"Probably if I didn't have to do anything. But I have to do - work."

"Which work, specifically?"

"Attend meetings. Sign letters. In theory I should even check what I'm signing but I think Fazil knows how it'll go if he tries to sneak something by me."

"Any of the meetings urgent? Could Fazil bring the letters here for you to sign, if I didn't say anything to him while he was here?"

"All the meetings always claim to be urgent. Dunno how to tell which ones are. He could bring things here, he did yesterday." 

"Can Fazil tell you which meetings he thinks are actually urgent, is he capable of assessing that?"

"I guess. I don't like - having him actually deciding everything, 's an obvious sort of mistake -"

"I agree that it's a really bad way for things to be in the long term. Right now you're - just shy of completely nonfunctional. If you get me enough documentation I can check his work."

"Having my Chelish wife run the country will definitely go over even better, I'm sure."

"Do you have an idea that doesn't involve leaning on either of us?"

"No."

Sigh.

"You need more people to lean on. And you need to be able to do more things. But as long as you can't, you need an alternative plan."

"Can tell Fazil to bring things in here, and you can read them, and as long as he doesn't tell anyone it won't get out, and if it does get out we'll know he's the one who shared it."

"Yes."

Nod.

"Do you have another sending, are there more steps to this plan? Is it possible to - can he come here and talk to you about what needs to happen and if the two of us need to exchange information I can, I don't know, write it down and you can hand him the paper - "

"I have another Sending. I think probably that'd work, or something like that."

"Okay. Then I think you should tell Fazil to meet us here immediately, and we should discuss what needs to happen in the next day. D'you have more paper or do I need to go get some - "

"I can have him bring it." He wears his holy symbol on a very short chain around his neck, tight enough it looks like it's choking him a little; he reaches for it. "Bring today's work to my private rooms immediately, alone; also paper."

"...d'you have ink?"

Shrug. "He'll probably bring some if he wants me to sign things."

"Okay.

"How long do you think it'll take him?"

"Probably a while, he's pretty bad about coming when I ask for him."

"He's probably juggling a lot of really pressing stuff that might break if he drops it. Just wanted to know if you thought we should try to talk about something else before he gets here."

"You always think the best of everyone." He kisses her hair. "We have time to talk about something else, probably."