Lord of the Silent Kingdom

marriage bait. Every court in the Chaldarean world was interested. Your portrait was making a progression from capital to capital. You were quickening hearts. Then word went out that you'd gone off into the wilderness for a month with a band of common soldiers.'

Helspeth sighed and drew her blanket around her tighter. Renfrow was getting excited. She had not recovered enough to handle the pressure.

He eased up. 'There is a humorous side. One court remained interested. Jaime of Castauriga himself came all the way to Alten Weinberg to meet you personally. Castauriga being under heavy pressure from Navaya, he's in desperate need of allies. When he presented himself to Katrin it was, for her, love at first sight. Despite the age difference.'

Helspeth's brain began to move again. 'And he wouldn't mind being the consort of the Empress of the Grail Empire.'

'Especially after she has a few children.'

'When will they marry?'

'Springtime. Ironically, after the Remayne Pass opens.'

Helspeth sighed. 'Have the crones heard?'

'They'll be told. The news will ease your situation. And the wedding should mark the end of your exile. Unless you do something else to frighten the councilors.'

'I still don't understand all that.'

'Certain people have elevated themselves dramatically by orbiting your sister closely, Princess. Most of them Brothen Episcopals. They know the majority inside the Empire are strongly indisposed toward the Brothen Patriarchy. When you show the initiative you did, even bringing in specialist operators, you remind them that you're Johannes's daughter. The Princess Apparent who could step in and change their world.'

Helspeth began to get a glimmer. 'But I'm not interested, in any of that.' She made a soft, squeaky noise as the Captain-General popped into mind.

'Yes?'

'Just a random thought. It startled me.'

'I see. Tell me. Have you heard anything I've been saying?'

'Yes.' Sigh.

'Katrin's marriage isn't set in stone. Negotiations are still going on. Jaime is making demands that no one on our end will meet.'

'So I'm not off the hook?'

'Not till Katrin gives birth to a male heir who survives long enough to have sons of his own.'

'God help me.'

'As I said, it should get easier once I speak to your keepers. Then easier still after Katrin weds. That should end your rustication. Behave and you could be back in Plemenza before winter comes round again. In Alten Weinberg at the least.'

Sadly, feeling shame, she asked, 'And my Braunsknechts?'

'There'll be no pardon for them. They failed their trust.'

Helspeth did not meet Renfrow's gaze. But at that moment she decided to rescue Algres Drear and the others. They did not deserve such cruel punishment for having been browbeaten into compliance by the daughter of the Ferocious Little Hans.

She awarded herself a small sneer. She was in a spot so weak she could not save herself. Her one hope was this mysterious Renfoew, who dashed around shoring up the creaking foundations of the Empire.

'Someday…'

'Yes?'

'Someday I'd like to find out who you really are.'

Renfrow was startled. Then he smiled. 'Your father said the same thing, once.'

'And did he?'

'Sadly, Fate caught up first. Quiet. Listen. I've cautioned you. I've cautioned you again. I've changed your situation to one you can survive. If you think before you talk or act. If you avoid being your father's daughter.'

'I get it, sir!'

'I hope. I sincerely hope. I have my doubts. Blood will out. I won't be here in the morning. I have to go to Brothe. Please take care.'

'Why doesn't anybody…? Why do you keep saying the same thing over and over?'

'Experience. It takes immense perseverance to get an idea through an Ege skull.'

'But I…'

'You aren't who or what you think you are, Princess. You're what the world thinks you are. Your great task is to convince the world you are what it wants you to be. You have to be a chameleon. A timid, retiring chameleon. In the eyes of your enemies.'

'Enemies? But…'

'You see? Not listening. Again.'

A sharp pain of the soul. No one cared what she thought. She was a piece on a chessboard. Truly, she would have to wear masks to avoid sacrifice to the advantage of the Queen.

'I just grasped the full message, Ferris. Thank you.'

'Excellent. When next we meet, then, it should be in better circumstances. Drink some more broth. Rest. The Schmitts will put you on a better diet tomorrow.'

Helspeth wanted to ask something else. The question sort of slid out of her mind sideways. Renfrow shimmered.

She did not recall her dreams. They felt portentous. The Captain-General was there. Katrin was there. So were scores more, known and unknown, in a time of great stress.

She wakened feeling better than she had in months.

Ferris Renfrow was gone. He left the tower refurbished in plant and attitude. Helspeth had no more trouble with Tooth or Fang. She became perfectly pliant in turn.

19. Khaurene, in the Time of Bleakest Despair

Brother Candle and Socia Rault clung close for warmth. Also in the cluster were Michael Carhart, Hanak el- Mira, and Bishop Clayto. Above them were two ragged blankets taken from a dead man found alongside the road. No one knew which side he had served. No one cared.

The clump of misery huddled inside a stand of brush. The blankets had accumulated enough snow to conceal their color and keep body heat confined.

Though miserable and hungry, no one wanted to risk the road. There was a lot of traffic headed west. Ducking into hiding would leave tracks in the snow.

Brother Candle wondered if escape had been smart. Their captors had shown no inclination to abuse them, nor any to turn them over to the Society. They had been warm and fed regularly. Of course, their captors had recognized Bernardin Amberchelle. It would not have taken long for reason to lead them to Socia's identity.

There was a search on, prosecuted with minimal enthusiasm. It was cold out. Why be out in it when nobody really knew what they were hunting? Refugees? Those were everywhere, many young women trying to get somewhere safe from God's laborers. Many were Maysaleans desperate to escape territories where failure to acknowledge Brothe's primacy might become a capital crime.

Socia murmured, 'We need to reach friendly territory before they realize who I was. There'll be a reward, then.'

Brother Candle nodded, careful not to disturb the blankets. 'But Patriarchals aren't the only danger. Duke To-mond's defeated mercenaries are out there, too.'

Bishop Clayto muttered, 'We have to move. This flesh is too infirm to withstand this for long.' He was shaking. He could not stop. Fear, malnutrition, and cold all contributed.

El-Mira whispered, 'Get a grip, Clayto. Brother Candle has a decade on you.'