Keziah leaned her back against Paegar’s bed, gazing at the money lying before her. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen so much gold in one place, save for the Glyndwr treasury, where she had gone once with Kearney many years before.

Paegar hadn’t ever struck her as being extravagant. Before last night, he had never even offered to buy her a meal. Certainly he had never given any indication that he possessed so much gold. And since he kept the coins hidden in the back of his wardrobe, she had to assume that he wished to keep his wealth a secret.

Abruptly, Keziah found herself thinking once more of their conversation in the Silver Maple the night before. He had laughed away the idea that he might be a part of the Qirsi conspiracy. But how else could she explain this?

She heard voices, and in an instant her heart was in her throat. It took her a moment to realize that the sound came from below rather than from the corridor. Guards no doubt, walking across the ward below Paegar’s window. Still, she quickly returned the gold coins to the box and pouch. It would be dark soon, and in spite of everything, she found that she was hungry.

She started to put the box and pouch back in the wardrobe, but then stopped, unsure whether that was wise. What if others found the gold? What if someone in the movement came looking for it, someone who had heard Kearney tell her to see to Paegar’s belongings? It might be safer for her if they found the gold. Then again, if a guard found it, or someone else loyal to Kearney, all would learn of Paegar’s betrayal. Keziah didn’t want that. In the end she took the gold back to her chamber, shaking as she hurried through the corridor. The distance between her quarters and Paegar’s had never seemed so great.

Once the gold was hidden to her satisfaction, in the back corner of her own wardrobe, she stepped out into the corridor again, making certain to lock her door. Then Keziah went in search of the one person with whom she knew she had to share what she had learned of her friend.

On most nights, Gershon and his wife ate with the king and queen in the king’s hall. Kearney, both as duke and king, had never been one to rest once the sun went down, and during most suppers, while their wives chatted and their children ate and played, the king and his swordmaster spoke of the state of Kearney’s army, or the advantages of various alliances, or, as in recent days, the prospects for war.

Tonight, though-with Kearney’s permission, of course-the Trasker family ate alone. Kearney even allowed them to use his presence chamber for the meal, an offer Gershon accepted after only a moment’s consideration. Sulwen, a smile on her ageless face, her brown eyes sparkling with the light of candles and torches, had been taken completely by surprise, but she was a clever woman and didn’t need to ask him why they were doing this.

A man had died today, not from poisoning or the point of a blade, but from a simple fall in his bedchamber. It was at once comic and tragic, ludicrous and deeply frightening. On this day, life seemed to Gershon as fragile as the wings of a butterfly, and he wanted to be with those he loved most. He wanted to eat and laugh with his children. He wanted to raise a glass of wine with the woman he loved, and, when the children were asleep, make love to her until they were both weary and sated.

Which is why when he heard the knock on the chamber door, he chose to ignore it. A few seconds later it came again, louder this time, more insistent. Still he did nothing, though by now Sulwen was staring at the door, knowing, as she always did, that it was just a matter of time. For a third time, the intruder knocked.

“It doesn’t sound like whoever it is intends to go away,” Sulwen said, facing him again.

“Maybe not yet,” Gershon said, getting to his feet and striding to the door. He yanked it open, only to find the archminister, quite possibly the last person in the entire castle he wanted to see just then. “You.” He shook his head. “I should have expected this.”

“I need to speak with you.”

“I’m sure it can wait until morning.”

“If I wait until morning, you’ll rail at me for not insisting that I tell you tonight.”

He faltered, narrowing his eyes. She had his attention, he had to give her that.

“This had better be important,” he told her at last. He glanced back at his wife. “I’ll return in a moment. I swear it.”

She merely smiled, the way she always did when he made promises he couldn’t keep.

He frowned, but stepped into the corridor anyway, closing the door so that he and the Qirsi were alone.

“What is it? Quickly, woman.”

She ran a hand through her white hair. “I don’t want you sharing this with anyone yet. Not even Kearney. Do you understand?”

“I make no promises to you, not when it comes to what I tell the king.”

She shrugged and started to walk away. “Very well.”

Gershon would have given anything to let her leave. But she had him now, and they both knew it. He swore loudly. “Fine, you have my word.”

The woman nodded and walked back to where he stood. “I believe Paegar was a traitor. I think he was involved with the conspiracy.”

Gershon gaped at her. “What? Are you certain?”

“Certain enough. I was going through his belongings, as the king asked me to do, and I found a good deal of gold.”

“How much?”

“Nearly two hundred qinde, all of it hidden in the back of his wardrobe.”

The swordmaster whistled through his teeth. That was more than two years’ wages for a minister, or a swordmaster for that matter.

“That’s a lot of gold, I’ll grant you. But I’m not sure you can assume that he was a traitor just because he was wealthy.”

“Last night, Paegar spoke to me of the conspiracy. Not in so many words, but I’m sure that’s what was on his mind. He wanted to know if I had ever dreamed of serving Qirsi nobles and he made it sound as if he had. When I accused him of working for the conspiracy, he denied it, but by then I had made it clear that I didn’t approve, and that I’d have him imprisoned.”

“You think he was trying to turn you against the king?”

She seemed to weigh this. “Possibly. He had confessed to me earlier in the day that he was in love with me. If he was with the conspiracy, he would have wanted me to join as well.”

“It’s also possible that he was telling you he loved you to get you to join.”

“I suppose.”

Gershon looked away. “Did you…? Were you in love with him?”

“No. I told him the truth, that I still love someone else.”

The swordmaster nodded, though he still wouldn’t look at her. He had never approved of the love she and the king shared, and for a long time he had questioned whether she truly loved Kearney, or had only been using him to exert her influence over the House of Glyndwr. In recent turns, however, as Kearney was faced with Lord Tavis’s plea for asylum, his own unexpected ascension to the throne, and the need to end his love affair with the minister, Gershon had been forced to accept that her love for the man was genuine and powerful.

“And what of his efforts to turn you? Were you tempted to join him and his allies?”

“What do you think?” she asked, her voice rising. “Do you really believe I’d be speaking to you right now if I had been?”

Gershon winced, regretting the question almost as soon as the words passed his lips. “You’re right, I-”

“I know that you hate me, swordmaster,” she said, her pale eyes blazing in the torchlight. “To be honest, I don’t care. But I am tired of you questioning my loyalty to Kearney and this land! I’m no more inclined to betray him than you are.”

“You’re right,” he said again. “It was a foolish question. But then I must ask you, why do you want me to keep this from the king?”

“Paegar was my friend, and while I know that his treachery makes him little better than a demon in your eyes, it’s not that simple for me.”