made her fiercely isolationist. King Roger's policies of trade and expansion made certain—as far as she could tell— that quarantine procedures would be inadequate and that other innocents would be exposed to diseases like that which had ruined her eyes.
Lovely, fair, and terrifyingly intelligent, she had responded to Marvin Seltman's gentle probes with a ferocity that had surprised him. Only her iron self-control made certain that she would not expose the plot in one of the rare evangelical fits that broke her normal composure.
What Seltman did not know, what would have terrified him if he had, was that among the equipment she habitually carried was a small computer with a visual scanner. This fed her a steady stream of information on who was present at a given gathering. It also indicated small details like who was in converse with whom. Unknowns were flagged and filed as such. Routinely, she analyzed this data and drew the conclusions that had made her a brilliant political strategist.
Marrou continued, 'However, whether we delay the wedding or not will have no effect on Zyrr's position unless you can follow through with your promise to discredit him in Elizabeth's judgement. You'll also need to bring yourself to her attention in a positive fashion.'
Dover nodded sharply. 'I know all that. I've also known Beth since she was a girl. I'm certain I can win her over. It's just a matter of getting that interloper Zyrr out of the way.'
'And then,' Seltman said, spinning his wineglass between his fingers, 'with one of us as Regent and another as the Queen's spouse, we'll be in the perfect position to steer the monarchy to our own ends!'
After the meeting adjourned, Marvin Seltman and Paula Gwinner departed in the same vehicle. The other members of the cabal had assumed they were having an affair—a belief they encouraged through small gestures and occasional indiscreet comments. The real reason for their closeness was coolly political.
'Your stocks have just paid a dividend,' Seltman said, passing Gwinner a small portfolio.
She opened it and smiled at what it contained. Paula Gwinner had been born to a title, but the title had not come with much in the way of property. That hadn't mattered to her when she was small, but she still recalled the smarting shame she'd felt as an adolescent when she first realized that some of their social peers sniggered at her father's shabby evening clothes or her mother's increasingly out-of-fashion formal wear.
After her own disastrous debut, she had resolved that when she inherited the title, she would somehow acquire wealth as well. Careful investment of her small inheritance had been a beginning. Gradually, she had learned to hear the note in a person's voice that meant a bribe was being offered. After some study, she learned what to accept and what not to accept. Her fortune grew and, when immediate need was satisfied, she learned to crave power as well.
Marvin Seltman had first approached her in the guise of a member of the Commons courting a member of the Lords. Only after he was certain of her ambition did he take her into his confidence. Now they both served a power other than the Star Kingdom of Manticore.
'Then the news of King Roger's death has arrived in the People's Republic,' she said, tucking the portfolio away.
'It has reached my contact,' Seltman said, 'and our next payment will come when an acceptable Regent has been announced.'
'It's so nice to know Haven is as ambitious as Roger feared.' Gwinner smiled as she spoke. 'I only wish I were as certain of our Manticoran allies. Howell may dislike Roger's expansionism, but his Crown Loyalist training will be clamoring to the forefront in the next several days.'
Seltman shrugged. 'They were the best I could find. Howell's loyalty to Manticore is unquestioned and unquestionable—his prominence in the Crown Loyalists makes it so. Happily for us, he can stretch his definition of the Crown to exclude a monarch whose extra-System politics seem to threaten the status quo in Manticore.'
'I wonder,' Gwinner said, 'if Roger ever realized how unpopular his decision to annex Basilisk would be?'
'I'm certain he realized it would have its opponents,' Seltman said, 'but he trusted that the aura of royal authority would help him to make his decision work—and so it has for twenty years.'
'Eighteen,' Gwinner corrected, 'and a good thing, too. The Crown Princess was born the same year Basilisk was annexed.'
'Ah, yes, the `Duchess of Basilisk,' ' Seltman sneered. 'Good King Roger's way of making certain everyone knew he planned to stick to his guns.'
'If Elizabeth were much older,' Gwinner reminded him, 'we wouldn't have the same opportunity to influence her. I only hope we haven't waited too long as it is.'
'She's a college freshman.' Seltman waved a dismissive hand. 'Right now she's casting about for an anchor. We will provide her with one—two if we're lucky.'
'Do you really think Dover will be able to discredit her fiance and win her hand?'
Seltman shrugged. 'I hope so, but it hardly matters. We needed an ally within the Palace Guard. I had despaired of finding anyone corruptible until my spies brought me word of Dover's words on the announcement of Elizabeth's engagement.'
'He really had fancied her for himself?' Gwinner asked, shaking her head.
'Why shouldn't he?' Seltman replied. 'The Constitution's requirement that the monarch must marry a commoner raises fantasies with every new heir. Dover's ambitions weren't totally unreasonable, and he'd plotted a career path that would take him into Elizabeth's orbit. From what he says, she even took a liking to him when she was younger.'
'Apparently she outgrew those fancies,' Gwinner said. 'It must have infuriated Dover when she accepted a man who, superficially, isn't all that different from our Padraic.'
'I agree.' Seltman nodded. 'Like Dover, Justin Zyrr is from Gryphon and has a military background, but unlike our good Dover, he left the Army and went into research and development.'
'And met the Princess when she was on a school trip,' Gwinner laughed. 'Love among the test- tubes.'
'Pedestrian, perhaps,' Seltman said, 'but her relationship with Zyrr is a fact of her life and therefore must be an element in our planning. If Dover succeeds even partially, Elizabeth loses another reliable support of her young life.'
'Tell me,' Gwinner said, 'for all the talk in today's meeting about the need to `discredit' Justin Zyrr, you don't expect Dover to do any such thing, do you?'
'No,' said Marvin Seltman. 'What I expect is that Dover will kill him.'
The day after Roger III's death began with the formal coronation of Queen Elizabeth III. Following the ceremony, Justin Zyrr departed Mount Royal Palace for the Indigo Salt Flats where the King had met his death. He left openly, taking his own private air car, nor did he have a bodyguard. Only after he and Elizabeth were wed would he be followed everywhere he went.
When he arrived at his destination, he was startled to see his radar display becoming crowded with large quantities of private vehicle traffic. The PGS had never been happy that King Roger chose to practice a sport that so exposed him to danger, but at least the Indigo Salt Flats were isolated, many kilometers from any dwelling, a quality which had provided a readily sealed security perimeter. Moreover, Roger had purchased the lands with funds from his privy purse, assuring that the Flats would remain private and undeveloped.
Justin had visited the Flats a few times to ski with the King. During those visits, he had been captivated by the deep violet-blue sands rising and falling in glittering dunes. Walking on them with the King, Justin had made believe that they strolled on the surface of a deep, mysterious ocean.
He felt tears welling and dashed a single burning trace away with the back of his hand, angry at his lack of composure. If Elizabeth could be brave . . .
The beeping of the air car's com unit came as a relief. A dry, almost mechanical, voice stated:
'Vehicle, please be notified that you are approaching private lands.'
'Acknowledged. Is this a private channel?'
'It is.'
'I'm Justin Zyrr, Queen Elizabeth's fiance. She asked me to come here.'
There was no change of inflection in the official voice: 'Climb into a holding pattern while we confirm your
