‘Don’t do that, Ehlana,’ he told her, automatically assuming the tutorial manner he had used when she was a little girl. ‘You’re the queen, not some coy chambermaid trying to get her own way. Don’t ask or try to be charming. Command.’

‘Would you take off the sword if I commanded you to, Sparhawk?’

‘No, but the usual rules don’t apply to me.’

‘Who decided that?’

‘I did. We can send for the Earl of Lenda if you’d like. He’s well versed in the law, and he can give us his opinion on the matter.’

‘But if he decides against you, you’ll ignore him, won’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘That’s not fair, Sparhawk.’

‘I’m not trying to be fair, My Queen.’

‘Sparhawk, when we’re alone like this, do you suppose we could dispense with the “Your Majestys” and “My Queens”? I do have a name, after all, and you weren’t afraid to use it when I was a child.’

‘As you wish,’ he shrugged.

‘Say it, Sparhawk. Say Ehlana. It’s not a hard name, and I’m sure you won’t choke on it.’

He smiled. ‘All right, Ehlana,’ he gave up. After her defeat on the issue of the sword, she needed a victory of some kind to restore her dignity.

‘You’re so much more handsome when you smile, my champion. You should try it more often.’ She leaned back on her pillows, her face thoughtful. Her pale blonde hair had been carefully combed that morning, and she wore a few modest but quite expensive pieces of jewellery. Her cheeks were prettily rosy, which was in quite some contrast to her very fair skin. ‘What did you do in Rendor after the idiot Aldreas sent you into exile?’

‘That’s hardly the proper way to speak of your father, Ehlana.’

‘He wasn’t much of a father, Sparhawk, and his intellect wasn’t exactly what you’d call towering. The efforts he expended entertaining his sister must have softened his brains.’

‘Ehlana!’

‘Don’t be such a prude, Sparhawk. The whole palace knew about it – the whole city, probably.’

Sparhawk decided that it was time to find a husband for his queen. ‘How did you find out so much about Princess Arissa?’ he asked her. ‘She was sent to that cloister near Demos before you were born.’

‘Gossip lingers, Sparhawk, and Arissa was hardly what you’d call discreet.’