“They would put someone in this Court in a rather indelicate position,” Orthallen replied, “And let us say that the person is entangled with a young lady with whom Herald Dirk was at one time very much involved himself. Their parting was somewhat acrimonious. His motivation could be complex—revenge, perhaps. Blackmail, perhaps. The Queen and I have been attempting to keep this situation from escalating into scandal, but if anyone excepting us saw the contents of these letters, it could throw the entire Court into an uproar.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing a Councillor accuse a Herald of blackmail!” Talia cried out indignantly.

“You just heard my nephew—his best friend—say he’s been drinking himself insensible every night for the past few weeks. Does that sound like normal behavior for a Herald?” Orthallen turned to the Queen. “Majesty, I am not saying that this young man would have purloined these documents were he in his proper mind, but I think there is more than enough evidence to indicate that—”

“Orthallen,” the queen interrupted him, “I—”

“Wait just a moment—don’t anyone say anything.” Talia held one hand to her temple, feeling pain stab through her head. The hot press of the emotions of those around her was so intense she was getting a reaction-headache from trying to shield herself. “Let’s just assume for one moment that Dirk is telling the absolute truth, shall we?”

“But—”

“No, hear me out. Under that assumption, in what way —other than someone deliberately going into his room and planting them there—could those documents have gotten where they were found? Dirk, were they there after dinner?”

“Before I started drinking, you mean?” Dirk replied bitterly. “No. My desk was perfectly clean, for a change. When I woke up this morning, there were about a dozen scrolls there, and this was one of them.”

“Fine. I know if someone had gone into your room that normally didn’t belong there, you’d have woken up, no matter what. I can tell you that I sent Robin to you last night with those poems I borrowed. There were exactly fourteen scrolls, and that wasn’t one of them. Now unless Lord Orthallen would like to accuse me of purloining those documents—”

“I still had them after you left, Talia,” the Queen said, a distinct edge to her voice.

“I also know that none of the Heralds would wake up for a page entering their room unless the page deliberately woke them. The little devils are too ubiquitous; practically invisible, and we all know they’re harmless. So, it is possible that some time between when Robin left me and when he got to your room, Dirk, an extra scroll got added to his pile.”