"I don't reckon he'd do it, miss. Well, not for my saying so, that is. He seemed kind of-well, I don't know-kind of beside himself, like: not what you'd call normal, he isn't."
"Well, then, what the bloody basting hell did you let him in for?" stormed Maia. "Great Cran, Ogma, I often wonder I don't sell you, I really do! No, all right-" holding up her hand-"you needn't start in. I suppose you'd better give him some wine and tell him I'll be down in a few
minutes. Now light me some lamps and then get out of here!"
Randronoth! she thought. Randronoth-here, in the middle of the night; when he ought to be at the front in Lapan. Did Eud-Ecachlon know he'd come to Bekla? Probably not.
No doubt about what he's here for. What else could he be here for? And thereupon Occula took over. The bloody crazy damned basting menstrual tairth-struck bastard! And it's completely compromising! It leaves me wide open! Oh, Cran! and with Eud-Ecachlon, of all people, left in command of the city! I've
She was hurrying into her clothes, yet even in this crisis stopped to wash her face and comb her hair. Middle of the night or no middle of the night, she'd be damned if she was going to let Randronoth or anyone else see her all in a flurry and lookng like-what was it Occula used to say?-a pig's venda in a thunderstorm. Becoming a little more composed as she looked at herself in the mirror, she put on her diamonds and the jewelled Leopard emblem with which the Council had presented her. Then, with all the outrage, authority and dignity of which she was capable, the Serrelinda made herself walk slowly down the stairs and into the parlor.
Randronoth was standing in the middle of the room. Under his long cloak he was fully armed-sword, dagger and breastplate. He had taken off his leather helmet and cleared a space for it on one of her side-tables. As she entered he held out his arms, smiling with an apparently sincere and perfectly spontaneous expression of joy and triumph.
"My love! My queen!"
"Lord Randronoth," she said sharply, "have you gone out of your mind? Do you know what time it is? Please leave my house immediately!"
"Oh, I can well understand it's a shock," he replied. As he spoke he unbuckled and cast aside his sword-belt, flung back his cloak and sat down. "But it's the finest shock you'll ever have had in your life, my love, believe me! Listen and I'll explain."
"I'll listen to nothing! Get out of my house; now, at once! If you don't, I'll send the porter for the night-watch, and believe me I mean it! I don't care if you're the governor of Lapan or anywhere else. I will not be subjected to this
sort of behavior in the middle of the night! If you really have anything to say to me-and I'd imagine the first thing you ought to explain is why you're not with the army in Lapan-you can come back tomorrow morning. Now if you're worth calling a nobleman, get out!"
"Not so fast, Maia," he said. "If we're to take Bekla, you and I, you've got to help me. And if you find yourself giving up no more than half a night's sleep before we're done, you'll be lucky."
"Take Bekla! Whatever are you talking about?"
He laughed. "Taking Bekla."
Maia felt herself close to tears of desperation. If she could, she would have thrown him out by force. For a moment she turned away to hide her feelings. Zenka! Zenka, tell me what to do! Come and help me!
"Stop arguing with him," replied the invisible Zenka. "He's obviously not here for the reason you thought. Make him tell you what he's up to!"
"Randro," she said, pulling up a stool, "you must realize that this is a great shock to me. You'd better tell me what it's all about. You owe me that at least."
"As if you knew nothing?"
"As if I knew nothing."
"Very well: since you seem to want to act the simpleton, Maia, I'll go back to the night of the barrarz. You remember we made love, I suppose? You've not forgotten
She compressed her lips with annoyance. Her head was beginning to ache.
"And you may possibly recall that you promised me that if I got Sednil freed, you'd spend another night with me next time I was in Bekla?"
"Well, if that's all you want, why can't we get on-"
"Wait a minute! Of course it is-I never stop thinking about you-but just now there are more important things to be done. You'll remember, too, that Seekron came to see you. I know, of course, what he told you. I'll remind you, shall I? He told you that the whole of Lapan was ready to declare for you as Sacred Queen. He gave you the names of several Leopard councilors who were ready to join us; and he gave you forty thousand meld." Ran-dronoth paused a moment and then repeated it. "Forty thousand meld. Didn't he?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"And you took it, and you sent me back word that you'd do all you could to help me?"
The reckoning day, she thought. Oh Cran, the reckoning day!
"Randro, I'll give you back the money-half of it now, this very minute! If only you'll let me alone-"
He held up his hand.
