Meliadus seemed puzzled by her comment. “One can become bored by anything, of course, but there are other thingsthere are Kalan’s experimentsand Taragorm’s for that matter. With the resources of the world at their disposal, our scientists could make anything. Why, they could build us ships to sail through space, as the ancients did. We could journey to new worlds and conquer thempitting wits and skill against a universe! Granbretan’s adventure could last a million years!”

“And is adventure and sensation all we should seek, Meliadus?”

“Ayewhy not? All is chaos, there is no meaning to existence, there is only one advantage to living one’s life and that is to discover all the sensations the human mind and body is capable of feeling. That will take at least a million years, surely?”

Flana nodded. “That is our creed, true.” She appeared to sigh. “Therefore I suppose I can agree to your plans, Meliadus, for what you suggest I do is doubtless no more boring than anything else.” She shrugged. “Very well, I will be your Queen when you need me and if Huon discovers our perfidy, why, it will be a relief to die.”

Slightly unnerved by this, Meliadus rose from the table. “You will say nothing to anyone until the time comes, Flana?”

“I will say nothing.”

“Good. Now I must visit Kalan. He is attracted to my scheme, since it means more scope for his experiments if we succeed. Taragorm, too, is with me…”

“You trust Taragorm? Your rivalry is well-known.”

“Aye I hate Taragorm, it is true, and he hates me, but it is a mellow sort of hatred now, for you’ll remember that our rivalry began over Taragorm’s marriage to my sister whom I had previously intended to wed myself. But my sister compromised herselfwith a jackass, I heardand Taragorm discovered it. Whereupon, as you no doubt heard, my sister had her slaves slaughter her and the ass in some strange manner. Taragorm and I disposed of the slaves jointly and during that episode we rediscovered something of our old comradeship. My brother-in-law may be trusted. He feels Huon hampers his researches too much.”

All this time their voices had not risen above a murmur so that even the slavegirls by the door could not hear them.

Meliadus bowed to Flana, snapped his fingers at the girls so that they ran to prepare his litter and carry him back through the corridors to his own home, and left.

Flana continued to stare out over the water, hardly thinking of Meliadus’s scheme, but dreaming instead of the handsome D’Averc and of days in the future when they might meet again and D’Averc would take her away from Londra and all its intriguestake her perhaps to his own rural estates in France which she, if she were Queen, would be able to give back to him.