His wife, Countess Talltiu, was not Ireland's most talented spy. But she had a certain amount of luck. She came to the Earl one day and said: "Dear husband, your wisdom and mercy are legendary. I have discovered a plot where Maior Jimena seeks to kill you."
Maior Jimena: the new Spanish Princess! She had decided that her husband, the primary heir, should inherit sooner than was God's will.
The Earl debated what to do. Maior's brother, the King of Navarra, was one of the Earl's only two Allies. The Earl wasn't sure how the King would react if the Earl were to lop off Maior's head, even if beheading were legally justified, as it surely was here. Even imprisonment might jeopardize the alliance.
After some deliberation, the Earl had the guards bring Maior to him. She bowed before him nervously as the guards sharpened their blades behind her. "Yes, my liege?"
He regarded her for a moment, just to make her sweat some more. Then he informed her that her plot had been discovered, and that from this point forward her every move would be watched. He warned her that if she did anything like this again, she would lose her head. He hated himself for his mercy. But he hated losing an Ally more. He saw the astonishment on the faces of the guards, the gathered courtiers. Above all, he saw the astonishment in the face of Princess Maior, his daughter-in-law.
"My liege," she said in a shaking voice. "May you live in harmony and contentment. Your demand is just. My scheming was obviously misdirected. I hope you will find it in you to forgive me."
I will not, he said to himself.