"All right." Else gathered his food and drink.

"Need a hand? Looks like you took some of everything, then went back for more."

"I got while the getting was good. You'd understand if you ate where I usually do."

Bechter guided Else into a small room. A dozen men had their heads together there. Else recognized Grade Drocker, Ferris Renfrew, Divino Bruglioni, and Bronte Doneto. He pulled himself together. This could be bad.

Principatй Doneto said, "You don't need to feel like a cornered stag, Hecht It's good news."

"Your Grace?'

"You've impressed quite a few people this past year. These folks all have good things to say about you." Chuckle. "There's that look again. I'll just get to it We've decided to make you commander of the city regiment for the upcoming campaign."

"Huh!" That was an unexpected blow. “I… Really?"

"Somebody has to do it. Brothe being Brothe, we couldn't possibly agree on any native candidate. These men either know you or have heard of you. You're the only candidate the majority didn't reject."

It made sense – in a Brothen sort of way. Partly because so many of them thought they had a claim on Piper Hecht.

"You'll have people looking over your shoulder all the time, nagging you. The Five Families, the Brotherhood, the Collegium, the Colors, even His Holiness himself. Ignore them all, do a good job, and you'll be fine."

"I have no experience commanding large forces. Wait. First, let's talk about how large a force this will be." He would not refuse this opportunity, even if it cost him his chance to get closer to the Collegium.

Bronte Doneto said, "We're looking at two thousand to twenty-five hundred. The same squatters and immigrants you used against the pirates, armed and equipped from city arsenals. But, possibly, more. Recruiting and finance won’t be your worry. You handle the training and leadership."

Else did not express an opinion of the weaponry and equipment stored in Brothe's armories. The best had come out during the Calziran incursion. That had been old and poorly kept. Maintenance money found its way into the purses of corrupt officials rather than being wasted on armorers.

In Dreanger Else had commanded no force larger than a company. Gordimer did not tolerate large commands for popular officers. Else Tage was a missions specialist, meant to lead small bands of highly motivated and thoroughly trained soldiers who enjoyed facing special challenges.

"That many? Really? There's that much money around?" Paludan Bruglioni was willing to finance a basic infantry company of two hundred men. Reluctantly, and only after Divino bullied some country cousins into coming home. And because he hoped the Bruglioni could seize new holdings in Calzir.

Family added that piquant extra spice to Firaldian politics. A family could have holdings in a dozen different principalities.

Principate Doneto asked, "Are you possessed of strong feelings about Deves, Captain Hecht?"

"I have no feelings, Your Grace. I had no experience of that race before I came to Firaldia."

"Good, then."

Grade Drocker muttered something both venomous and vicious.

Doneto observed, "Our brother militant doesn't share your indifference. He had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time during the Devedian insurrection in Sonsa."

"So I've heard. I was lucky enough to reach Firaldia after the riots ended."

"The Devedians will support the Holy Father in the Calziran matter. In return for concessions and guarantees, of course. The Patriarch will grant the concessions. The Deves have more to offer than he'll have to give them in return. This once."

Grade Drocker's opinion of the arrangement was bitter but he remained a good soldier. He kept that opinion to himself. Those slinking, slimy Deves would …

"What do they want?" Else asked.

"An end to legal restrictions on Devedians just for being Devedian. They promise not to celebrate their heathen rites outside their homes."

So. The Devedians wanted nothing more than official recognition of the status quo ante. Unlike Chaldareans or Pramans, Devedians did not evangelize or try to win converts. Theirs was a tribal religion.

Else said, "There must be more."

"Of course. They want the Calziran Deves and Dainshaus spared when we invade. Their Calziran cousins won't resist They'll help by providing intelligence. They've begun doing that already."

Else flicked a glance at Ferris Renfrew. "I accept. I like the challenge. And it's a chance to make history."

"Good," Divino Bruglioni said.

"How much discretion will I have? Can I recruit my own officers?"

"You'll have considerable freedom, Captain Hecht. While the rest of us all think that we have a right to interfere. Can you handle the job?"

"Of course." He was Sha-lug. He had trained for it all his life. Though he always assumed that he would lead God's champions, not those of God's enemies.

Principatй Bruglioni said, "Enjoy your meal, Captain Hecht. Relax. Think. This afternoon we'll decide what to do with a city regiment"

ELSE SLIPPED INSIDE AS ANNA MOZILLA HELD THE DOOR. SHE said, "It's about time. You're making me jealous, you know."

Her teasing left Else disconcerted. He was never sure that she was joking.

"I spend as much time with you as I can."

"I know that. I don't like it. I don't have to like it. But I do know that. Shall I make dinner? I have a wonderful, fat hen half roasted already."

"You shall. If you will. Perhaps in an hour? Or two?"

"Oh! So you're finally going to make the first move? I thought I'd be all gray and you'd be all bald before you… Why are you peeking through the shutters?"

"I was followed."

"Again? I thought they'd given up on that"

"The Bruglioni have. But now some more serious people are interested. I'll tell you later. Right now, though, I have to get the world out of my head. And you're the woman who can empty my brain."

ANNA HAD THE CHICKEN ROASTING. SHE LISTENED WHILE Else filled her in. "That's hard to believe, Piper." She was an excellent listener. She did not interrupt. She did not ask stupid questions. She did not let emotion obscure her view of reality. "They're going to make you a general?"

"I find it hard to believe, too. But I was in the right places at the right times."

"You had something to do with what happened to that Brotherhood of War sorcerer in Sonsa, didn't you?"

"He killed my friends. He meant to kill me. But he didn't know who I was."

"Aren't you afraid they'll check your story a little closer?"

“Terrified. But I can't walk away because there's a risk."

"What about the sorcerer? He doesn't suspect you?"

"I'm sure. There was evidence that the man he was after died in the fighting. He never actually saw me, anyway. So he's even more angry at Deves. I'm more concerned about Ferris Renfrow, the Emperor's spymaster. He thinks he knows who I am. He wants to use that to control me."

"Maybe you should go away."

"No. This is what I do. This is what I chose to do. Did your husband have connections with anyone besides my people?"

"What do you mean?"

"Bluntly, that intelligence gatherers sometimes market their harvest to more than one buyer. I'm wondering if he served more than one master."

Anna eyed him doubtfully. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm trying to figure out if anyone besides me would know that you were his wife. Other than the people whose tools we are. Our lives could get uncomfortable if anyone tied us together before …" Not good. He had told too many people that he had known Anna elsewhere. Anyone who developed an abiding interest ought to be able to discover Anna's origins.