Chapter Seventeen
“Wonderful job with your speech the other day, your majesty. I’m given to understand the Almodovars approached you about joining with their maritime enterprise?”
“That’s not all I hear they want to join with, our good king.”
A round of guffaws sounded around Leo’s office in the east wing of the palace. Looking up from his desk he saw a line of rotund torsos shaking in a cringe worthy mockery of out of shape belly dancers. Much of the nobility were older men who’d grown fat on the wealth their status and their ancient fortunes provided them. But also in the room sat many of these men’s sons, the next generation who would take over as gout and heart disease claimed their father’s in the end.
“Did you not speak at all of agricultural trade during your time in the states,
