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."
"It was a pleasure," I said, "but a strange business. Don't ask or I'll
miss dessert."
"I'll summarize," he said. "The coronation in Kashfa will take place
tomorrow."
"Not wasting any time, are we?"
"No. The gentleman who will be taking the throne is Arkans, Duke of
Shadburne. He's been in and out of various Kashfan governments in fairly
responsible positions any number of times over the years. He actually knows
how things work, and he's distantly related to one of the earlier monarchs.
Didn't get along well with Jasra's crowd and pretty much stayed at his
country place the whole time she was in power. He didn't bother her and she
didn't bother him."
"Sounds reasonable."
"In fact, he actually shared her sentiments on the Eregnor situation,
as the Begmans are well aware-"
"Just what," I asked, "is the Eregnor situation?"
"It's their Alsace-Lorraine," he said, "a large, rich area between
Kashfa and Begma. It has changed hands back and forth so many times over the
centuries that both countries make reasonable-sounding claims to it. Even
the inhabitants of the area aren't all that firm on the matter. They have
relatives in both directions. I'm not even sure they care which side claims
them, so long as their taxes don't go up. I think Begma's claim might be a
little stronger, but I could argue the case either way,"
"And Kashfa holds it now; and Arkans says they'll damn well keep it
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