(@Molly) Pre-lunch meeting with Faulk and Fuchs. So far covered montaigne girl, execution by hanging Tues morn,  Faulk to attend guards funeral tomorrow (Mon). It's now 1130am, Sunday. Adalbrecht is due late weds/early Thurs. Letter to Jarvie being chased up (MTF)
(@Molly) Isiah in Seeufer after getting Alarice letter saying she's preg with his baby. He has a long-term mistress called Sabine in Fischler (could be former or current), plus former mistress Marie-Cezette. Jewellers bought brooch at less money than Alarice expected, but from selling things she could have up to 460G in cash, bank or used to buy services
(@Molly) Hidden pistol and disguise, bottle of liquid. No period since arriving (almost 2 months). Was rude to staff. Took naps she couldn't be roused during.
** Morgan has joined #7thseaic
** You're now known as Faulk
(@Faulk) (Faulk) That brings us to the larger issue. Alarice. She is still at the lakeside guardhouse?
(@Faulk) * @Morgan nods
(@Faulk) (Faulk) And she will remain there tomorrow?
(@Faulk) (@Morgan) I think thats for the best
(@Faulk) (@Morgan) Could put her in a cell in town for the funeral, but I don't think that'd work
(@Faulk) (Faulk) Fuchs: It would be risky to transport her
(@Faulk) (Faulk) She is well-guarded at present?
(@Faulk) Fuchs: *he nods* The Veisgraf suggested some changes that would improve your security and safety here in the house as well as at the jail and lakeside guardhouse. We have implemented them and it is going well.
* @Faulk looks to Morgan, impressed
(@Faulk) Thank you, Morgan. It is good to know progress is being made under your capable supervision.
(@Faulk) Fuchs: *he doesn't react, aside from moving his gaze to the middle distance *
(Morgan) I appreciate that your Grace. The colonel is quite capable of making the place safe
* @Faulk nods briefly, looking at his paperwork again
(@Faulk) Of course, but a fresh set of eyes is always helpful
(Morgan) With respect, your Grace, you are incorrect
(@Faulk) Fuchs: *he doesn't react at all*
* @Faulk frowns slightly before looking at Morgan
(@Faulk) Am I?
(Morgan) To a point. The colonel would have changed things as needed were he tasked to. The problem you had is that your guards were too comfortable in their positions, how its always been.
* @Faulk ponders on this a minute
(@Faulk) Perhaps it is time to get them all working efficiently
(Morgan) They are.
* @Faulk nods
(@Faulk) Are they unhappy?
* Morgan looks at Fuchs briefly
(Morgan) I don't think so. There's been a bit of handwringing about the loss of an easy job, but it seems that most of them actually want to do a good job anyway
(Morgan) of course, the Colonel would know better than I how his men are feeling
(@Faulk) Fuchs: They will adjust to the new pace of work and gain a stronger sense of pride in their achievements in due course.
* @Faulk nods slowly
(@Faulk) Good.
* @Faulk looks back to Morgan
(@Faulk) How has your investigation gone?
(Morgan) up some stairs, across a court yard, all over the place really
* Morgan sips his coffee slowly
* @Faulk smiles briefly
(@Faulk) Has your investigation yielded any results?
(Morgan) One or two
* @Faulk frowns a moment
(@Faulk) Are you waiting for something conclusive before bringing it to me?
(Morgan) I'm still looking into the validity of her pregnancy. Its remarkably difficult for some to talk about. We've got two letters that contradict when she claims she and I had any sort of union, which more or less clears me. She's been selling things to amass some money that I'm still working on, and we discovered a servants uniform and a wig in her room, along with some rather foul smelling liquid
* @Faulk looks somewhat shocked
(@Faulk) You have been very busy, I am impressed
(Morgan) I should like to apologise though
* @Faulk watches him with interest
(Morgan) You need a carpenter
(@Faulk) On a Sunday?
(Morgan) Doesn't need to be today... 
(@Faulk) Why?
(Morgan) because its not going to get any more broken
(@Faulk) What is broken?
(Morgan) a door and a desk
* @Faulk frowns
(@Faulk) How did that happen?
* Morgan raises an eyebrow
(Morgan) _I_ happened
* @Faulk looks slightly amused
(@Faulk) Wouldn't it have been quicker to ask for the keys?
(Morgan) Clearly not.
* @Faulk frowns
(@Faulk) Which desk?
(Morgan) Your sons
* @Faulk 's eyebrows rise.
(@Faulk) And why did you break it?
* Morgan leans forward, picking up the coffee and offering some to the Eisenfurst
* @Faulk accepts
(Morgan) Do you remember the last time I poured you coffee?
(@Faulk) To tell me my son had done something utterly stupid, yes.
* Morgan smiles
* @Faulk sighs
(Morgan) so... I was approached this morning saying that he'd not been seen since yesterday afternoon, and could I help find him
* @Faulk frowns
(@Faulk) Go on
(Morgan) Well, I went and searched
(@Faulk) Did you find him?
(Morgan) No, but I know where he is now
* @Faulk looks thoughtful
(@Faulk) Is he at Sabine's?
* Morgan tilts his head for a moment
(Morgan) his mistress... is she in Seefeur?
* @Faulk shakes his head
(@Faulk) No she lives here.
(Morgan) Then no
(@Faulk) Fuchs: *he frowns deeply*
(@Faulk) He has gone home then?
* Morgan nods, looking at Fuchs
(@Faulk) *he's still frowning*
(Morgan) Whats your issue Colonel?
(@Faulk) Fuchs: *he looks at Morgan* If your cousin is as smart and devious as we suspect, how quickly would she have found out about Sabine?
(Morgan) Damn
* @Faulk and Fuchs both look concerned
(Morgan) Get a guard to her
(@Faulk) *Fuchs rises* I'll go and check on her myself. She's a friend of Stef's.
* @Faulk nods, though there is an increased tension between the two of them. Faulk  speaks quieter this time, what sounds a little like guilt in his voice
(@Faulk) How is Frau Fuchs now?
(@Faulk) *he shrugs non-commitally* the same. *he looks at Morgan then Faulk, inclining his head* By your leave...
* @Faulk nods
(@Faulk) *Fuchs looks to Morgan questioningly*
* Morgan nods
(Morgan) let me know how it turns out
(@Faulk) *He nods, then strides out, shutting the door. Faulk watches him go before sipping his coffee* All we can do is pray for her safety
(Morgan) Until he gets there, yes
* @Faulk nods
(@Faulk) He is a good, if somewhat complicated, man
(Morgan) Whats the situation with his wife?
(@Faulk) She has some history of trauma connected to the war that makes her intensely distressed at certain loud noises.
(Morgan) I'm aware of that
* @Faulk sighs
(@Faulk) I wish I had been
* @Faulk sips his coffee
* Morgan watches him
(Morgan) I notice there's some tension when you spoke to him of her
(@Faulk) Almost two years ago I held the autumn fayre here on the grounds. I'd been gifted some fireworks from a friend in ussura and decided, stupidly,  to set them off at the party. It did not occur to me that it would be traumatic for anyone, especially not the wife of my head of security...
* @Faulk bows his head, clearly upset about this action
(Morgan) I see... 
(@Faulk) She... She was deeply distressed, I've rarely seen anyone more distressed. It was almost like she was no longer in the present,  and reliving the past. *he sighs* she was screaming, and crying. He picked her up and carried her the whole mile home. He wouldn't take a horse or my carriage.
* @Faulk sips his coffee again
(@Faulk) I did not see him here for a full week after that
* Morgan nods
(Morgan) He confuses me. He seems very... restrained with her
* @Faulk nods thoughtfully
(@Faulk) I have noticed that also when I have seen them together. It is like he loves her, but also wishes he was as far away from her as possible
* Morgan nods
* @Faulk frowns
(@Faulk) And she appears to adore him, but only when she is out of his line of sight.
(Morgan) he seems the same with her
* @Faulk nods
(@Faulk) There is clearly something wrong. I _could_ wield my influence and try to discover it, but people do not talk about Stef,  not after what happened next after the fireworks
* Morgan shrugs
(Morgan) since I'm here I'll keep digging away at that too
(@Faulk) Be careful, Morgan. It took four guards to pull him off the last man who got on Fuch's bad side over her
(Morgan) He reminds me quite a bit of myself sometimes
* @Faulk looks thoughtful
(@Faulk) I can see that, I suppose. He can be unpredictable. Now and then there comes a moment where he pauses, and you just cannot predict what he will do next
* Morgan smirks slightly 
* @Faulk looks quite solemn
(@Faulk) Whatever their issue is, it is clearly making their marriage less happy than either of them deserve
* Morgan nods
(Morgan) indeed
* @Faulk looks at his left hand a moment whilst lifting the cup with his right. He still, after thirty years as a widower,  wears the ring that promised him in marriage to Maguerite
(@Faulk) If it can be resolved, it should. There are no guarantees.
* Morgan nods
(@Faulk) **there's a knock, and quickly servants bring in their lunch and go*
(@Faulk) Do you feel you can get to the heart of the issue?
(Morgan) Maybe. 
(@Faulk) As long as he is not any unhappier, it is worth trying
* @Faulk starts to eat
* Morgan nods
(Morgan) Alaric had a source of information among your staff
(@Faulk) Who?
(Morgan) Jann. She had him rather well cornered
(@Faulk) Because of their familial relationship?
(Morgan) because she had his panzerhand
* @Faulk 's brow rises
(@Faulk) How did you discover this?
(Morgan) I caught him and asked why he was doing it, as he clearly wasn't happy about it
(@Faulk) And what will he do now?
(Morgan) I told him he could have his panzer hand and be done with her, or he could give her the information I told him to. Either way, he gets the panzer hand back
* @Faulk nods
(@Faulk) It is in Koln or Innesbruck?
(Morgan) No. Its in the vault in Sudlachenburg
(@Faulk) That is fortunate. Which leads nicely to something we need to discuss.
* @Faulk watches Morgan
* Morgan watches him right back
(@Faulk) I have spoken to Dreschler extensively about Alarice and her crimes. He agrees that there is enough evidence for a murder charge against her in respect to Karsten Eldreich, and an attempted murder charge for her actions against Molly
(Morgan) go on...
(@Faulk) The punishment for either is death. It is set in the law books of our Konigsreich to ensure fairness.
* Morgan nods
* @Faulk watches his every expression as he tries to gauge Morgan's opinions
(@Faulk) Murder of one's husband is petty treason.
* Morgan narrows his eyes
(@Faulk) The punishment for petty treason is to be burnt at the stake
* @Faulk 's eyes don't leave Morgan's face
* Morgan sets his jaw and his eyes go flat
(@Faulk) The punishment for attempted murder of a Veisgraffin is hanging.
* @Faulk watches him
(@Faulk) What are your thoughts on this?
* Morgan nods slowly
(Morgan) Justice must be served, but... not by burning
* @Faulk breathes in deeply
(@Faulk) That is the law
* Morgan shakes his head
* @Faulk frowns
(@Faulk) Morgan,  I have to be seen as treating every individual as equal. I can not reduce her punishment, it would be seen as a Grafin,  or an Eisenfurst's daughter-in-law being given special treatment over what would happen to any other woman.
* Morgan looks at his coffee
* @Faulk sighs heavily
(Morgan) Do you know what its like to hear someone burn to death?
(@Faulk) No.
(Morgan) Believe me when I tell you those screams never... _never_ leave your mind.
* @Faulk bows his head
(@Faulk) I know this can not be easy for you
(Morgan) Its impossible for me. 
* @Faulk watches him
(@Faulk) It is the law. It's the law in every Konigsreich apart from Posen.
(Morgan) _you_ are the law. 
(@Faulk) And I am her _father-in-law_. If I change the law now, I have sent other, poorer women to their deaths and yet change the rules for this particular one. Can you imagine what that could do to our Konigsreich?
* Morgan sighs
* @Faulk sets down his cutlery, interlinking his fingers on the table in front of him
(@Faulk) I do not want to be at odds with you, Morgan.
* Morgan sips his coffee slowly
(Morgan) Despite everything, I'd rather drive a dagger into her heart myself than see her burn
(@Faulk) Perhaps I can delay it until you have left Fischler?
* Morgan shakes his head
(@Faulk) Do you understand how my hands are tied here?
* Morgan straightens his shoulders suddenly
* @Faulk watches him intently
(Morgan) Since your hands are tied, my counsel is no longer required and I'll take my leave
* @Faulk frowns deeply
(@Faulk) Your counsel is required. I need to know how your father will react, and how best to balance the wishes of the individuals concerned, and the rule of law and within the Konigsreich.
(Morgan) The wishes of those involved do not enter into it, the law is the law
(@Faulk) But keeping the peace in our Konigsreich is crucial. Your father's Grafdom being at war with the remainder of the Konigsreich would lead to huge loss of life.
(Morgan) My father is a man of justice, once he is made to understand what the charges are and how they are proven
(@Faulk) And he will not oppose the punishment?
(Morgan) it is the law
* @Faulk nods his head
(@Faulk) At present,  yes.
* Morgan looks confused
* @Faulk watches his expression very closely
(@Faulk) I am not happy with this situation either, Morgan.
* Morgan grinds his teeth together for a moment
(Morgan) You'll be there to see it done?
* @Faulk looks briefly unsure, before frowning and nodding
(@Faulk) I will attend, yes
* Morgan nods slowly
(Morgan) then you'll almost understand
(@Faulk) Almost?
(Morgan) She is not your wife, or your child
* @Faulk rubs his temple, exhaling heavily
(@Faulk) She murdered her husband. Should I just let her avoid the punishment I've sentenced five other women to?
(Morgan) It matters not what I think. It is the law.
(@Faulk) If she had been a man, it would have been much easier.
(Morgan) but she isn't
(@Faulk) No.
(@Faulk) However, nothing can be done until we know for certain if she is with child
* Morgan nods slowly
(@Faulk) In these situations, we would usually hold a woman in the jail for ten months after her arrest. On the first day of the eleventh month, she would be executed.
(Morgan) I think she's too dangerous to allow her that time
(@Faulk) It would put Molly at much more risk, and that is intolerable.
* @Faulk watches Morgan even as he picks up and sips his coffee
* Morgan nods slowly
(@Faulk) Do you think it likely that she is with child?
* Morgan shrugs
(Morgan) I don't know
(@Faulk) Has the Colonel spoken to the maids?
(Morgan) No, I did
(@Faulk) And has she bled?
* Morgan sips his coffee
(Morgan) No, but somethings going on
(@Faulk) What makes you think that?
(Morgan) I'm a very cynical person
(@Faulk) Could there be another reason that she did not bleed?
(Morgan) I'm looking into it
(@Faulk) Good. Drawing the situation out helps no-one but her
(Morgan) Quite
* @Faulk frowns a little
(@Faulk) Is there anything more I can do for your wife? I am concerned for her.
(Morgan) I'm not the best person to ask
(@Faulk) Why not?
(Morgan) Because she knows what she requires better than I
(@Faulk) I have already asked her. But sometimes we husbands-... sometimes husbands spot the little things that they need or could cheer them before they do
* @Faulk drinks his coffee
(Morgan) She was very touched by the flowers
* @Faulk smiles
(@Faulk) I am glad. She puts me in mind of my wife, in some ways.  There's a certain determination and courage to her that Maguerite had.
* Morgan nods
(@Faulk) **there's a knock at the door, and a servant brings a sealed letter for Faulk, and an unsealed note for Morgan*
* @Faulk takes and reads his, which looks long
* Morgan does the same
(@Faulk) It says: "Sabine fine. Saw him just before he wed, he advised they wouldn't be lovers for a year to let things settle. Will get guards here immediately, pop in on Stef and return as soon as I can. Kristoff"
(@Faulk) **The clock strikes one, the time Varick usually starts his hour's nap*
* @Faulk looks up, half way through the missive
(@Faulk) Everything is well?
(Morgan) Sabine is fine
* @Faulk nods, smiling
(@Faulk) I am glad, I have always liked her since she was a child
(Morgan) apparently your son told her they'd not be lovers for a while to... let things settle. Can't imagine my cousin would like that at all
(@Faulk) No, I can not either. But he has a bond with Sabine that I think he would find it difficult to break.
(Morgan) maybe he should marry her instead
(@Faulk) He can not
* @Faulk sighs quietly
(@Faulk) Her mother was a milkmaid on my family's farm, her father was a painter. She could never marry a Graf and future Eisenfurst
* Morgan shrugs
(Morgan) give her a title
* @Faulk looks thoughtful
(@Faulk) I had not considered that... *He looks back at the letter in his hand* Will you excuse me? I need to deal with this
(Morgan) Anything you need help with?
(@Faulk) No, a disputed tract of land that was a massive grave now has wheat growing in it, and three Freiarrs who were not interested before now all want to claim it, even though it was the tenants of their respective settlements that planted the seeds
(@Faulk) Nothing important.  I will see you at dinner I hope
(Morgan) Most likely
* @Faulk inclines his head before returning to the letter
* Morgan nods slightly before getting up to exit the room