“Listen to the truth, then,” he said. “William dangled you like an expensive prize before Killien’s eyes. He fed him full of the foolish hope that he could have you—the Select of Kultis. He made it possible for you to visit Hugh that night at Faith Will Succour—yes,” he said, at her gasp, “I know about that. I saw you there with him. He also made sure Hugh would meet you, just as he made sure that the Orthodox soldiers would attack.”

“I don’t believe it—” she managed.

“Don’t you be a fool, too,” Donal said, roughly. “How else do you think an overwhelming force of Orthodox elite troops happened to move in on the encampment at just the proper time? What other men than fanatic Orthodox soldiery could be counted on to make sure none of the men in our unit escaped alive? There was supposed to be only one man to escape from that affair—Hugh Killien, who would be in a position then to make a hero’s claim on you. You see how much your good opinion is worth?”

“Hugh wouldn’t—”

“Hugh didn’t,” interrupted Donal. “As I said, he was a fool. A fool but a good soldier. Nothing more was needed for William. He knew Hugh would be fool enough to go and meet you, and good soldier enough not to throw his life away when he saw his command was destroyed. As I say, he would have come back alone—and a hero.”

“But you saw through this!” she snapped. “What’s your secret? A pipeline to the Orthodox camp?”

“Surely it was obvious from the situation; a command exposed, a commandant foolishly making a love-tryst in a battleground, that something like the attack was inevitable. I simply asked myself what kind of troops would be used and how they might be detected. Orthodox troops eat nothing but native herbs, cooked in the native fashion. The odor of their cooking permeates their clothing. Any veteran of a Harmony campaign would be able to recognize their presence the same way.”

“If his nose was sensitive enough. If he knew where to look for them—”

“There was only one logical spot—”

“Anyway,” she said coldly. “This is beside the point. The point is”— suddenly she fired up before him— “Hugh wasn’t guilty. You said it yourself. He was, even according to you, only a fool! And you had him murdered!”

He sighed in weariness.

“The crime,” he said, “for which Commandant Killien was executed was that of misleading his men and abandoning them in enemy territory. It was that he paid with his life for.”

“Murderer!” she said. “Get out!”

“But,” he said, staring baffledly at her, “I’ve just explained.”