The conversation started the way most of them did, controlled, minimal, and structured around things I wasn’t meant to fully understand. I was in the smaller sitting room off the east wing. I wasn't there by choice; it was just where I’d been placed for the afternoon. It was quieter there, with fewer interruptions and fewer reasons for anyone to pass through. Which made it easier to hear.
The voices came from the hallway. They were low, but not low enough. There were two men not staff with a different tone that was less contained.
“…he’s pushing it too far,” one said.
“He always does.”
“That doesn’t mean it won’t collapse.”
“It won’t.”
“That’s what they said before.”
“This isn’t the same.”
“It never is until it is.”
I stayed where I was, still, listening without looking like I was
