The hall keeper had turned the chairs toward the same table Lyra remembered from childhood ceremonies.
Balthazar sat at its far end. Celia took her place opposite Lyra, their advisers behind them. On the public benches, June Beck held a folded cloth in both hands. Vera stood until she could see the door and the clerk at once.
Cobb began with what the court could decide.
Estate authority. Local accounts. Protected assets. The housing instruments within its jurisdiction. Evidence to be referred for proceedings beyond that reach.
At the word referred, someone on the benches made an impatient sound.
Cobb looked toward it.
“The referrals will name the receiving office and the material sent,” she said. “They won’t consist of a promise that someone should investigate.”
The clerk opened the findings.
