“Your Highness”—his voice took on a deeper timbre—”such a faring would not be wise at this time.”
“A walk in the garden not wise? But why?”
“Your Highness, as you know, Fancher is in the city. And the Soothspeaker Shambry as well. You yourself saw them both traveling hither.”
“But this is Gastonhow and the Embassy of Reveny under the mastership of my best of friends, Lord Imbert Rehling himself,” she countered. “What have we to fear from Fancher, a man without any lord here in Leichstan? As for the Soothspeaker, yes, we saw him. But what has he to do with us, or Reveny?”
“It would seem something,” Lord Imbert began and then glanced at Roane, as if he willed her withdrawal. Perhaps that was the fashion of the court, but she did not pretend to be more than she was, a stranger caught up by chance in their ways. She stood where she was and the Princess said impatiently:
“Do you speak openly—the Lady Roane knows all.”
He shrugged and continued. “Very well, Your Highness. The Soothspeaker has foretold King Niklas’s death to the exact hour.”
She sobered instantly. “How much value can we put to his words? No, I will not ask you that, my lord. We all have our own opinions of such gifts or talents. And Shambry has foretold with remarkable success on several occasions. Though I have beardless loudly—that he has also had his failures. To foresay the King’s death, however—he must be very sure to do that. But why comes he out of Reveny into Leichstan? Unless—”
Ludorica looked down at her own hands as if she held there something very precious the others could not see. “Unless he would be out of Reveny before his foreseeing can be proved. What excuse does he give for coming?”
“That he has matters of great moment for King Gostar which will affect the future of his House, and that he was bidden by his gift to come.”
“By his gift! Then he is very sure—”
“Just so,” cut in Lord Imbert. “And it is against all custom for him to be so persistent. He has lately been at Ichor, and the Lady of Ichor-”
“Was once Reddick’s very dear friend. But surely here, well guarded in your house, my lord, I need not fear any web to entangle my feet. Why, you yourself said to Nelis that he could leave us here and go with a free mind. Why, if you had these reservations, did you say that?”
“For the simple reason, Your Highness, that this news had not yet come to my ears when the Colonel rode forth. And it is best also that he return to his command, for if your journey has not yet been discovered, his return will help to keep it secret.”
“A secret? I did not think that here—” She hesitated and then continued. “But let me see King Gostar and all will move as we wish.”
“There, too, you must practice patience, Your Highness. The Queen is not in good health and King Gostar is much concerned about her. He is never at the best an easy man to deal with. Rather is he sometimes prey to odd whims and sudden changes of mind, so that no one can predict what he will do. For the past three months, since he learned the Queen is carrying a child, he has not even been to the secret sanctuary of the Flame Crown for guidance.
“He will receive no delegations from the council and has refused his ministers audiences. Even to reach him with a message may take some time.”
“And time we may have in scant supply!”
“I understand, Your Highness. But I am being frank with you. We shall have to approach the King with care. An incautious move on our part may arouse him to refusal before we even state the case. He has done such many times, more times even than
93 his people have general knowledge of. Now—you will note, Your Highness, that you have seen few servants in this wing of the house. That, too, is on purpose. The fewer who know that you are here, until I have some understanding with the King, the better. For we have not only to fear his changeable tempers, but also interference, perhaps directly from Fancher, indirectly from Shambry—or so I suspect.
“The Queen is much taken with foreseeing and there is good reason to believe that once she knows Shambry is here she will have him summoned to read for her. Once gaining her attention, he could defeat us with ease. For he is a subtle man with more to him than the usual Soothspeaker. He already tells the day and hour of His Majesty’s death with confidence. What if he adds to that some direful word concerning yourself? Could you then get a fair hearing for your plea? Ill luck is too real a thing to most kings and lords.”
“What hour and day—no, I do not want to know lest I begin to believe it too. So I can do nothing but wait?”
“Hard as it seems, Your Highness, that is so. And not only wait with good grace, but also stay within these walls and let none have a chance to see you. You thought yourself safe at Hitherhow, and what happened? I have guards here, but how can I swear that all of them, and of my servants, are true to the old loyalty and that none of them secretly supports Reddick?”
“It is hard to believe,” Ludorica said slowly. “I feel, as one trying to cross the Bog of Snelmark, that any step may be the wrong one. But suppose the King—” She turned a little away. “Very well —tell me, how long does this smooth-tongued Soothspeaker give him yet?”
“Four days—until high noon.”
“Four days! And he would not dare to make such a prophecy if he were not sure it would be proved true. Four days, and if I am not back to Urkermark by then with the Crown— I must consider this carefully, Lord Imbert.”
“Do so, Your Highness. In the meantime, for your own sake,
94 keep within these walls and out of sight. What I can do to reach King Gostar, and there are several ways that can be tried, that I shall do.”
He left them with another bow and the Princess turned to Roane. “It would seem that we cannot enjoy the garden except through a window. But that we can do in the gallery. Come aloft again.”
They returned to the long upper chamber and Ludorica brought Roane to the middle bay so they could look out. There were few flowers below, rather hedges and shrubs trimmed and clipped into fanciful shapes, many resembling the statues which had been set out at Hitherhow before the Princess’s arrival.
“It is very well kept,” commented Ludorica. “One has the feeling that were even a single leaf misplaced such would be instantly noted. Lord Imbert has a liking for such formality. There is a large garden such as this about his stead keep in Reveny. The Lady Ansla never cared much for it. She had her own place and the sweetest-smelling flowers grew there. Also a pond with an erand nesting, and the bird used to stand so still in the water one would believe her a statue—” “The Lady Ansla—she is here?”
“She is gone.” The Princess did not look away from the window. “It was the frost fever. I did not even get to put the fare-forth candle in her hand—though she had been so good to me. When I came she was already closed away. I think that when I was small she was the only one who cared for me, Ludorica, and not because I was the Princess.”
Though they could not go out into that stiff garden, nor even out of the section of rooms which had been made over to them, they found enough to occupy their time. Ludorica amused herself and Roane (to the latter’s mild astonishment) by coaching her temporary lady-in-waiting in the duties of her position and furnishing her with the current gossip of the Court of Reveny— though due to the King’s age and illness Court life had shrunk to a few shadowy functions and those only observed through neces- sity. Roane absorbed it even as she had the learning at Cram-brief, but found it more interesting. The Princess’s description of the nobles and courtiers, their backgrounds and motives, were so detailed that the off-world girl thought she would know each when she met him—if she ever met him.
Deep in Roane herself something began to grow. She would smooth the soft flow of her skirts, glance now and then into a mirror, finger some cushion glowing with beautiful needlework or an ornament. All this was far different from the treasures of her own civilization, yet surrounded by such she was not ill at ease nor unhappy, but rather relaxed. If she was dreaming, she wished less and less to awake. At least, as she reflected with dry humor, if she ever got back to her own people she could supply enough data on this Psychocrat experiment from the point of view of those caught in it to amaze the Service.