The applause came like a wave, scattered at first but growing in strength. Roland smiled back with genuine satisfaction, but his eyes weren't on her. They darted around the room, marking all those who didn't clap, or whose applause seemed too powerful to be genuine. He noted their faces, and their expressions, and filed away the information even as the applause settled into more casual chatter. Beside him, Cuthbert and Alain were doing the same.

"You speak well," Roland commented, as she sat. "And if I guess right, you've done more to settle some of them in five minutes than you could have in five years of living in loyalty." For just a moment, his smile reached his eyes. "You fit the place well."