I could scarcely credit what I was hearing. Never had Shrewd spoken so bluntly or so openly of my work. Even when our privacy was assured, he circled and danced and left me to draw my own conclusions. I had seen Sevrens go into his other chamber, but had no idea where the man was now or how sound carried in this chamber. And Regal was speaking as if we were discussing shoeing a horse.

"Are you being insolent, or stupid?" Regal demanded.

"Neither," I rejoined as politely as I was able. "I am being cautious. My prince." I added the last in the hopes of putting the conversation on a more formal level.

"You are being foolishly cautious. I trust my valet, and there is no one else here. So report. My bastard assassin." He said the last words as if he thought them cleverly sarcastic.

I took a breath and reminded myself that I was a king's man. And in this time and place, this was as close to a king as I was going to get. I chose my phrases carefully. "Yesterday, in the garden, Princess Kettricken told me you had told her I was a poisoner and that her brother, Rurisk, was my target."

"A lie," Regal said decisively. "I told her nothing of the kind. Either you had clumsily betrayed yourself, or she was merely fishing for information. I hope you have not spoiled all by revealing yourself to her."

I could have lied much better than he did. I let his remarks slide by and went on. I gave him a full report, of my poisoning, and of Rurisk and Kettricken's early-morning visit. I repeated our conversation verbatim. And when I was finished, Regal spent a number of minutes looking at his nails before he spoke to me. "And have you decided on a method and time yet?"

I tried not to show my surprise. "Under the circumstances, I thought it better to abandon the assignment."

"No nerve," Regal observed with disgust. "I asked Father to send that old whore Lady Thyme. She'd have had him in his grave by now."

"Sir?" I asked questioningly. That he referred to Chade as Lady Thyme made me nearly certain that he knew nothing at all. He suspected, of course, but making revelations about Chade was definitely outside my realm.

"Sir?" Regal mimicked back at me, and for the first time I realized the man was drunk. Physically, he carried it well. He did not stink of it, but it brought all his pettiness to the surface. He sighed heavily, as if too disgusted for words, then flung himself down on a couch draped with blankets and cushions. "Nothing has changed," he informed me. "You've been given your task. Do it. If you are clever, you can make it appear an accident. Having been so naively open with Kettricken and Rurisk, neither will expect it. But I want it done. Before tomorrow evening."

"Before the wedding?" I asked incredulously. "Don't you think the death of the bride's brother might lead her to cancel it?"

"It would be no more than temporary if she did. I have her well in hand, boy. She is easily dazzled. That end of this thing is my concern. Yours is getting rid of her brother. Now. How will you do it?"

"I've no idea." That seemed a better answer than saying I had no intention. I would return to Buckkeep and report back to Shrewd and Chade. If they said I had chosen wrongly, then they might do with me as they wished. But I remembered Regal's own voice, from so long ago, quoting Shrewd. Don't do what you can't undo, until you've considered what you can't do once you've done it.

"When will you know?" he demanded sarcastically.

"I don't know," I hedged. "These things cannot be done recklessly or sloppily. I need to study the man and his habits, explore his chambers, and learn the habits of his servants. I must find a way to—"

"The wedding is two days hence," Regal interrupted. The focus of his eyes softened. "I already know all the things you say you must discover. Easiest, then, for me to plan it for you. Come to me tomorrow night, and I will give you your orders. Mind this well, bastard. I do not want you to act before you have informed me. I would find any surprise unpleasant. You would find it deadly." He lifted his eyes to mine, but I kept my face a careful blank.

"You are dismissed," he told me regally. "Report to me here, tomorrow night, at the same time. Do not make me send Sevrens to fetch you. He has more important tasks. And do not think my father will not hear of your laxity. He will. He will regret not sending Bitch Thyme to do this little deed." He leaned back heavily and yawned, and I caught a whiff of wine, and a subtle smoke. I wondered if he was learning his mother's habits.

I returned to my chambers, intending to ponder carefully all my options and formulate a plan. But so weary was I and half-sick still that I was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Dilemmas

To THE DREAM, THE Fool stood by my bed. He looked down at me and shook his head. "Why cannot I speak clearly? Because you make it all a muddle. I see a crossroads through the fog, and who always stands within it? You. Do you think I keep you alive because I am so entranced with you? No. It is because you create so many possibilities. While you live you give us more choices. The more choices, the more chances to steer for calmer water. So it is not for your benefit, but for the Six Duchies that I preserve your life. And your duty is the same. To live so that you may continue to present possibilities."

I awoke in precisely the same quandary I had gone to sleep in. I had no idea of what I was going to do. I lay in my bed, listening to the random sounds of the palace awakening. I needed to talk to Chade. That was not possible. So I lightly closed my eyes and tried to think as he had taught me. "What do you know?" he would have asked me, and "What do you suspect?" So.

Regal had lied to King Shrewd about Rurisk's health and his attitude toward the Six Duchies. Or, possibly, King Shrewd had lied to me about what Regal had said. Or Rurisk had lied about his inclinations toward us. I pondered a moment and decided to follow my first assumption.

Shrewd had never lied to me, that I knew, and Rurisk could have simply let me die instead of rushing to my room. So.

So Regal wanted Rurisk dead. Or did he? If he wanted Rurisk dead, why did he betray me to Kettricken? Unless she had lied about that. I considered. Not likely. She might wonder if Shrewd would send an assassin, but why would she immediately decide to accuse me? No. She had recognized my name. And known of Lady Thyme. So.

And Regal had said, twice last night, that he had asked his father to send Lady Thyme. But he had likewise betrayed her name to Kettricken. Who did Regal really want dead? Prince Rurisk? Or Lady Thyme or me, after an assassination attempt was discovered? And how did any of it benefit him, and this marriage he had engineered? And why was he insisting I kill Rurisk, when all the political advantages were to his living?

I needed to talk to Chade. I couldn't. I had to somehow decide this, myself. Unless.

Servants again brought water and fruit. I arose and dressed in my annoying clothes, and ate, and left my chambers. This day was much the same as yesterday. The holiday atmosphere was beginning to wear on me. I attempted to employ my time to advantage, enlarging my knowledge of the palace, its routines and layout. I found Eyod's, Kettricken's, and Rurisk's chambers. I also carefully studied the staircase and support structures to Regal's. I discovered that Cob slept in the stables, as did Burrich. I expected that of Burrich; he would not surrender the care of Buckkeep horses until he left Jhaampe; but why was Cob sleeping there? To impress Burrich, or to watch him? Sevrens and Rowd both slept in the antechamber of Regal's apartments, despite a plentitude of rooms in the palace. I tried to study the distribution and schedules of the guards and sentries, but couldn't find any. And all the while I watched for August. It took me the better part of the morning before I could find him in quiet circumstance. "I need to talk to you. Privately," I told him.