“I have decided to accept your king’s invitation, my lord,” he said easily.

Lionel bowed and controlled a small smile. Merritt and several of the liveried men-at-arms had dismounted during Bran’s absence and now stood clustered at Lionel’s back.

“However,” Bran continued, “there are certain conditions which I must impose before I proceed to Cardosa with your standard-bearer, and I am not certain you will agree to them.”

Campbell, a man-at-arms, and a slender man in field surgeon’s garb slipped into the group clustered around Bran, and Lionel’s eyes darted toward them suspiciously. The surgeon was holding a large earthen drinking vessel with knobbed handles on either side. Merritt stepped closer to Lionel and murmured something in his ear, and Lionel frowned as he returned his attention to Bran.

“Name your conditions, my lord.”

“I trust that you will not take offense at my caution, my lord,” Bran said with a nod, “but I must be assured that there will be no untoward behavior on the part of you or any of your men while I am away.”

“You have been given that assurance, my lord,” Lionel said evenly.

Bran lifted a hand and lightly shook his head. “And I honor your word, my lord,” Bran replied, “but my men desire further assurance, if I am to be absent. Therefore, in order to guard against treachery while you are here and I am not, I have had my master surgeon prepare a simple sleeping draught, of which you, Lord Merritt, and the remaining guards will partake before I leave. You see, I have no way of knowing your true motives at this point, not being able to see into your minds. You could even be Deryni sorcerers, for all I know. Do you agree to these terms?”

Lionel’s face had stiffened as Bran spoke, and he glanced uncomfortably at Merritt and his men before replying. It was obvious that neither he nor Merritt was eager to spend the next hours drugged to senselessness in Bran’s camp. Yet, to refuse Bran’s terms would be to admit that they did not trust him, and perhaps that Wencit’s invitation was not all that it seemed. Lionel obviously had been given his orders, and his tone was cold and formal as he addressed the young earl.

“You will forgive my momentary hesitation, my lord, but we had not anticipated such counter-terms. We understand your caution, of course, and wish to assure you that it was not the intention of His Majesty to bring disaster upon you through magic; if he had so wished, he could have done it without risking our lives. However, you will understand if we, in turn, now exercise a certain caution of our own. Before we may agree to your terms, we must be reasonably convinced that your draught is, indeed, only the sleeping potion you claim.”

“I concur, of course,” Bran said, motioning his surgeon to approach. “Cordan, who is to test your potion for His Grace?”

Cordan nudged a soldier standing at his side and stepped forward, bowing as the soldier came to attention.