“No, Inger. No scheme. We talked it over this afternoon. It got hot, but we decided to come out as a group and tell you. Your son is King. You’re Regent. We want to take you back and get the government into your hands before the news gets out and Kavelin begins tearing itself apart.”

“He’s not dead. I don’t believe that. It’s some kind of a trick.” She looked at each man. “Oh. You really believe it. But it isn’t possible…. Why are you even telling me? You were finally getting rid of me.”

“That was when you were intriguing against the Crown,” Michael said. “Now you are the Crown. What it boils down to is, we decided to stick with the law. The law was on our side then. Now it’s on yours. We don’t agree with you on much, but our duty is to the Crown. We came to take you back.”

Inger sat down. “Michael, this is a lot to swallow. There’s been nothing but bitterness. All of a sudden, now, you people are going to be on my side?”

“Only in a manner of speaking,” General Liakopulos said. “Inasmuch as Sir Gjerdrum and Baron Hardle were slain with the King, I’ve become commander of the army and Cham Mundwiller has become principal royal spokesman in the Thing. My conscience won’t let me continue in my post longer than it takes you to replace me. But continue I will, to maintain order. When you replace me I’ll retire to High Crag.”

Inger’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

Michael replied, “Really. Derel plans to return to the Rebsamen. I haven’t spoken to Cham, but I expect he’ll fight a desperate rearguard action till you can get rid of the Thing altogether. Abaca didn’t say, but he’ll probably go back to his people. He already ordered the Marena Dimura troops to return home.”

“That little toad. He’ll cause trouble. He hates me.”

“You didn’t do much to make him love you.”

She gave him a hard look. He didn’t flinch. “What about you, Michael? What do you plan to do?”

“Probably the same as the General. Help keep order till the transition is over, then leave. I don’t want to see what your people are going to do to Kavelin. I have family in the west. I’ll go back to the business, the way I was supposed to years back.”

“You really think the people on my side are plunderers, don’t you?”

“There’s little evidence to the contrary, Inger. I recall only a handful of Nordmen who ever cared a whit for the kingdom or anyone but themselves. And the history of your family is common knowledge. I expect your cousin will swoop down like a bandit chieftain. When he’s picked the kingdom’s bones, he’ll sell what’s left, the Gap, to the Dread Empire, for a western vice-regality, or something of the sort. And you and Fulk will get nothing but the short end.”

“You have an altogether too narrow view. Let’s not argue politics.”