Her completely unexpected air of geniality and warmth left Maia-for some moments, at all events-speechless. Faced with any other woman who might have had the effrontery to adopt such a manner, following upon what had passed between them the day before, she would have found sufficient self-confidence to answer her as she deserved. But this was the Sacred Queen: nor was it only consciousness of her power and authority which threw Maia into confusion. There emanated from this extraordinary woman an almost hypnotic dominance and self-possession, so that quite possibly, if she had pointed to the moon and said, "Oh, look at the sun!" a hearer's first reaction might well have been to wonder whether there was something wrong with his own eyes or even with his own mind. Just so Maia, for a fleeting instant, found herself wondering whether yesterday's encounter in the archery field had really taken place, and then-since it had-whether perhaps it might have been with someone else and not with the queen. Then, and only then, did it occur to her that the queen was entertaining herself. It amused her to treat people- particularly those who were helpless before her-with flagrant inconsistency, and to see how they responded while trying to keep themselves in countenance.
"Esta-saiyett," she began, "since you're in a hurry I won't keep you any longer'n what I need to. I've brought-"
"Oh, come now, there's not all
Did I-? But she must know every last thing about it, thought Maia. '
"Yes, esta-saiyett, I was there for a time."
"And I suppose it was great fun, was it? Lots of young men from all over the empire? I expect you danced, didn't you? I've heard about your dancing."
"Yes, esta-saiyett: Lord Elvair-ka-Virrion asked me to dance."
"What did you dance?"
She wants to see me lose control. She wants to see me break off short and start in about Tharrin and the money before she does.
"I danced an old Tonildan tale, esta-saiyett, about Lake Serrelind."
"How charming! And the Ortelgan baron-er-what is his name, now?-he enjoyed it?"
"Lord Bel-ka-Trazet, esta-saiyett?" (That was one to her, she thought: obviously Fornis had meant Ged-la-Dan.) "He didn't actually say as much, but I believe he may have."
"But
"I'm sure he did, esta-saiyett."
"Yes." She smiled. "I'm
"Yes, esta-saiyett." She might have replied more, but meeting the cold, green stare above the smiling mouth, fell silent for very dread. Fornis was like the Valderra: it had not occurred to her till now that she might not get out alive.
There followed a short silence. "Well," said Fornis sud-
denly, "I expect you'd like to talk about your step-father and the money, wouldn't you?"
"Thank you, esta-saiyett. I've got the money outside: ten thousand meld. Shall I ask my man to bring it in to you here?"
Fornis, still gazing at her with every appearance of sympathetic concern, nodded. Then she stood up briskly.
"No, no, I'll see to it; don't trouble yourself, Maia."
She went out the open door and Maia heard her walk down the corridor and call to Zuno. Her own pulse, she now realized, was beating very fast and she felt breathless. She wondered whether this had been apparent to the queen. Together with her fear of Fornis there had come upon her a vague but none the less disquieting presentiment-sprung no doubt from Fornis's cat-and-mouse affability-that some trick was about to be played on her. She tried to think what it could be. Fornis might say the money was short: she might take the money and refuse her the reprieve: or she-she might give her the reprieve and then have her murdered before she left the house. In sudden panic, Maia stood up and ran to the window. Perhaps she could climb down and get away before Fornis returned.
At this moment Brero came into the room-burly, familiar, smiling, the very embodiment of reassurance. In her unreasoning fear-the kind of fear Fomis so readily engendered-she had not considered what his presence here implied. Even Fornis could not hope to get away with the murder of a veteran of the Beklan regiment-or with cheating her before his eyes. True, he did not know the ins and outs of the business, but nevertheless he was-he could be-a witness.
"Brero," she said quickly, leaving the window and crossing the room to where he was standing, "I want you to stay close beside me, please, until we go. Don't leave me on any account, do you see?"
