Tehr listened patiently and intently, letting part of his mind work on each aspect she brought up, knowing he could do little about some, and a great amount about others.  Yet even as he thought on the matters, he paid close attention to each new thought on her mind and remained mute, letting her vent.  He had the feeling that the burdens she was under made his own seem trivial at best and allowing her time to vent would be as much a balm to her soul as the rousing love making.  Possibly more, but no, he refused to accept that!<br/><br/><strong>"Hmmmm," </strong>he said after a long pause, just to make sure she'd cleared her mind,<strong>"I find my thoughts drifting to the queen's expeditions to the new world, ever since the head of that vile house was exiled aboard a spanish ship westward.  I do not keep as abrest of foreign developments as I should, but the word is that the spaniards have found vast cities made of gold, with savage creatures of immesaurable ferocity among those lands.  Is this a reason for the spanish civil war perchance?  For if so, we would be wise to learn from mistakes that they are making and seek to avoid the same.  It seems clear to me that the discovery of an entirely new world far across the ocean is a chance for a kingdom,"</strong>he chuckled lightly,<strong>"or queendom, to either cement it's power or fall to the perils that may come from it."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"I mention this because it may have ties to two of your problems, and hint at the third.  I beg, let me explain.  First it is possible that if the queendom developed interest in the settlement or exploitation of riches of the new world, you might turn a potential problem, that of the ship wrights, into a valuable asset.  If long term gain could be suggested, via travel westwards, as opposed to short term gain via selling of war ships, Britannia might keep itself out of the civil war in Spain."</strong><br/><strong><br/>"Further, should we stake claim in the new world, our riches and our kingdom might profit multi-fold.  The key in such development however would be to make sure that it strengthens your position, and not degrades it.  My understanding is that the King and Queen of Spain held far too tightly the reigns of their ships sailing west, and entrepreneurial individuals felt they had no chance to try to make their own fortune.  A wise queen like yourself of course could see the advantage in allowing crown sanctioned, but perhaps privately run, voyages to the west.  Which would also add another layer of protection to the crown.  Their losses would be their own and not those of the royal coffers.  Their actions, should any conflict arise could be backed by the crown, but not necessarily sanctioned.  Yet any gains would see at least partial way to the crown.  Maybe not as large a share, but the benefit might outweigh the risk."<br/><br/>"Of course, if you were to allow such a thing to take shape, you'd want it being run by private individuals, or groups, that you could trust."</strong>He smirked at her and gave a wink,<strong>"Someone you trust intimately perhaps."</strong><br/><br/>He shrugged,<strong>"But that would take several years to set up, and is a conversation for another day.  The more immediate goal of course would be convincing said ship builders the wisdom of creating ships designed for long sea voyages, and not short range war ships... if that is even what they are currently producing.  To that point, I in fact do have an excellent idea about finding their current motives.  My house is small, but our holdings are vast.  House Wynt lays claim to a large swath of land between Londinium and Wales, as you know.  In fact one of the problems our house has had of late is in management of such large property, especially with regards to keeping it free of bandits and the like.  So it would be no surprise if house Wynt were to approach said shipwrights with a mutually beneficial logging contract.  They pay us for virgin old growth timber, gaining excellent building materials, and house Wynt receives a nice infusion of coin, as well as a solution to the bandit problem.  With the added benefit that within a few years, that land could be converted to arable farm land.  However in the short run, I could ask for a tour of their ship building facilities before any deal is brokered.  Thus we avoid the potential problem of them watching for magical scrying, or being on the look out for a spy.  Everything is out in the open.  They know I want to inspect their drydocks, and they would have every interest in showing me the best and biggest they have in order to seal the deal."</strong><br/><br/>He poured a bit more wine into the queen's glass when she held it out nearly empty, tipping the bottle up and draining it of the last,<strong>"As to the archmage's research, that is another area all together, and one I don't feel comfortable giving advice on yet.  I feel it is a dangerous ground to tread, and feel I know too little.  Tell me, the murdered noblewoman, who was it?  Also, maybe it is odd of me to ask of this last, but when you said the frenchman asked about Lady Wynt, were you speaking of my mother or my sister?"</strong>