The emperor grew red in the face. “You are mad!” he shouted. “Totally and completely mad to believe that I would give you half of what is mine!”

Vilia shrugged. “Then enjoy your Pleasure Woman, Gaius, for unless you give me what I desire, I will not give you what you desire and Shifra will remain nothing more than that.” She smiled at him again. “I thought you were enjoying your wine, Husband.”

“You play a dangerous game, you bitch!” he snarled.

“Had I not stood by your side all these years, had I not curried favor with the magnates’ wives and given the lavish parties and entertainments that brought you to prominence, Gaius. Had I not given you children and an air of respectability. Had my respected family not allowed you to marry me, the daughter of a prestigious Hetarian house when you were not truly worthy enough of my bloodlines, where would you be today? My support and my wisdom guided you, Gaius. And now you wish to cast me off as if I was an old slipper? Well, you shall not. You shall give me half of all you possess and in return you will gain all I have previously promised to you. Is your Shifra not deserving enough of half your wealth, Gaius? Does the gold mean more to you than the woman you claim to love?”

“I must think on it,” he said putting the goblet down, for his hand was shaking.

“I have sent faerie posts to our children telling them you seek to divorce me,” Vilia said. “They will, of course, be extremely upset.”

“You would turn them against me!” he shouted at her.

Vilia smiled. “If you treat me properly and with respect,” she said, “that will not happen. Have you considered that Shifra might give you a child? You are not too old to sire another child and Shifra will do naught to prevent it if she believes it will please you. And if you would put this girl in my rightful place, Gaius, what is to prevent you from disinheriting my children in favor of hers? No, this is not just for me, it is for our children, too. I must protect them and see to their inheritance.”

The emperor stumbled to his feet. “I need to think,” he said and he headed for the door to her apartments on visibly unsteady feet.

“Think well, my lord,” she warned him. “Shifra might even now be breeding.”

Gaius Prospero fled his wife and hurried to his own quarters. Once there he sent a servant for Jonah who quickly answered his master’s call. Stammering and stuttering, Gaius Prospero told his good right hand of his visit to Vilia and what had transpired between them. “She will beggar me!” the emperor complained, gasping for breath.

For a brief moment Jonah almost felt sympathy for Gaius Prospero. Vilia at her coldest was a formidable opponent. He put a comforting hand upon the emperor’s arm. “You will not like what I have to say, my lord, but the lady Vilia is indeed entitled to what sheasks. You are clever, my lord. Your enterprises will quickly make back the half of your wealth that you give her. And even with the loss of that wealth you are surely the richest man in Hetar. She has not dissembled with you but has been honest and open in her wishes. Accept her terms and within the month the deed will be done and the lady Vilia will be gone from The City. You need never again set eyes upon her if that is your wish. And then when summer ends you may wed the lovely lady Shifra with a happy heart and a clear conscience. This matter might have taken many months to negotiate but the lady Vilia is a reasonable and wise woman.”

“But what if my Shifra gives me a son, Jonah? I already have a son,” Gaius Prospero said. “Is not Aubin my rightful heir?”

“Indeed my lord, he is, but I am certain that if his mother reasons with him he will step aside. But if you ask that of the lady Vilia then you must accede to her demands in return,” Jonah advised. He would not have thought to push Gaius Prospero so hard and so fast but Vilia obviously knew her husband better than any. Vilia was going to be a magnificent empress, Jonah thought admiringly. She had incredible instincts.

The emperor’s eyes narrowed as he considered Jonah’s words. Then he said, “Do you really think she can convince Aubin to relinquish his place in the succession, Jonah?”

“I think she is the only person who can,” Jonah replied. “Half your wealth, my lord, will buy you the woman you love for your wife and your empress and a clear line of descent. Isn’t it worth it?” Following Vilia’s lead he pushed the emperor, but gently.

Gaius Prospero sighed deeply. Then he said, “Go to her, Jonah, and tell her if she will convince Aubin to give up his place as my heir, then I will agree to all of her demands. You are right! I would end this as quickly as possible. As the bitch pointedly reminded me I cannot have another wife die suddenly merely for my convenience. I think she knows about Anora, though how I cannot be certain. But I will not allow Vilia to spoil my happiness. Nor will I allow any harm or slander to touch my Shifra.”

“I shall go at once, my lord,” Jonah told him, and he hurried off. Reaching Vilia’s apartments he was ushered into her presence. She received him seated in a high-backed chair. “Lord Jonah,” she said formally. “What is it my husband wishes of me?” She waved a hand at her serving women. “Leave us. I will call if I need you.” Then she turned her attention to Jonah, waiting until the women had left the chamber. “Well?” she demanded. “Has he recovered from his shock?”

“Your proposal is painful for him, my darling, but if Aubin will agree to give up his place in the succession, then the emperor will agree to give you what you want. He wants it done quickly and you gone from The City as soon as possible.”

“I will send for my son at once,” Vilia said.

Aubin Prospero came with all haste and listened to what his mother had to tell him. He was a younger version of his father, of medium height and stocky. When his mother concluded her tale he said, “I will want to be named your principal heir in your will, Mother. My sisters have husbands to provide for them. And if I am to find a rich wife it must be known that I am your heir. The wealthy do not give their daughters to poor men. Give me ninety percent of what is left when you go to the Celestial Actuary and the girls may each have five percent.”

“Is that not just a trifle greedy, Aubin?” Vilia asked her son.

“Nay, ’tis not. It isn’t likely my father will leave me anything, Mother. I was at the auction where he bought his new Pleasure Woman. Shifra is incredibly beautiful and she will probably give the emperor children. I don’t care about being his heir and inheriting his throne one day,” Aubin Prospero said. “I would not want to be in his shoes. I am content with my activities with the Merchants’ Guild. I should not like to have the responsibilities of Hetar upon my shoulders.”

“I will give you eighty percent, Aubin, and your sisters will each gain ten percent. That is fairer, my son.”

The young man laughed. “Done!” he said, holding out his hand to his mother.

Vilia took her son’s hand, shook it and then kissed it. “Thank you,” she said. “You will, of course, have to sign some sort of legal document, won’t he, Lord Jonah?”

“Aye, my lady, we must observe the legalities of the matter to the nth degree,” Jonah answered. Then he turned to Aubin Prospero. “You are certain, young lord?”

“I am certain,” Aubin Prospero answered him.

“I shall go and tell the emperor, my lady,” Jonah said and departed the room.

“What will you do?” Aubin Prospero asked his mother.

“I am going to my villa in the Outlands province,” she told him. “I love it there and have since the moment I saw the property. My home is spacious and comfortable. You must come and see it, Aubin. If you like it I will give it to you one day.”

He smiled at her. “You are not unhappy, are you, Mother? I suspect you are glad to be getting your divorce from my father.”

“He is going to marry her and eventually declare her the empress,” Vilia said. “I can hardly remain under those circumstances, can I, Aubin?”

Aubin Prospero shook his head. “He is giving her what should have been yours,” he said slowly. “I do not like that he shames you in such a fashion.”

“I can only be shamed if I allow it,” Vilia said. “He will marry her by summer’s end, but he will not create her empress until the people are used to her. He would destroy his credibility with the people if he crowned her while the ink was still fresh on our divorce papers.” Vilia chuckled.

“You are an amazing woman, Mother,” Aubin Prospero said. “What a shame my father could never see that. If I cannot find a woman like you I shall never marry,” he told her with a smile and then he kissed her cheek.

Vilia laughed. “You will marry one day, Aubin,” she told him. Then she took his hand in hers. “When the news of our divorce becomes public and it soon will, you will be queried by friends and acquaintances alike. Do not fault your father in the matter. You are right when you say I am not unhappy. I am not. Actually, by freeing me your father has done me a great kindness, so let none speak ill of him.”

“I hope he has made a decent settlement upon you, Mother. You have served him well all these years,” Aubin said.

Vilia laughed. “If you want to know what I have taken from him, my son, then just ask it of me. When this is over and done with and the papers signed, your father will be poorer by half his wealth,” she told him, laughing again as his eyes grew wide with his surprise. “You will be a very rich man one day.”

When Aubin Prospero got past his shock he said, “Amazing! You have earned every cubit of it, Mother. Who negotiated the settlement for you with father?”

“I did,” Vilia responded. “Do you think I would pay some legal counsel when I was perfectly competent to do it myself?”