The second consort arrived shortly after.
She was forty-two, northern family, the one who had come forward with her testimony three weeks ago. She had been, of all the consorts, the most straightforward in her accounting — no softening, no performance, just the facts in the order they occurred. Elara had noted that quality at the time and had noted it again in the weeks since. The second consort did not waste words or emotions on things that didn't require them, which was a quality Elara found functional and slightly restful.
She looked at the room with the expression of someone who had not expected to be invited to something like this and was in the process of deciding what to do with the unexpected.
"Sit," Elara said.
She sat.
