It was the swordmaster’s turn to grow angry. “Well it ought to be! You tell me that you love the king, that you’re loyal to him and to Eibithar. Yet you seek to protect a traitor.”

“He’s dead, swordmaster.”

“It doesn’t matter! He betrayed the land! If he had left a wife or children, that would be one thing. But you said yourself earlier today, he has no family. There’s only the high minister, and he deserves neither your concern nor my consideration. He sold his kingdom and king for gold.”

“Gold he never spent. Gold that sat hidden in his wardrobe until the day he died.”

Gershon couldn’t believe he was hearing this, even from a Qirsi. “First of all, you don’t know how much of it he spent! It may be that he received thousands of qinde from his friends in the conspiracy. The gold you found may have been merely the crumbs of a much grander feast.”

“Two hundred qinde?”

“It’s possible, isn’t it?”

“I can’t believe-”

He raised a hand, stopping her. “I only asked if it was possible. And it is, right?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. After some time, she nodded.

“Second,” he went on, fighting the urge to gloat, “what the man did with the gold is of no importance to me. It’s enough to know that he was a traitor. Nothing else matters. And I refuse to protect his name for no reason other than your grief at losing a friend.”

The woman glared at him. “Yes, he was my friend. I didn’t know him long, but I was beginning to understand him, to have a sense of what kind of man he was.”

“Yet it was only when he died that you realized he had betrayed you and everything you work for.”

“Yes. He deceived me. Is that what you want me to say, swordmaster? That he left me feeling foolish and dull-witted? There, I’ve said it.”

“All I want is to understand why you’re speaking to me of this at all. You’re wasting my time, and I’ve had enough of it!”

He reached for the door handle, fully intending to return to Sulwen and his children.

“Please, wait,” the Qirsi said, closing her eyes and rubbing a hand across her smooth brow. She looked weary and pale. Whatever his feelings about Paegar, Gershon could not deny that the man’s death had taken a toll on the archmimster.

“What I’m trying to tell you,” she said, “is that while Paegar betrayed us, and was paid to do so, I believe that he was coerced into it somehow. I don’t believe he had the heart of a traitor.”

“Does that matter?”

She glowered at him again, but only briefly. Gershon had tried to keep his tone mild. He wasn’t trying to goad her, only to grasp what it was she was telling him. After a moment, she seemed to realize this.

“I think it might,” she answered. “In fighting the conspiracy, wouldn’t it be helpful to know how its leaders go about spreading its influence? Wouldn’t you like to know what it is they hope to accomplish and how they intend to do it?”

“Of course, but-”

“As I told you, swordmaster, Paegar spoke to me of the conspiracy, perhaps hoping that he could convince me to join. It’s possible that he also spoke of me to those who paid him.”

“What makes you think that?” Gershon asked, surprised by how much this alarmed him.

She shrugged, a slight smile on her lips. “Call it the instinct of a gleaner.”

Gershon merely nodded. He didn’t trust the Qirsi, nor did he like to rely upon their magic any more than was necessary. But over the years, he had come to respect the power that dwelled within them.

He waited for her to go on, but she said nothing more. She just watched him expectantly, as if at any moment he might offer some reply.

“So, you think he told his allies about you,” Gershon said at last, still not certain what she was telling him.

“Yes. In which case, they may decide to lure me into their movement just as they did Paegar.”

And finally it all made sense. “You want to join them, don’t you?”

“Well,” she said, grinning now, “not really, no. But how else can we learn who they are and what they want?”

“And you don’t want me to say anything to Kearney because if they know we’ve discovered Paegar’s betrayal, they might be wary of approaching you.”

The smile lingered on her lips, though the swordmaster saw something else lurking in her eyes. “That’s why I don’t want you to say anything to the others,” she told him. “Someone had to be giving Paegar his gold, and that person could very well be here in the castle.”

“What if that person killed him?” Gershon said, as much to himself as to the minister.

She nodded, seeming to shudder at the suggestion. “I’d thought of that.”

“Yet you’re still willing to pretend that you’ve embraced their cause?”

“Would you go to war to protect Kearney?”

“Of course,” the swordmaster said.

“How is this any different?”

Gershon considered himself an intelligent man, perhaps not as brilliant as the king, but capable certainly of matching wits with any foe on a battlefield. Yet, every time he spoke with this woman she seemed to be one stride ahead of him. “I don’t suppose it is,” he said. “I’ll let you do this, if you’ll promise to keep me informed of everything that happens.”

She arched an eyebrow. “I intend to do this whether or not you let me.”

“Must you always be so difficult, woman? All I meant was, I’ll agree to keep Paegar’s treachery a secret, but I want to know who you’re speaking with, and what they have in mind to do.”

“And I’m telling you that might not be possible.”

“It will have to be!” Gershon let out a long breath, trying to control his temper. He often wondered if she tried to anger him. “The king trusts me with the safety of everyone in this castle, including yours.” Especially yours.

“If you’re going to attempt something this dangerous, I have to be certain that I can protect you. Paegar’s dead. Now, it was probably an accident, a simple fall in a dark chamber. But it might have been more than that, and I’d be falling my king if I didn’t do everything in my power to keep you from the same fate.”

“I’ll be trying to convince these people that I’m a traitor,” she said. “If they see me speaking with you, they’ll know it’s a lie. In trying to protect me, you’ll really be endangering my life.”

“Then we’ll have to make it appear that I’m interrogating you, that my questions are born of mistrust rather than concern.”

She smiled, her eyes dancing. “That should be easy for both of us.”

He had to smile as well. She had more than a little courage. To be fair, she was braver than many Eandi warriors he knew. She was brilliant as well, and though he found the Qirsi strange-looking, with their pure white hair and yellow eyes, he had to admit that she was prettier than most. Perhaps for the first time, he understood why his king had loved this woman; why, in all likelihood, he still loved her.

“I guess it should,” he said. He heard one of the children laugh from inside the presence chamber. It sounded like Ula, his youngest. Sulwen would be wondering where he had gone and whether he intended to come back at all. “So it’s agreed then?” he asked. “You’ll keep me informed?”

She nodded. “Yes. You have my word.” She smiled again. “Now go back to your wife and children, swordmaster. Forgive my intrusion.”

She turned and started walking away. Still, Gershon stood there, watching her.

“You never told me why I shouldn’t tell the king,” he said at last. He kept his voice low, so that no one else would hear, but still the words reached her.

After a moment she turned to face him again.

“I see why we have to keep this from the others,” he went on. “But why the king? Surely Kearney can be trusted to keep this to himself.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked. “Even now, after so many turns apart, do you really believe Kearney would allow me to risk my life on his behalf?”