The office seemed to have an identity all of its own. On the walls hung the likeness of the Archbishop and the ancient Canon Di'Vaticanus. On the number of shelves about the room were placed rare and antiquated texts that dealt with their faith, and there were equally-rare statues of long-dead saints; those whose names were all, but few, forgotten.
As the 'Praise to the Almighty' ended and another hymn began the ArchBishop sat up in his chair and resumed the talk that he was earlier engaged in, with Cardinal Allen.
"I am pleased that you had found an opportune time to speak with her." he said in his roguish, powerful voice.
"Her thoughts seemed preoccupied, when I first spoke to her. I finally asked her to arrange the visit with Brook and Your Holiness, but that disturbance had occurred in the square and I do not know if she remembered to tell her Lord Brook. We should have had a reply by now!" Cardinal Allen relayed to the ArchBishop his brief encounter with the lovely Dearborne. He also admitted to him, the desires that he felt for her, during it all.
The ArchBishop smiled, his evil, butterflied lips turned up on each end while the rest of his mouth stayed unchanged. His eyes sparkled with intrigue and cynicism, and with the knowledge of predictability.
"Our Lord Scullion never replies. I really don't expect him to — now, more than usual, and we would waste our time to go to him. We would be told by his wretched servants that 'He is not in, call again!'. Then I, like a fool, would wait for another time. Now, more than ever, we must strive for an alliance between us. His power is a great danger to mine and he knows it deep inside his heart. His is a presence to be feared in Phoride!"
Cardinal Allen seemed confused by the change of the ArchBishop's usual attitude towards Brook Scullion. He couldn't see the true feelings in his Master's eyes and he didn't know whether he was frightened or just being careful about the great sovereign of Phoride.
Allen stood up and went to the window that was behind him, across the room. He looked out to see a number of the monks' service-wenches. They all lounged naked by the courtyard fountain, recuperating from their follies in the rain the previous evening. Beside them were a number of young novices and some messeigneurs. He looked over to a picture of the ArchBishop and sighed in a breathless manner, until he finally looked straight ahead again and nodded to himself in approval of his proposed thought. He turned to the ArchBishop. When their eyes met, he knew that maybe Allen had designed a cunning solution.
However! …
"Why don't we just dispose of our Lord Scullion? Then we will have no threat and you will be the supreme One, in Phoride!" he shouted to his Holiness.