York (Governor's Quarters)
Princess Gyda, the Mistress of the Ledger and arguably the most dangerous woman in Northumbria, sat alone.
The only flaw in the scene was the expression on her face. It was a look of profound irritation.
She was dismantling a Torsion Spike trigger mechanism, cleaning the springs with an oiled rag.
"Sigh.."
She let out a breath that ruffled the papers on her desk. It had been a month since the wedding at Jernheim. A month since the conquest of York. And in that time, her husband, the Director of Industry, had spent exactly three nights in their shared bed.
She had sent Bjorn to find him multiple times. Every time, the giant would return with the same sheepish report:
"He is in the Foundry, Sister. He is yelling at the carbon mixture."
"He is in the School, Sister. He is teaching the thralls how to calculate hypotenuses."
"He is in the sewer, Sister. He says the drainage is inefficient."
Gyda reassembled the trigger with a violent snap.
