Behind Aubin, the two women had gone very still. The broader one clasped her hands in front of her, her plain face arranged into an expression of careful warmth that was clearly genuine but equally aware that the wrong word at the wrong moment could undo everything she'd come here to do.
The leaner woman with fading auburn hair stood with her arms at her sides, her jaw tight with the kind of controlled energy that suggested she was resisting the urge to step forward and explain things herself before High Priest Aubin could speak on her behalf.
