The Duchess of Chelam has evening dinner plans. She is inviting the Reclamation and is going to try to talk them around on censorship and maybe civil courts if she can come up with a few modifications to make Cyprian's code tolerable. If the evening does not go too late she might try to go to Fraga's Sarenite festival to which she was invited.

"Delegate Tallandria." 

"Duchess. I have a contract. It's - well, here."

She's suddenly not very sure why she's making herself go through this, given that 'I'll pay you one week of my earnings if I tell everyone all of your secrets' is kind of a ridiculous insult, but - 

She reads it. 

"There aren't even civil courts," she says tiredly, "so I don't think it particularly matters, but this....does not oblige you in anything, or permit any redress if you don't do it. Oriol wrote it for you?"

"Yes.

I asked the free legal counsel offered to delegates, first, and they said that they couldn't predict what the civil courts would say about it when they existed again, but they thought it was very possible that the first one would result in indefinite indenture if anyone read my mind, since - no one knows what the courts will consider reasonable precautions. Oriol thought so, too, said I should definitely not agree to that. I know this version doesn't do anything, but I can't sign something that's predictably going to get me indentured. I have a kid to take care of."

"I will not agree to pay any third party claims that arise against you as a consequence of this agreement in case Oriol has a specific opportunity for a third party claim in mind, or even if she doesn't. The limitation on liability is acceptable to me."

Does she have to pay for it, then? .....probably even if she doesn't pay for it it's going to be very hard for someone to argue that she owes more than five gold when the contract says she can't owe more than five gold. Or, wait, third party claims meaning other people - augh, say something.

"All right. Do you want it recopied without that?"

"If that's acceptable to you we can just scratch it out and initial that it's been scratched out." She'll do this.

Hopefully that's how contracts work in this country! Apparently nobody knows anymore! But even if it's not she doesn't think having it in hurts her, so sure.

It will be understood by Abadaran arbitrators who she's apparently agreeing to pay for even though that costs more than the five gold she could conceivably recover. 

With that addressed she signs it.

Well, Korva will sign it too, then.

Hopefully that wasn't a terrible mistake. If it wasn't then she's going to make a lot of money and get to be consulted on speeches, which is probably worth a tiny bit of risk of accidentally having signed your life away. She is almost positive that you can't sign away your soul via a contract that you saw an almost definitely human lawyer draw up in ten minutes which doesn't at any point mention anything about souls.

"Would you like to come over to the mansion now, then, we can talk about the things I expect are coming to the floor tomorrow. You can bring your child, if necessary."

She probably shouldn't have told the duchess about the existence of a child at all, whoops. Well. She is going to need to figure out better security than 'live in a random person's house with no defenses and try not to be followed' anyway, but not tonight. Zara can look out for herself for now. She'll just go pick her up... very late, and figure out where to stash her going forward when there's nobody who could very obviously be reading her mind.

"I can do that."

Carlota's mansion has a compact but impressive entrance hall with an elaborate clockwork ceiling through which fake sunlight streams, and then two parlors off the entrance hall short of the dining room, which is very large because they're having the whole reclamation for dinner tonight. She calls a few of her staff into one of the parlors. 

        "Korva, these are Mateu and Juliá. Their job is to read the committee notes and prepare a summary for us every day, so we know what to expect to be up in the morning. Though today Urban Order held an emergency early meeting to get their censorship bill through. Mateu, what are we facing tomorrow -"

"Your grace. Urban Order voted on a measure to re-permit torturous executions and recommended a candidate for Lord Mayor to the Queen. Rights has an expansion of censorship to cover the theatre and a measure competing with Urban Order's, to introduce a right not to be tortured. Judiciary's drafting but did not vote on a measure to introduce provisional bailiffs to replace the Reclamation. The committee on the family is working on a proposal to fine bastardry. Trade and Travel proposes abolishing travel passes." 

              "- your grace?" says a page at the door. 

       " - yes?"

              "The Lord Marshal's here early."

       "Korva, why don't you and Mateu and Juliá talk through these proposals and figure out which ones you would be more excited to help us prepare for."