Then he will be dismissed!

Stay calm.

"Thus having received Counsel, Select Wain proceeded with the Work of the Day. I remark that I indeed did Work with her myself. Now it is true that Unknown to us, Vidal the Viper did Work to Evil, bent on Fire and Blood. But Select Wain knew that Prudence called her not to Communicate her Speech further."

"I call next Laia Solandra, Songbird of Shelyn, to present her Testimony."

Laia hasn't had stage fright since she was seven but this isn't the stage and she doesn't know her lines. But she's an actress anyway. A Chelish actress. She glides up into place like a swan on the water.

"Do you, Laia Solandra, swear before the holy Gods of Good and Law, and Shelyn your own Goddess, and before the Court, and before her Majesty your Queen, that your Testimony is True, indeed in Every Word, and that your Integrity, the Integrity of a Songbird of Shelyn, may be Tested and Verified by Spell should any call it into Question?"

"I swear it."

"I know you to be my fellow Delegate, and of the Clergy of Shelyn; do I have the right of it? What is the Work you do with respect to these Offices?"

"Yes, I'm a delegate in my capacity as a cleric of Shelyn. I'm chairing the committee on promulgating the teachings of the benign churches, at the convention; in the church I do a lot of spiritual counseling, give sermons, make sure that I'm learning everything I need to know from the visiting Songbirds, and also read some choice pamphlets aloud on the front steps for audiences who don't read."

"You heard the Speech of Select Wain on the General Floor; what Impression did you have of it at the time?"

"I thought that the Select was a tremendously compelling speaker - half the floor was on its feet cheering - and that many elements of her speech were admirable in content as well."

"Do you have Particular Expertise as regards the Quality of a Speaker?"

"I have expertise as regards the quality of speech as entertainment, because of my background in theater."

"Did you find her Stirring Words to have this sort of Quality, then?"

"Yes."

"Did you question their Legality at the time?"

"I did not."

"I understand you to have Discussed it with Select Wain afterward, do I have the right of it? What did you Discuss?"

"I asked her to repeat the speech for the benefit of the audiences I attract in front of the Temple of Shelyn with my pamphlet readings, and she put me off."

"Did you expect it would Entertain Audiences and Inspire to take that Joy in Art that is the Domain of Shelyn?

"- most of my pamphlet readings aren't selected specifically for their artistic value, per se, though I try to bring them to life a bit in the presentation. I principally thought that the audience would enjoy it and find it inspiring."

"Select Wain refused you, however?"

"She wanted to revise the speech first, because by the time I spoke to her she'd been alerted to concerns about how exactly it might inspire an audience."

"Did you read also at some Time the Pamphlet of Bernat Vidal-Espinosa, titled 'Friend of the True People'?"

"I did."

"Did that Pamphlet present Select Wain's words in an Accurate Light?"

"Absolutely not, it left out the better part of what she said and inserted several other remarks that she didn't say at all."