‘We’ll have to decide right now, you know, and I don’t like to make up my mind in a hurry. She’d have a great deal of trouble believing this, wouldn’t she? Particularly if it meant that she’d have to accept the fact that she’s really barren and that I’m here as a result of my own choice instead of her personal appetites and fertility. Will it break her heart if we tell her who I really am?’

He thought about it. He knew his wife better than anyone else in the world possibly could. He remembered with an icy chill that momentary look of anguish which had filled her grey eyes when he had suggested that his gift of the ring had been a mistake. ‘No,’ he said finally, ‘we can’t tell her.’

‘I didn’t think so either, but I wanted to be sure.’

Something occurred to Sparhawk. ‘Why did you include her in that dream? – the one about the island? And why did she dream about what happened in the temple? It was almost as if she’d been there.’

‘She was there, father. She had to be. I was hardly in a position to leave her behind and go places by myself, was I? Let me down, please.’

He unwrapped his arms from about her, and she went to the window. ‘Come here, Sparhawk,’ she said after a moment.

He joined her at the window. ‘What is it?’ he asked her.

‘Mother’s coming back. She’s down in the courtyard with Mirtai and Talen.’

Sparhawk looked out the window. ‘Yes,’ he agreed.

‘I’m going to be a queen someday, aren’t I?’

‘Unless you decide to throw it all over and go and herd goats somewhere, yes.’

She let that pass. ‘I’ll need a champion then, won’t I?’

‘I suppose so. I could do it if you like.’

‘When you’re eighty years old? You’re very imposing right now, father, but I suspect you’ll begin to get a little decrepit when you get older.’

‘Don’t rub it in.’

‘Sorry. And I’ll need a Prince Consort as well, won’t I?’

‘It’s customary. Why are we talking about this now, though?’

‘I want your advice, father, and your consent.’

‘Isn’t this a little premature? You’re only four years old, you know.’

‘A girl can’t start thinking about these things too early.’ She pointed down towards the courtyard. ‘I think that one right down there will do very nicely, don’t you?’ She sounded almost as if she were choosing a new ribbon for her hair.

‘Talen?’

‘Why not? I like him. He’s going to be a knight – Sir Talen, if you can believe that. He’s funny and really much nicer than he seems – besides, I can beat him at draughts, and we can’t spend all our time in bed, the way you and mother do.’