Kilthanis tried to keep the edge out of his voice, but he wasn’t entirely successful. “Remove your hand from my person, Captain.”

The Captain removed his hand somewhat gingerly from Kilthanis’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, my lord. But I’m afraid the lady is coming with us.”

Kilthanis stood his ground. “Captain, I’m the one who is sorry, but you’re not authorized to arrest my wife. Your warrant may grant you the right to spy on my home, but the laws of the Empire still require the local magistrates and constablary to make arrests within the city limits. Your authority to arrest stopped at the city gates.”

The line of the Captain’s jaw tightened and the man behind him tensed. “Our warrant gives us the right to monitor,” the Captain stressed the word, “these premises. During the course of our lawful monitoring, we heard your wife make treasonous statements. And treason against the Empire transcends both city and principality boundaries. She’s coming with us.” To punctuate the point, he placed his hand conspicuously on his sword hilt.

Kilthanis stiffened, raising himself to his full height. He was about to retort when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, my love. I’ll go with them.”

“But—“

“Don’t argue, Kilthanis. They’ll not be shipping me off to Osh’riyo. I’ll be kept in relative comfort here in the city.”

The Lieutenant finally spoke for the first time since arriving at the house. “That’s true, sir. Our orders are to treat whomever we arrest with the utmost respect.” The Captain turned his head, anger flashing in his eyes, but he bit his tongue at seeing his junior officer looking sufficiently abashed.

“In the meantime, this will be a basis for appeal, should this farcical arrest proceed that far,” Kelsey said. “Yet more evidence of the excesses of the Emperor.”

“Kelsey…” Kilthanis started to advise her to be quiet, but she held up a hand to his lips.

“Merely exercising my right to speak freely, darling. While I still possess it. Perhaps you should make haste to exercise what rights you have left, before you find yourself as confined as I am about to be.”

Kilthanis took her meaning, nodding slightly. But he said “Indeed. I shall be exercising my right to my profession and to file a complaint with the local magistrate. In fact, I’m headed there now.” He turned to the two men on his doorstep.

“Gentlemen, I suggest you treat my beloved well. I remind you that she is of the blood Imperial herself, and that should any harm befall her, I’ll personally see to it that you’ll be turned over to her cousin Laris, to sample his hospitality. Rumor has it, even being affiliated with those who attempt to hurt his kin can be an unpleasant experience. Imagine how much worse it must be to be responsible for those injuries.”

Involuntarily, both officers gulped. By this point, there were few in the Empire who hadn’t heard of the alleged depredations practiced on the desert people by Laris Rychart. And that was simply part of an investigation into the attack on the Emperor. Neither man wanted to risk that Kilthanis could carry out his threat. But neither could they be openly cowed by the threat of an irate husband. “We’ll see that she is treated well, my lord. After all, she remains innocent until the courts determine otherwise.”

“It’s nice to see that some respect for the law still exists in these days,” Kilthanis said. With that, he shut the door behind him, kissed Kelsey goodbye and started moving down the street in the direction of the magistrate’s house. Once out of sight, he brushed his fingers across his lips, still feeling the ghost of the kiss. He wondered how long it would be before he would see Kelsey again. He had decided to take her advice. He would not be headed to the magistrate’s house, but to the city gates. He had to get out of the reach of the Emperor.