All this (which Khystros mentioned with an apologetic air, knowing it ill became him to criticize his monarch and brother in such a fashion) had much bearing on Khystros' situation. When the duke had first broached the notion of the Chancellor's treachery to Pelthros, he had been told sharply to go back and gather more evidence before he would be allowed to confront a high and long-trusted servant of the crown with such a monstrous charge. That had given Indhios the time he needed.
The Chancellor in his turn had brought forward cleverly manufactured evidence that Khystros was conspiring to make off with a large portion of the royal taxes by appointing his own subjects as tax collectors. And what was he planning to do with the money? Ah, that was as yet something of a mystery. But certainly Khystros would only need such vast sums of money beyond his already great wealth if he needed to pay a faction among the nobility. For what end, who knew?
Pelthros was naturally even less willing to arraign his own brother on inadequate evidence than he was his Chancellor. But Indhios had suggested an alternative course of action. Khystros had been reproaching himself ever since for not having suggested it first; he felt his failure showed great want of statecraft.
On the eastern shore of the Ocean lay the Kingdom of Mardha, the largest though poorest of the Four Kingdoms. What better way to improve relations between Mardha and Royth than by sending King Pelthros' own honorable brother there as Ambassador, with his daughter and a suitably chosen retinue? In far-distant Mardha, Khystros could perform a valuable service to his Crown, yet have little time and less opportunity for plotting and faction-building.
«So here I am,» finished Khystros. «I could hardly refuse, because that would have played into Indhios' fat hands. I did suggest that to be less conspicuous I travel in a small, fast vessel, with only my daughter and a few guards and secretaries. But Indhios convinced my brother that the High King of Mardha sets great store by an imposing show. Were I to appear in anything less than the chief warship of the royal fleet of Royth, with less than a hundred useless mouths in my train, both I and the Kingdom would be forever disgraced in the eyes of the Mardhans. Ah, well, we must eat what is set before us.»
He looked sharply at Blade again. «Wherever you come from, it seems clear to me that you have no love for the pirates. You are a fighting man such as one meets more often in legend than in fact. And Mardha is a wild land, with its High Kings barely able to keep order even within the walls of their own palaces. What do you say to joining my service as a guard? You deserve more rank than I could give you without arousing jealousy among those who already serve me, for I can see you are born to lead as well as to fight. But in Mardha, anything may happen, and the more trustworthy men I have guarding my back, the better I will feel. Well, Master Blahyd?»
Blade had to consider the offer only for a moment. He could hardly find a position that offered better opportunities to explore this world than that of a household guard to an important and far-traveling noble. Furthermore, he could make use of his great skill in combat and would have no need to support himself by pretending to other skills he did not possess. And of all the masters he had found it necessary or expedient to serve in his travels, Khystros seemed among the most decent. So he nodded and then added, «What about Brora Lanthal's son? We are sworn friends.»
Khystros grinned. «I was about to offer him a place also. Seamaster Brora, you served well aboard the yacht of my wife's father in your younger days. Will you serve me as well now?»
«I will, sir.»
«So be it.» Khystros refilled the wine cups, and they all drank.
CHAPTER 5
For over a week the ship, Triumph, sailed east before the light but steady breeze. Brora and the other survivors of the battle were quickly accepted into the crew and assigned duties. Brora became an assistant to the sailing master; others took posts as their skills suggested. Blade, as one of the Grand Duke's private guard, had no shipboard duties, but exercised regularly in arms with the other guardsmen. They were indeed few. Most of the Grand Duke's retainers were useless civilian hangers-on, seasick half the time even in the good weather and seldom appearing on deck. Blade shuddered to contemplate what would happen to those poor wretches in the event of a pirate attack.
Blade's superb physique quickly threw off the minor effects of his five days adrift. The other guards were frankly amazed at what he could do with rapier and dagger, broadsword, battleaxe, or mace. None of them could best him, and few could even stay with him in the canvas-covered arms arena marked out amidships for more than a few minutes at a time. Practice sessions, simple but ample meals, and sleep to throw off the healthy exhaustion of much hard physical exercise took up much of the day. But there was still time for Blade to walk the whitescraped planks of Triumph's deck, from forward to aft and back again, look up at the sails and masts towering against the searing blue sky, and contemplate his problems.
Apart from simple boredom, there were two of them. There was Triumph's captain, and there was the Lady Alixa. Blake had watched the captain's face during the discussion of the pirate danger. The man was clearly skilled at concealing his emotions. But there had been many occasions during Blade's years as a secret agent when reading another man's expression had been a matter of life or death. Blade had trained himself to penetrate disguises and would have sworn the captain was delighted at the news of pirates roaming and ravaging far south of their usual haunts. Furthermore, it seemed entirely plausible to Blade that Chancellor Indhios had bribed or coerced the captain into making sure that Grand Duke Khystros never reached Mardha alive. Whether the captain himself was also in the pay of the pirates and sworn to lead this rich prize like a lamb into the jaws of the wolves was another nasty question.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about his suspicions. He was in the same position as the Grand Duke himself had been in accusing the Chancellor-he had no evidence that would convince a reasonable man. And in a way he was worse off than the duke, since he had no position here that would at least assure him an open, let alone a receptive, ear. He was, he had to face it, nothing but a hired bodyguard. The duke's favor to him might easily dry up if he started hurling what might well seem wild accusations.
The problem with Lady Alixa seemed almost equally insoluble. In a word, she had her eyes on him. He guessed that she was a strong-willed, hot-tempered young woman who would not take kindly to a refusal. She would find some way to make even as levelheaded and just a man as her father believe that Blade had seduced or at least insulted her. And there would go his position, if not his head. Yet if he took her, and Khystros found out, wouldn't the same thing happen? Blade had a reasonably good opinion of himself in general, but he honestly could not see himself as Khystros' choice of a son-in-law. And this was entirely apart from the fearful complications that such a relationship would involve when it came time for him to return to Home Dimension. He had left lovely women and even children behind him on several of his journeys and did not wish to do so again.
So he paced the deck and turned steadily browner under the tropical sun that beat down day after day. He learned to identify the seabirds and the great silver and green fish that often paced the ship for hours on end, further toughened his iron physique with more weapons exercise and gymnastics, and occasionally spoke with Khystros. The man seemed to be brooding about something. Blade only hoped it wasn't his daughter's regard for the new guardsman that was troubling the Grand Duke. The Lady Alixa took little care to conceal the look in her eyes when they fell on Blade.