ridiculous-looking garments. The plan is to make you a knight, Talen,’
Melidere told the boy pointedly, ‘not a courtier.’
‘Stragen says it’s always a good idea to have something to fall back on,
Baroness,’ he shrugged, his voice cracking and warbling somewhere between
soprano and baritone. ‘He would,’ the Baroness sniffed. Melidere affected a
strong disapproval of Stragen, but Sparhawk was not so sure about that.
Talen and Princess Danae sat on the floor rolling a ball back and forth
between them. Mmrr was participating in the game enthusiastically. ‘They
all seem to secretly believe that the world’s
going to come to an’ end week after next,’ the Baroness went on, slowly
drawing her brush through Mirtai’s hair. ‘They’re all bright and brittle on
the surface, but once you get beneath that, there’s the blackest
melancholy, and they all drink like fish. I couldn’t prove this, but I
really think they all believe they’re going to die very soon.’ She lifted
Mirtai’s hair speculatively. ‘I think I’ll braid a gold chain into it,
dear,’ she told the giantess. ‘No, Melidere,’ Mirtai said firmly. ‘i’m not
entitled to wear gold yet.’
‘Every woman’s entitled to wear gold, Mirtai,’ Melidere laughed, ‘provided
that she can charm it out of some
man.’
‘Not among my people,’ Mirtai disagreed. ‘Gold is for adults. Children
don’t wear it.’
‘You’re hardly a child, Mirtai,’
‘I am until I go through a certain ceremony. Silver, Melidere – or steel.’
‘You can’t make jewellery out of steel.’
‘You can if you polish it enough.’ Melidere sighed. ‘Fetch me the silver
chains, Talen,’ she said. At the moment, that was Talen’s vocation. He
fetched things. He didn’t like it very much, but he did it – largely
because Mirtai was bigger than he was. There was a polite knock at the
door, and Talen veered over to answer it. Ambassador Oscagne entered. He
bowed to Ehlana. ‘I’ve spoken with Fontan, your Majesty,’ he reported.
‘He’s sending to the garrison at Canae for two Atan legions to escort us to
Matherion. I’m sure we’ll all feel more secure with them around us.’
‘What’s a legion, your Excellency?’ Talen asked, crossing the room to the
jewellery cabinet. ‘A thousand warriors,’ Oscagne replied. He smiled at
Ehlana. ‘With two thousand Atans at your disposal, your Majesty’ could
conquer Edam. Would you like to establish a toe-hold on the Daresian
continent? It won’t really be all that inconvenient. We Tamuls will
administer it for you for the usual fee, of course – and we’ll send you
glowing reports’ at the end of each year. The reports will be a tissue of
lies, but we’ll send them anyway.’
‘Along with the profits?’ She actually sounded interested. ‘Oh no, your
Majesty,’ he laughed. ‘For some reason, not one single kingdom in the whole
empire ever shows profit – except Tamul itself, of course.’
‘Why would I want a kingdom that doesn’t pay?’
‘Prestige, your Majesty, and vanity. You’d have another title and another
crown.’
‘I don’t really need another crown, your Excellency. I’ve’ only got one
head. Why don’t we just let the King of Edam keep his unprofitable
kingdom?’
‘Probably a wise decision, your Majesty,’ he agreed. ‘Edom’s a tedious
sort of place. They grow wheat there, and wheat-farmers are a stodgy group
of people all obsessively interested in the weather.’
‘How long is it likely to be until those legions arrive?’ Sparhawk asked
him. ‘A week or so. They’ll come on foot, so they’ll make better time than
they would on horseback.’
‘isn’t that the other way around, your Excellency?’ Melidere asked him. ‘I
thought horses moved much faster than men on foot.’ Mirtai laughed. ‘Did I
say something funny?’ Melidere asked. ‘When I was fourteen, a man down in
Daconia insulted me,’ the giantess told her. ‘He was drunk. When he sobered
up the next morning, he realised what he’d done and fled on horseback. It
was about dawn. I caught up with him just before noon. His horse had died
from exhaustion. I always felt sort of sorry for the horse. A trained
warrior can run all day. A horse can’t. A horse has to stop when he wants
to eat, so he’s not used to running for more than a few hours at a time. We
eat while we’re running) so we just keep on going.’
‘What did you do to the fellow who insulted you?’ Talen asked her. ‘Do you
really want to know?’
‘Ah – no, Mirtai,’ he replied. ‘Now that you mention it, probably not.’
And so they had a week on their hands. Baroness Melidere devoted her time
to breaking hearts. The young noblemen of King Alberen’s court flocked
around her. She flirted outrageously) made all sorts of promises none of
which she kept – and occasionally allowed herself to be kissed in dark
corners by persistent suitors. She had a great deal of fun and gathered a
great deal of information. A young man pursuing a pretty girl will often
share secrets with her, secrets which he should probably keep to himself.
To the surprise of Sparhawk and his fellow knights, Sir Berit devastated
the young ladies of the court quite nearly as much as the Baroness did the
young men. ‘It’s absolutely uncanny,’ Kalten was saying one evening. ‘He
doesn’t really do anything at all. He doesn’t talk to them, he doesn’t
smile at them, he doesn’t do any of the things he’s supposed to do. I don’t
know what it is, but every time he walks through a room, every young woman
in the place starts to come all unraveled.’
‘He is a very handsome young man, Kalten,’ Ehlana pointed out. ‘Berit? He
doesn’t even shave regularly yet. ‘What’s that got to do with it? He’s’
tall, he’s a knight, he has broad shoulders and good manners. He’s also got
the deepest blue eyes I’ve ever seen – and the longest eyelashes. ‘
‘But he’s only a boy.’
‘Not any more. You haven’t really looked at him lately. Besides, the young
ladies who sigh and cry into their pillows over him are quite young
themselves.’
‘What’s really so irritating is the fact that he doesn’t even know what
effect he has on all those poor girls,’ Tynian observed. ‘They’re doing
everything but tearing their clothes off to get his attention, and he
hasn’t got the faintest notion of what’s going on.’
‘That’s part of his charm, Sir Knight.’ Ehlana smiled. ‘if it weren’t for
that innocence of his, they wouldn’t find him nearly so attractive. Sir
Bevier here has much the same quality. The difference though, is that
Bevier knows that he’s an extraordinarily handsome young man. He chooses
not to do anything about it because of his religious’ convictions. Berit
doesn’t even know.’
‘Maybe one of us should take him aside and tell him,’ Ulath suggested.
‘Never mind.’ Mirtai told him. ‘He’s fine just the way he is. Leave him
alone.’
‘Mirtai’s right.’ Ehlana said. ‘Don’t tamper with him, gentlemen. We’d
like to keep him innocent for just a while longer.’ A hint of mischief
touched her lips. ‘Sir Bevier, on the other hand, is quite another matter.
‘It’s time for us to find him a wife. He’ll make some girl an excellent
husband.’ Bevier smiled faintly. ‘i’m already married, your Majesty – to
the Church.’
‘Betrothed perhaps, Bevier, but not yet married. Don’t start buying
ecclesiastical garb just yet, Sir Knight. I haven’t entirely given up on
you.’
‘Wouldn’t it be easier to start closer to home, your Majesty?’ he
suggested. ‘if you feel the urge to marry someone off, Sir Kalten is
readily at hand.’
‘Kalten?’ she asked incredulously. ‘Don’t be absurd, Bevier. I wouldn’t do
that to any woman.’
‘Your Majesty.’ Kalten protested. ‘I love you dearly, Kalten,’ she smiled
at the blond Pandion, ‘but you’re just not husband material. I couldn’t
give you away. In good conscience I couldn’t even order anyone to marry
you. Tynian is remotely possible, but God intended you and Ulath to be
bachelors.’
‘Me?’ Ulath said mildly. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘you.’ The door opened, and
Stragen and Talen entered. They were both dressed in the plain clothing
they usually wore when making one of their sorties into the
streets. ‘Any luck?’ Sparhawk asked them. ‘We found him,’ Stragen replied,
handing his cloak to Alcan. ‘He’s not really my sort. He’s a pickpocket by
profession, and pickpockets don’t really make good leaders. There’s
something fundamentally lacking in their character.’
‘Stragen!’ Talen Protested. ‘You’re not really a pickpocket, my young
friend,’ Stragen told him. ‘That’s only an interim occupation while you’re
waiting to grow up. Anyway, the local chief’s named Kondrak. He could see
that we all have a mutual interest in stable governments, I’ll give him
that. Looting houses when there’s turmoil in the streets is a fast way to
make a lot of money, but over the long run, a good thief can accumulate
more in times of domestic tranquillity. Of course Kondrak can’t make any