“It’s embarrassing,” she said. “One of my stewards lumped you with the mercenary groups. It’s so hard to keep track of them all! If you wish, I’ll give you leave to camp closer to the city. There’s not room inside the walls for the Band, I’m afraid.”

“That won’t be needed,” Mat said, taking one of the seats. “Letting us move closer is kind enough. Thank you.” Thom sat, and Birgitte preferred to stand, though she did join them by the hearth, leaning back against the stones.

“You look well, Elayne,” Thom said. “Is everything going well with the child?”

“Children,” Elayne corrected. “There will be twins. And yes, everything is well. Save for me having to be poked and prodded at nearly every opportunity.”

“Wait,” Mat said. “What?” He glanced again at Elayne’s stomach.

Thom rolled his eyes. “Don’t you ever listen when you’re in the city gambling?”

“I listen,” Mat muttered. “Usually.” He looked accusingly at Elayne. “Does Rand know about this?”

She laughed. “I should hope he isn’t too surprised.”

“Burn me!” Mat said. “He’s the father!”

“The father of my children is a matter of some speculation in the city,” Elayne said solemnly. “And the Crown prefers there to be speculation, for the time. But enough about me! Thom, you have to tell me everything. How did you escape Ebou Dar?”

“Forget Ebou Dar,” Birgitte snapped. “How’s Olver? Did you find him?”

“We did,” Thom said. “And he is well, though I fear the lad is destined for life as a professional soldier.”

“Not a bad life,” Birgitte said. “Eh, Mat?”

“There are worse,” he said, still trying to get his legs underneath him. How had becoming Queen made Elayne less high-and-mighty? Had he missed something? She actually seemed agreeable now!

Well, that was unfair. There were times when she had been agreeable before. They had merely been mixed between times when she had been ordering Mat around. He found himself smiling as Thom related the details of their escape and the capture of Tuon, followed by their travels with Master Luca’s menagerie. Drawn from the quiver of a storyteller, the tale sounded a whole lot more impressive than it had been to live. Mat almost thought himself a hero, listening to Thom.

Right before Thom got to the part about Tuon’s marriage words, however, Mat coughed and cut in. “And we beat the Seanchan, fled into Murandy, and eventually found an Aes Sedai to get us here through a gateway. By the way, have you seen Verin lately?”

“No,” Elayne said. Thom eyed Mat with amusement.

“Blast,” Mat said. Well, there went his chance to use her for a gateway to the Tower of Ghenjei. He would worry about that later. He took the leather envelope from his belt, then opened it, taking out Aludra’s papers. “Elayne,” he said, “I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, you mentioned ‘bellfounders’ in your letter. What trouble have you gotten yourself into, Matrim Cauthon?”

“That’s not fair at all,” he said, spreading out the sheets. “I’m not the one who gets into trouble. If I—”