Tehr tapped the map, looking at the ports.  He was certain that it wouldn't be a bad idea for Dale to lose contract for the ports.  They were a younger house, and they had risen in power over the last fifty years because of their ruthless business practices and aggressive alliances.  Certainly there was nothing wrong with it, such was the game of the houses, and the members of Dale house played the game well.   But Tehr also knew that if Dale was knocked down a peg or two, it would leave space for other houses to rise.  While Tehr personally was enjoying the privilege of some small amount of notoriety because of his performance in the hunt, it wouldn't last forever.   In another month, maybe two at the most, the buzz would be around some other noble most likely.  Some noble would donate money to build a new school, or negotiate a lucrative contract with some foreign power, or perhaps even take some astounding prize in a noble hunt much like he had.<br/><br/>In the grand game of courts, if you wanted to retain power, privilege, rank, you had to keep at it.  His father had rest on his laurels.  His father had been content to let house Wynt lapse into a quiet forgotten corner of people's minds.  That was fine for his father, even his brother, god rest their souls.  But Tehr wanted more than a life of comfort living in relative isolation on their country estates; alone, forgotten, toothless.  Tehr didn't care about the power, but he did care about the respect.  While he could live a life of luxury at their estates, that wasn't what he wanted.  He wanted the intrigue and adventure that came with the big city.  Of course, seeing the success that house Ravos had attained today only spurred his desires on.  That house was small, not especially strong, but they were active and played the game of Court well.  They had large holdings and wouldn't easily lose them.   Tehr would build a home like that in Londinium as well, only grander.  When time came to take over the house from his mother, he wouldn't retreat to his ancestral home and live life in solitutde like his father had.  He would be a power, a power in Londinium to contend with.<br/><br/>But that was a dream for a different day.  Tehr had to focus, one tiny step at a time.<br/><br/>"Tell me," he said to his servant, "I'm meeting with House Saari day after tommorow... hopefully... But I need to know if you can set up a meeting between myself and house Remes on the following day.  There's not much time before the ball, and if I want to win either of those two houses to my side, I'll have to do so quickly."<br/><br/>He looked at Angelique hopefully.  He could of course simply ask for a meeting, but timing was of the essence, and if his servant knew of any way to get him to sit down with ... well... someone in house Remes, then so much the better.