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The Duke's Game
There was once a lady, a duchess, who at the age of eighteen was married to a well-known and well-liked general in the king's army. Although her husband was frequently away, their marriage was a happy one by all accounts, and she spoke highly of his bravery and cunning at the court. But before they had been married even two years, the general was killed in a campaign far to the north, and the duchess, a mere twenty years old, was already a widow. By the rather odd terms of the general's will, she received very little of his fortune - but she did remain a duchess.
Although she seemed to come to terms with her grief quickly, she did not marry again for over five years (unusual in those days, especially for a woman of noble birth.) When she finally did, it was to a commoner - a wealthy merchant, certainly, but still a commoner. This was even more unusual, but not unheard of, and by the laws of that kingdom the merchant became a duke upon taking the duchess as his wife. His name was Marcos Alorus, and hers was Seliana Mae - now Seliana Alorus, for she took her husband's name. It was not long before the news spread around the kingdom that Duchess Alorus was expecting her first child soon, and commoner and noble alike took that as a good omen for the marriage (entirely apart from Duke Alorus' career being much less hazardous than that of Seliana's former husband.)
Marcos, however, was rather poor by the extravagant standards of a duke, and the other nobles expected him to soon begin looking for ways to expand his fortune - especially since he would soon have a baby (and possibly an heir) to support. They were not disappointed. Exactly two months before the date that the soothsayers predicted the baby would arrive, ten wealthy nobles all received invitations to dinner at the duke's house. On the night of the dinner, all ten arrived with smiles on their faces and purse strings drawn tight.
All the usual necessities associated with such events were found here: the small talk, the polite compliments, the dinner, the witty observations, and the subdued laughter. They went through all these, the rituals of high society, with practiced ease - even the duke - and came at last down to business.
Duke Alorus called all ten of his guests into a smaller room away from the dining hall and bid his wife follow as well. Inside the room was a round table surrounded by twelve chairs, and when everyone else was seated, the duke shut the door and sat down himself. With that, he addressed his waiting audience.
"I invite you all to play a game," he said.
Eyebrows rose, but no one spoke. He continued. "I have no doubt that you are all wondering how I intend to swindle you out of your money. Wonder no more. I do not intend to be subtle. I ask that all ten of you place twenty gold coins each on the table; I will do the same, for a total of two hundred twenty coins. After that we will play a game, and the winner will get the entire sum. Is that a prize worth playing for?"
It certainly was. Two hundred gold coins was more than Marcos had made in an entire year as a merchant, and even for a nobleman it was not inconsiderable. The nobles, of course, said nothing to this. It fell to Lainus Menoro, a rather fat man with fiery mustaches, to ask the obvious question. "What kind of game?"
"Silence!" Alorus said. Menoro, shocked, was just on the verge of opening his mouth to voice his displeasure when Alorus waved a hand to quiet him. "Save your breath. It was not a command; it was the answer to your question. We have talked for several hours nonstop now, and it is time for quiet. This is a game of silence. You can see by the clock that it will soon be nine. This is the game: when the clock strikes nine, everyone in this room - all of us - will enter into the competition and become absolutely silent. From that point on, anyone who makes any sound will be eliminated from the contest. The last person still in the competition wins the prize. What do you say to that?"
There was a stunned pause while the nobles considered the offer. After a moment another man, tall and on the verge of baldness, spoke. "What kind of noise?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Any sound!"
"But who is to be the judge of what is audible? Really, Duke, this entire idea of a 'contest' is -"
"My wife will arbitrate. I am sure she would be willing to give up her place as a contestant so that she may judge. Seliana?"
She gave him a smile. "Of course, love."
"There, you see? And surely no one will accuse the duchess of not being impartial?" There was, at least, no one who was willing to voice that thought, so the duke went on. "Very well. So. Who will play?"
What was it that made them all agree to try this ridiculous game? Was it the thought of receiving all that money, with relatively little to lose? Was it the challenge of trying to win a contest so simple as this one? Was it the influence of more than a little wine drunk throughout the course of the evening? Was it, perhaps, the sheer novelty of the idea, the prospect of doing this one tiny thing that was not a part of the weekly routine? There is no knowing for certain, and indeed it was probably some combination of these, but in the end all ten guests promised to play the game and abide by the rules. By nine o'clock there was a glittering pile of gold on the table, and twelve chairs held silent occupants. The game had begun.
Duchess Alorus was, of course, allowed to speak, but she kept silent for the most part in order to better judge whether the others were making any sounds. The game passed quietly for the most part. Seconds ticked into minutes, which themselves passed quietly away...
The first person was eliminated half an hour into the game when he cleared his throat a little too loudly. The duchess, smiling, kindly told him he was out; the man merely gave a rough nod and left, saying he had no wish to remain and be involved in any further lunacy, though he wished them all luck. Twenty minutes later a cough disqualified someone else. By midnight, only three of the guests were still competing with Duke Alorus.
The duke leaned forward slightly in his chair - and the chair squeaked. He was out.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Well. I congratulate you; you have all outlasted me. Best of luck to everyone." And with that he laid his head down on the table and began to sleep.
It took another forty-five minutes to reach another elimination, and an agonizing hour and a half after that - but at last only one nobleman remained. It was Menoro. He threw back his head and laughed. "Well played, Duke, well played!" he said. "But this is mine!" And, yawning, he pulled out his purse and reached for the gold.
The duke, now wide awake, nodded groggily. "Well played indeed," he answered. "But I'm sorry. The gold is not yours. You spoke. You are out."
"What nonsense is this?" Menoro demanded. "I'm the last one out. I win."
"Not the last."
"Who?"
Duke Alorus nodded towards his wife, who was once again wearing a pleased smile.
"The duchess? She was not a competitor! You told us that at the very beginning. You -"
"No, Menoro. Not Seliana."
It took the man a full five seconds to understand, and when he did, he stormed out of the room in a royal fury.
The gold was still on the table.
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