“I don’t know,” I admitted grudgingly. “It shocked me when he set off on this ridiculous quest. He should have stayed here and continued with his original plan. By the time he returns, half his kingdom will be beggared or given away, the way Regal is going at things.”
Chade looked at me levelly. “ `His’ kingdom is still King Shrewd’s kingdom. Remember? Perhaps he has faith in his father to keep it intact.”
“I do not think King Shrewd can even keep himself intact, Chade. Have you seen him of late?”
Chade’s mouth went to a flat line. “Yes.” He bit the word off: “I see him when no one else does. I tell you that he is not the feeble idiot you seem to believe he is.”
I shook my head slowly. “If you had seen him tonight, Chade, you would share my anxiety.”
“What makes you so sure I did not?” Chade was nettled now. I had no wish to anger the old man. But it seemed to be going all wrong, no matter how I spoke. I forced myself to keep silent now. Instead of speaking, I took another sip of my wine. I stared into the fire.
“Are the rumors about the Near Islands true?” I asked at last. My voice was my own again.
Chade sighed and rubbed at his eyes with his knuckly hands. “As in all rumors, there is a germ of truth. It may be true that the Raiders have established a base there. We are not certain. We have certainly not ceded the Near Islands to them. As you observed, once they had the Near Islands, they would raid our coast winter and summer.”
“Prince Regal seemed to believe that they could be bought off: That perhaps those islands and a bit of Beams’s coast were what they were truly after.” It was an effort, but I kept my voice respectful as I spoke of Regal.