‘Very clever, Sparhawk,’ Kalten said admiringly.

‘Go congratulate my wife, Kalten. It was her idea.’

‘She’s really awfully good at this sort of thing, you know that? I’m glad she decided to come along.’

‘I’m still of two minds about that,’ Sparhawk grunted.

The feast went on, and there were toasts by the dozen. The feasters heaped praise upon the Queen of Elenia. Since the revellers were totally unaware of the impending climax of the evening, there were many inadvertent ironies in the compliments.

Sparhawk scarcely tasted his dinner, and he picked at his food, his eyes constantly on the candles and his ears alert for the first sound of the bell which would announce that his enemies were on the move.

Kalten’s appetite, however, seemed unaffected by the impending crisis.

‘How can you stuff yourself that way?’ Sparhawk asked his friend irritably.

‘Just keeping up my strength, Sparhawk. I’m likely to burn up a lot of energy before the night’s out. If you’re not busy, old boy, would you mind passing that gravy down this way?’

Then from somewhere near the centre of the gleaming, moon-drenched city of Matherion, a deep-toned bell began to boom, announcing that the second half of the evening’s entertainment had begun.

CHAPTER 29

‘Why didn’t you tell me, Ehlana?’ Sarabian demanded. The emperor’s face was livid with suppressed fury, and his heavy gold crown was slightly askew.

‘Please calm yourself, Sarabian,’ the blonde queen suggested. ‘We didn’t find out until mid-morning today, and there was no possible way to get the information to you without taking the chance of compromising it.’

‘Your snake-hipped baroness could have carried a message to me,’ he accused, smacking his palm down on the battlement. They were on the parapet, ostensibly admiring the view.

‘My fault there, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk apologised. ‘I’m more or less in charge of security, and Minister Kolata’s the man who controls the police in Tamuli – both the overt police and the ones who hide in the bushes. There was no way we could be absolutely sure that our subterfuge involving the baroness had been successful. The information that we had discovered the minister’s involvement was just too sensitive to risk. This attempt on your government tonight has to go off as planned. If our enemy gets the slightest hint that we know what he’s up to, he’ll postpone things until another day, and we won’t have any idea of which day it’s going to be.’

‘I’m still very put out with you, Sparhawk,’ Sarabian complained. ‘I can’t fault your reasoning, but you’ve definitely bruised my feelings here.’

‘We’re supposed to be watching the play of lights on the waters of the moat, Sarabian,’ Ehlana reminded the emperor. ‘Please at least glance over the battlements once in a while.’ Their position on the parapet gave them privacy, and a good vantage-point from which to watch for the approach of the mob.

‘The news about Kolata’s involvement in this business is really distressing,’ Sarabian fretted. ‘He controls the police, palace security and all the spies inside the empire. Worse than that, he has a certain amount of authority over the Atans. If we lose them, we’re in very serious trouble.’

‘Engessa’s trying to sever that connection, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk told him. ‘He sent runners to the Atan forces outside the city to advise the commanders that the agents of the ministry of the interior aren’t to be trusted. The commanders will pass that on to Androl and Betuana.’

‘Are we safe here in the event that Atan Engessa’s runners are intercepted?’

‘Sir Bevier assures us that he can hold this castle for five years, Sarabian,’ Ehlana told him, ‘and Bevier’s the expert on sieges.’

‘And when the five years runs out?’

‘The Church Knights will be here long before then, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk assured him. ‘Caalador has his instructions. If things go awry, he’ll get word to Dolmant in Chyrellos.’

‘You people are still making me very, very nervous.’

‘Trust me, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk said.

Kalten came puffing up the stairs to the parapet. ‘We’re going to need more wine, Sparhawk,’ he said. ‘I think we made a mistake when we set those wine-casks in the courtyard. The queen’s guests are lingering down there, and they’re swilling down Arcian red like water.’

‘May I draw on your wine-cellars, Sarabian?’ Ehlana asked sweetly.

Sarabian winced. ‘Why are you pouring all that drink into them?’ he demanded. ‘Arcian red’s very expensive here in Matherion.’

‘Drunk people are easier to manage than sober ones, your Majesty,’ Kalten shrugged. ‘We’ll let them continue to carouse down there in the courtyard and inside the castle until the fighting starts. Then we’ll push the stragglers on inside the castle with the others and keep them drinking. When they wake up tomorrow morning, most of them won’t even know there’s been a battle.’

The party in the courtyard was growing noisier. Tamul wines were not nearly as robust as Elene vintages, and the wits of the revellers had become fuddled. They laughed a great deal and walked about the yard unsteadily with silly grins on their faces. Queen Ehlana looked critically down from the parapet. ‘How much longer would you say it’s going to take them to be totally incapacitated, Sparhawk?’ she asked.

‘Not much longer,’ he shrugged. He turned and looked out towards the city. ‘I don’t want to seem critical, Emperor Sarabian, but I have to point out that your citizenry is profoundly unimaginative. Your rebels out there are carrying torches.’

‘So?’

‘It’s a cliche, your Majesty. The mob in every bad Arcian romance ever written carries torches.’

‘How can you be so cool, man?’ Sarabian demanded. ‘If someone made a loud noise behind me right now, I’d jump out of my skin.’

‘Professional training, I guess. I’m more concerned that they might not reach the imperial compound than that they will. We want them to come here, your Majesty.’

‘Shouldn’t you raise the drawbridge?’

‘Not yet. There are conspirators here in the compound as well as out there in the streets. We don’t want to give away the fact that we know they’re coming.’