Laurent wants to put the slave back into his place.
Damen stood. He was taller than Laurent, and physically stronger, and wearing no restraints at all. And they were alone together, as they had been last night, as they had been in the baths. But something was different. He realised that at some point he had begun to think of being alone in a room with Laurent as dangerous.
He's not dumb: Damen realizes that Laurent doesn't have to be bigger or stronger to be dangerous to him, he's got control of his person. Damen's living life at the end of Laurent's leash, so of course he's dangerous.
Laurent detached himself from the doorway. As he drew close to Damen, his expression soured, his blue eyes curdled with distaste.
I like this image of Laurent. It's like when he looks at Damen, it's like he's looking at something so foul and distasteful he can barely keep his from throwing up, but then why does he protect him, keep him close?
It's a perplexing puzzle that might make more sense if Laurent knows who Damen really is. It wasn't clear to me at this point of the story, but after the most recent chapter (13) especially, I'm thinking he does know and is patiently waiting until the right time to face Damen in single combat.
Laurent said, "There is no bargain between us. A prince does not make deals with slaves and insects. Your promises are worth less to me than dirt. Do you understand me?"
"Perfectly," said Damen.
Laurent was staring at him coldly. "Torveld of Patras may be persuaded to request that the slaves go with him to Bazal, as part of the trade deal being negotiated with my uncle."
Damen felt his brow furrow. This information did not make sense.
"If Torveld insists strongly enough, I think my uncle will agree to some sort of--loan--or, more accurately, a permanent arrangement couched as a loan, so that it will not offend our allies in Akielos. It's my understanding that Patran sensibilities regarding the treatment of slaves are similar to your own."
"They are."
"I have spent the afternoon seeding the idea with Torveld. The deal will be finalised tonight. You will accompany me to the entertainments. It is my uncle's custom to conduct business in relaxed surroundings," said Laurent.
"But--" said Damen.
"But?" Icily.
Damen rethought that particular approach.
He turned over the information he'd just been given. Re-examined it. Turned it over again.
"What changed your mind?" Damen said, carefully.
Laurent didn't answer him, just looked at him with hostility.
He never lets Damen have control of things, if he can help it, can he? His anger and hostility proves to me that although the non-deal that he has with Damen is important in some way, he isn't shy about showing his anger at the need for him to depend on Damen.
"Don't speak, unless you're asked a question. Don't contradict anything that I say. These are the rules. Break them and I will joyfully leave your countrymen to rot." And then: "Bring me the leash."
The staff to which the leash was affixed was had the heavy weight of pure gold. The fragile chain was intact; it had either been repaired or replaced. Damen picked it up, not very quickly.
"I'm not sure that I believe anything that you've just told me," Damen said.
"Do you have a choice?"
"No."
Laurent had closed the lacings on his shirt, and the picture he now presented was immaculate.
"Well? Put it on," he said, with a touch of impatience.
The leash, he meant.
Torveld of Patras was in the palace to negotiate a trade agreement. That much was true. Damen had heard the news from several sources. He remembered Vannis discussing the Patran delegation, several nights ago, in the garden. Patras had a culture similar to that in Akielos; that, also, was true. Perhaps the rest followed. If a consignment of slaves was on offer, Torveld would conceivably bargain for them, knowing their value. It might be true.
Perhaps. Maybe. Might.
Laurent was not feigning any change of heart, or warmth of feeling. His wall of contempt was firmly in place--was even more evident than usual, as though this act of benevolence was forcing all his considerable dislike to the surface. Damen found that the necessity of winning Laurent over to his cause was giving way to the sobering realisation that he had put the fate of the others into the hands of a volatile, malicious man he did not trust and could not predict, nor understand.
No, Damen isn't dumb. Not at all. The situation forced him to entrust the innocent slaves to the man who hates Akielos more than almost anything else.
He felt no new rush of warmth for Laurent. He was not inclined to believe that cruelty delivered with one hand was redeemed by a caress from the other, if that's even what this was. Nor was he naive enough to think that Laurent was acting out of any altruistic impulse. Laurent was doing this for some twisty reason of his own.
If it was true.
I loved this exchange. It started out with Laurent so disgusted by Damen he can barely to be in the same room with him, and then there's Laurent giving Damen exactly what he wanted. It wasn't the way Damen had thought Laurent would have helped, in fact it was better, so it's a bit confusing for Laurent to have done that.
I hope we learn why he did, but the insufferable princeling certainly must have thought he'd get some sort of huge benefit from gifting the slaves to Patras.
When the leash was affixed, Laurent took hold of the handler's staff and said, "You're my pet. You outrank others. You do not need to submit to the orders of anyone except myself and my uncle. If you blurt out tonight's plans to him, he will be very, very annoyed with me, which you might enjoy, but you won't like my riposte..."
I love Laurent using a fencing term there... The image reinforces the idea that their relationship is a sort of a stylized fight, like a fencing match. It's a perfect word choice.
"It's your choice, of course."
Of course.
Laurent paused on the threshold. "One more thing."
They were standing beneath a high arch, which threw shadows on Laurent's face and made it difficult to read. It was a moment before he spoke.
"Be careful of Nicaise, the pet you saw with Councillor Audin. You rejected him in the ring, and that is not a slight he is likely to forget."
"Councillor Audin's pet? The child?" Incredulous.
"Don't underestimate him because of his age. He has experienced things many adults have not, and his mind is no longer that of a child. Though even a child may learn how to manipulate an adult..."
Was Laurent talking about Nicaise so insightfully because of what he'd seen of the boy? Or was it because of his own similar experiences? Was he in part talking about himself here, what he'd gone through? Had he learned to manipulate adults as a child the way Nicaise has?
"...And you're mistaken: Councillor Audin is not his master. Nicaise is dangerous."
"He's thirteen years old," said Damen, and found himself subjected to Laurent's long-lidded gaze. "Is there anyone at this court who isn't my enemy?"
"Not if I can help it," Laurent said.
With how much he hates, or professes to hate, Damen, I wonder why he warns him about Nicaise. The boy is dangerous, so why is Laurent doing Damen this favor?
I don't think at this point that Laurent has shown that he's really falling for Damen yet. I think he's intrigued, perhaps even desires his barbarian slave, but I don't think there's enough of that yet to override the hate he feels for Akielos. So, why warn Damen about Nicaise even as Laurent tells him that he wants everyone to be Damen's enemy? It's a puzzle to me, but I'm sure it will make sense eventually.
*
"So he's tame," said Estienne, and reached out tentatively, as though to pat a wild animal.
It was a question of which part of the animal he was patting. Damen knocked his hand away.
Nice image, but which part of the 'animal' was Estienne going to pet? *grins*
Estienne gave a yelp and snatched his hand back, nursing it against his chest.
"Not that tame," said Laurent, shrugging a shoulder, languidly.
He didn't reprimand Damen. He didn't seem particularly displeased with barbaric behaviour, as long as it was directed outward. Like a man who enjoys owning an animal who will rake others with its claws but eat peacefully from his hand, he was giving his pet a great deal of license.
Again, awesome image. Like Damen is like an animal to Laurent, only just tame enough to eat from Laurent's hand, which of course he does later in this chapter.
As a result, courtiers kept one eye on Damen, giving him a wide berth. Laurent used that to his advantage, using the propensity of courtiers to fall back in reaction to Damen's presence as a means of extricating himself smoothly from conversation.
The third time this happened Damen said, "Shall I make a face at the ones you don't like, or is it enough to just look like a barbarian?"
"Shut up," said Laurent, calmly.
It was said that the Empress of Ver-Vask kept two leopards tied up by her throne. Damen tried not to feel like one of them.
I'm not sure how successful Damen could be at ignoring feeling like an animal, it's how Laurent seems to think of him at this point of the story. A sexy animal, but Damen is a dangerous man that needs to be controlled.
Before the negotiations there were to be entertainments, before the entertainments a banquet, before the banquet, this reception. There were not as many pets as there had been at the ring, but Damen did see one or two familiar faces. Across the room he saw a flash of red hair, found a pair of emerald eyes; Ancel uncurled himself from his master's arm, pressed fingers to his lips, and blew Damen a kiss.
The Patran delegation, when they arrived, were obvious from the cut of their clothes. Laurent greeted Torveld like an equal, which he was. Almost.
In negotiations of consequence, it was common to send a man of high birth to act as ambassador. Torveld was Prince Torveld, younger brother to the King of Patras, though in his case 'younger' was relative. Torveld was a handsome man in his forties, close to twice Damen's age. He had a neatly trimmed brown beard in the Patran style, brown hair still largely untouched by grey. Damen knew of him by reputation. He had distinguished himself in the campaigns to the north when Damen was still in swaddling. He was fifth in line to inherit, after the King's litter of three sons and a daughter.
Again, the animal-themed images. The King of Patras' family must have seemed like a litter to Damen since he was an only child, unless you count his older treasonous, throne-stealing, sibling-enslaving half-brother, which I wouldn't.
Torveld's brown eyes grew markedly warm and appreciative when he looked at Laurent.
"Torveld," said Laurent. "I'm afraid my uncle is delayed. While we wait, I thought you could join my pet and I for some air on the balcony."
Damen thought Laurent's uncle probably wasn't delayed. He reconciled himself to an evening of listening to Laurent lying a great deal, about everything.
He's learned a lot about Laurent in his short time at the Rabatian court, hasn't he? Of course the Regent hasn't been delayed, Laurent wants Torveld to himself for a bit. He wants to make sure that the hook gets more firmly set before he starts reeling Torveld in.
"I'd be delighted," said Torveld, with real pleasure, and gestured for one of his own servants to accompany them also. They strolled together in a small party, Laurent and Torveld in front, and Damen and the servant following a few steps behind.
The balcony had a bench for courtiers to recline on and a shadowed alcove for servants to discreetly retire to. Damen, his proportions suited to battle, was not built to be discreet, but if Laurent insisted on dragging him about by the neck he could suffer the intrusion, or find a balcony with a bigger alcove. It was a warm night, and the air was perfumed with all the beauty of the gardens. Conversation unfolded easily between the two men, who surely had nothing at all in common. But of course, Laurent was good at talking.
"What news from Akielos?" Laurent asked Torveld, at one point. "You were there recently."
Damen looked at him, startled. Laurent being Laurent, the topic was not an accident. He mistook it, at first, for kindness. From anyone else, it would have been.
It wasn't a kindness. Laurent just loves to torture Damen in so many little ways. Perhaps he does it since he is now forbidden having Damen flogged. So he will get in even petty torments since that is all he can do without making his uncle even angrier with him.
"Have you ever visited the capital, at Ios?" asked Torveld. Laurent shook his head. "It's very beautiful. A white palace, built high on the cliffs to command the ocean. On a clear day you can look out and see Isthima over the water. But it was a dark place when I arrived. The whole of the city was still in mourning for the old King and his son. That terrible business. And there were some factional disputes among the kyroi. The beginnings of conflict, dissent."
"Theomedes united them," said Laurent. "You don't think Kastor can do the same?"
"Perhaps. His legitimacy is an issue. One or two of the kyroi have royal blood running through their veins. Not as much as Kastor, but gotten inside of a marriage bed. That situation breeds discontent."
"What impression did you have of Kastor?" asked Laurent.
"A complicated man," said Torveld. "Born in the shadow of a throne. But he does have many of the qualities needed in a king. Strength. Judiciousness. Ambition."
"Is ambition needed in a king?" said Laurent. "Or is it simply needed to become king?"
Laurent can see what's up with Akielon politics. Even if he doesn't know that Damen is who he is, I think he has knows a palace coups when he sees one, even if all the facts haven't been laid out.
After a pause: "I heard those rumours too. That the death of Damianos was no accident. But I don't credit them. I saw Kastor in his grief. It was genuine. It cannot have been an easy time for him. To have lost so much and gained so much, all in the space of a moment."
"That is the fate of all princes destined for a throne," said Laurent.
Torveld favoured Laurent with another of those long, admiring looks that were starting to come with grating frequency. Damen frowned. Laurent was a nest of scorpions in the body of one person.
I like that the imagery for Damen is more like a wild animal, like a big cat, but Laurent's imagery is more like comparing him to serpents or poisonous bugs. That's awesome.
Torveld looked at him and saw a buttercup.
To hear that Akielos was weakened was as painful as Laurent must have meant it to be. Damen thought, if there was unrest, it would come first from the northern provinces. Sicyon, maybe. And Delpha.
Aw... I wanted to hug and kiss Damen here, help him deal with his worry. Poor guy.
The arrival of a servant, trying not to show that he was out of breath, forestalled whatever Torveld might have said next.
"Your Highness, forgive my interruption. The Regent sends that he is awaiting you inside."
"I've kept you to myself too long," said Laurent.
"I wish we had more time together," said Torveld, showing no inclination to rise.
The Regent's face, when he saw the two princes enter the room together, was a series of unsmiling lines, though his greeting to Torveld was genial, and all the right formalities were exchanged. Torveld's servant bowed and departed. Damen could not follow his example, not unless he was prepared to wrench the leash bodily out of Laurent's hand.
Formalities done, the Regent said: "Could you excuse my nephew and I for a moment?"
His gaze came to rest heavily on Laurent. It was Torveld's turn to withdraw, good naturedly. Damen assumed that he was to do the same, but he felt Laurent's grip tighten subtly on the leash.
I wonder why Laurent kept Damen with him. Maybe he doesn't like to be alone in the Regent's presence any more than Damen likes to be alone in Laurent's.
"Nephew. You were not invited to these discussions."
"And yet, here I am. It's very irritating, isn't it?" said Laurent.
The Regent said, "This is serious business between men. It's no time for childish games."
"I seem to recall being told to take on more responsibility," said Laurent. "It happened in public, with a great deal of ceremony. If you don't remember it, check your ledgers. You came out of it richer by two estates and enough revenue to choke every horse in the stables."
I love the turning of the tables here. He's done exactly what his uncle wanted, yet it wasn't in a way he uncle had expected it, so of course it's not good enough. The Regent doesn't like his plans getting ruined any more than Laurent does, they have that in common.
"If I thought you were here to take on responsibility, I'd welcome you to the table with open arms. You have no interest in trade negotiations. You've never applied yourself seriously to anything in your life."
"Haven't I? Well, then it's nothing serious, uncle. You have no cause to worry."
Damen saw the Regent's eyes narrow.
The man is definitely suspicious, but with no proof of what Laurent's aim is, what can he do? It's the perfect response.
It was an expression that reminded him of Laurent. But the Regent said only, "I expect appropriate behaviour," before preceding them to the entertainments, displaying far more patience than Laurent deserved. Laurent didn't follow him immediately; his gaze stayed on his uncle.
"Your life would be a lot easier if you stopped baiting him," said Damen.
This time, coldly, flatly, "I told you to shut up."
I thought for sure Damen was going to get it here, but he ends up eating dinner at the royal table at the beginning of the next part. Laurent must really have wanted those slaves sent over to Patras for some really important reason of his own. He's working very hard to make it come about.