Lady Melina's reasons for choosing to wear black were more obscure. Some said her choice was out of grief for her late husband or-this last was usually whispered-for her brother, Newell, the traitor.

However, black was not universally recognized as symbolizing mourning. White would have done as well if that was her desire.

I'd bet half the cargo from any ship in my fleet, Waln thought sardonically, that the lady's real reason for choosing that color was that she knew it would make her the center of all eyes, even with two monarchs and their spouses for compet.i.tion.

He sought a glimpse of the famous necklace of enchanted gemstones Lady Melina was reported to wearat all times. Rumor said that the necklace held five stones-one stone each to bind the souls of each of her five children. Some said that now the necklace held only four-that the blue stone that had represented Sapphire was gone, vanished even as its mate had vanished from the diadem about the princess's brow.

Tonight, however, Lady Melina's necklace was not in sight, though Waln fancied that something did bulk beneath the neckline of her gown.

From his studying of the packet he had found waiting for him in his ship's cabin, Waln knew that Lady Melina Shield was the youngest child and only daughter of the late Pola, d.u.c.h.ess Gyrfalcon. As a much petted and long-awaited daughter, she had been given a large dowry on the occasion of her marriage to Rolfston Redbriar, a fact that-if Queen Valora's spies were to be believed-had not set too well with those three brothers who stood no more chance than she of inheriting the duchy.

Whether or not (he marriage that had occasioned such generosity had been a good one remained a matter of debate. Some said that the marriage had been happy, that Lord Rolfston had been content to be ruled by his wife. Others said that he chafed, maintained a series of common-born mistresses, and longed for personal recognition, but that he feared his wife too much to openly challenge her authority.

Happy or not, the marriage had produced five children, each named for a gemstone: Sapphire, Jet, Opal, Ruby, and Citrine. Jet had been the only son and-most agreed-his mother's favorite. Sapphire had been too headstrong, too aware of her own power as heir apparent to the family's generous holdings.

Now, however, Waln mused, Sapphire is King Tedric's daughter by law and Melina's favorite will take over-that is, he'll haul the load but she'll touch the reins or the whip. Nor, if her forbidding their attending Sapphire's Bright Bay wedding is any indication, has the lady given up plans to run her younger daughters' lives.

Speaking to Lady Melina here would be too public for his purposes, but there were ways he could contact her, even in this press, without being any the wiser.

Waln waited until Lady Melina condescended to join one of the long pattern dances. Then he hastened to find a partner of his own, pleased that the nearest available was a pretty enough fair-haired minx.

When Lady Melina had marched her own partner to the head of the line, Waln guided his partner to a s.p.a.ce farther down, carefully counting so that-if the form of the dance was the same here as in the Isles-before the dance ended he would tread a measure or two with Lady Melina.

Then, making as if to tighten the buckle on his shoe, he transferred into his shirt cuff the short note he had written earlier in the privacy of his room.

"Lady Melina," it said, "I have a proposition that should interest you greatly, but we must speak of it only in the greatest possible privacy. Suggest where we may meet."

Baron Endbrook left the note unsigned. After all, Lady Melina would surely discover the sender's ident.i.ty.

Quivering with equal parts antic.i.p.ation and apprehension, Waln concentrated on the dance. The steps were not too different from what he had learned on the Isles, though he rapidly discovered that his more boisterous execution of some of the moves was considered a bit "country."

A kind young fellow muttered a few hints to him as they pa.s.sed in one set and by the time Waln's segment of the line had intersected with Lady Melina's, Waln fancied that he was dancing as well asany-and better than many. Wine and sweet hard cider had been freely available and some of the dancers had not sweated their indulgence from their systems.

Partnered at last with Lady Melina, Waln deftly slid his note inside the palm of her black, lace-trimmed gloves. With a nod and a smile, he exchanged the lady for his own partner, whom he promptly marched away under an archway of interlocking hands and into the next set.

The music ended before his set intersected again with Lady Melina's. Rather than make himself conspicuous, Waln thanked the pretty blonde and offered his services to another, somewhat older, lady.

After two more dances-changing partners each time-he felt a breather was in order. He thanked his most recent partner, handed her graciously to another dancer, and went to find himself something to drink and a bit of wall to lean against-the chairs were reserved for the ladies.

Waln was finding the hard cider a trace too sweet for his tastes when Lady Melina happened to stroll by.

She was fanning herself gently while talking to a man Waln recognized as her second-eldest brother, Lord Rein.

So intent was the lady on her conversation that she accidentally trod upon the hem of her gown. She stumbled and her brother caught her up, but as she recovered her balance her fan dropped from her hand. Waln bent to pick it up for her and discovered-not at all to his surprise-a slip of paper tucked into the base.

Extracting this, Waln returned the fan to its owner, inquired after her well-being, and, after hearing her laugh lightly at her own clumsiness, excused himself. He traded the cider for a gla.s.s of white wine whose sharp dry flavor cut the sweet fug in his mouth and seemed to clear his head as well.

He was cornered by a plump energetic woman wearing a brooch bearing the silver heart of House Merlin. She proved to be a minor functionary of that house, very interested in trade possibilities between the Isles and Hawk Haven. They discussed possible markets for a time and Waln found her well informed as to the needs of the island communities-enough so that he did not need to feign interest.

After this lady departed-having exchanged contact information with him so that they might do further business-Waln took advantage of tucking her card away to glance at Lady Melina's note. It was brief, scrawled on the back of someone else's calling card.

"My room in the castle. Tonight. Two hours past midnight."

Baron Endbrook spent much of the intervening time by becoming a veritable hurricane on the dance floor. He was helped in this by the fact that this ball was fairly informal. That is, only the sticklers for form-or the extremely popular-kept dance cards. There were plenty of women available and eager to dance. He even found himself a commodity-the exotic sailor from the Isles-and had to stop himself from accentuating the roll in his walk.

Dancing continued until well after midnight. When the exhausted orchestra began to falter, Waln was surprised and astonished to discover that there were those among the honored guests quite interested in taking the musicians' places. The subst.i.tute musicians were less polished but more enthusiastic and the dancers took on an ebullience wherein Waln's "country" steps were not out of place.

He excused himself before the appointed time for his rendezvous. With a question here and a question there he had learned how to find Lady Melina's room.

After finding a corner where he could tidy himself, Warn made his stealthy way up a flight of stairs. He counted cross-halls and landmarks and upon arrival found that stealth had been unnecessary. Thecorridor was empty even of servants.

Apparently, all those who were awake were enjoying the ball.

I suppose it makes sense, Waln thought, raising his hand to tap on the door. I doubt that the elderly king entertains on this scale very often.

The door opened to his touch and he found himself entering a single room made up as a bedchamber.

Some of his astonishment must have shown, for Lady Melina's first words were "We castle residents are very tightly packed. The suite I would usually command is given over, I believe, to the contingent from the Shark Barony. My maid is sleeping belowstairs, my children are in town staying with their Redbriar relations. You and I are quite alone."

Waln collected himself with some difficulty. Lady Melina had all but purred those last few words, sending an unexpected thrill through him.

Easy, Waln, remember that she's a sorceress, he cautioned himself, and found that the thought chilled him as iced water might.

Freed from the veil she had worn in public, Lady Melina proved to be fair-haired, though even candlelight revealed the silver intermixed with the fading blond. Although she was a small woman-Waln was surprised to learn just how small now that they stood close-she exuded confidence.

The notorious gemstone necklace was visible now as well-surely for his benefit, for she could have continued to conceal it beneath her dress. He noted that there were indeed five stones. If Sapphire had rejected her ornament, Melina had retained her own.

Waln dismissed fascinating speculation as to what effect Melina's silent claim to continued domination over her daughter might have on Princess Sapphire's reign as the crown princess established herself in her new role in Hawk Haven. His business was with Melina alone-and for her own qualities, not for her relation to the princess.

Lady Melina directed Waln to take a seat on one of two chairs she had drawn up a short distance from the bedstead. The bed's curtains were mostly drawn-as if to reject any invitation to dalliance-but were open enough that Waln could see that no one hid behind their shelter.

In any case, he rea.s.sured himself, even in a small room like this she could hide someone beneath the bed or in a clothes chest if she wished to violate my request for privacy. Here is when I must begin thinking of her as a potential partner.

"I am," he said, "meeting with you at the request of a powerful personage."

"Queen Valora," Lady Melina said, something of a decisive snap in her tone. "Unless you wish to deny that very obvious deduction."

"No," Waln said slowly, "I do not. Very well. I am here as a representative of Her Majesty. Recently she has inherited some quite interesting objects. It is her belief that you could be of use in learning their true use and value."

"Inherited," Lady Melina interrupted. "If these objects are what I think they may be, some might say that 'stolen' is a better description for how she acquired them."

"As you wish," Waln said, bowing his head slightly.He'd learned long ago that the best way to deal with people who wished to show how wise and knowledgeable they were was to let them talk. He'd also learned that nothing was to be gained by arguing with someone you needed.

"Three enchanted objects-the very knowledge of their existence enough to trigger a war," Lady Melina mused. "There have been those who have said that Queen Valora was an idiot to take them from Revelation Point Castle."

Again Waln let the gibe pa.s.s, but he added the insult to his queen to the rapidly growing list of those things he would not forget.

"No doubt," he replied mildly, "Her Majesty felt differently."

"As is shown by her taking them." Lady Melina tossed her head, her hair silvery in the candlelight. "Now she wishes me to show her how to use them."

Waln permitted himself to show some surprise. If Lady Melina were more skillful, she would taunt less frequently. As it was, the acid of her tongue was losing its sharpness. He merely antic.i.p.ated it and schooled his reactions to play her moods as he wished. Sorceress or not, she was no master politician.

"Could you?" he asked, allowing an eager tremor to enter his voice.

"Not without seeing them," Lady Melina replied, suddenly reasonable. "And even then, the unraveling of their secrets might take time."

"True," Waln said, dropping a card on the table, "so the New Kelvinese said when they were consulted."

"New Kelvinese?"

Lady Melina was either genuinely astonished or far more skilled at dissembling than Waln would have guessed.

"New Kelvinese," she repeated. "You took the objects to them?"

"Not quite."

Briefly and directly, Waln summarized his visit to Dragon's Breath-all but the final command that he return with someone skilled in magic or not at all. This portion of his approach was according to Queen Valora's express command. He would probably have held more information back until he had sounded Melina out in greater depth.

The queen, however, must have recognized some element of personality in the materials in Melina's dossier that he had not. When Waln finished speaking, the sorceress's eyes were alight with interest, even with eagerness.

"New Kelvin," she said, her voice a reverent whisper. "Dragon's Breath. I was only there once, when I was but fifteen. I spent two weeks..."

She stopped, pulling herself from her reminiscences with a visible jerk.

"I envy you," she said, her tones parlor-proper again. "Much. The New Kelvinese have retained a reverence for the past that was lost in this country. There was no burning of books, no rooting out of sorcerous objects as there was here."

"I saw their reverence for the past," Waln said, seeing his line now and praising his queen's insight.He, too, had read the reference to that long-ago trip but had failed to deduce that it might be a romantic memory for Lady Melina. Waln went on, recalling the buildings he had seen, the strange rituals he had glimpsed.

Waln did not mention that he had thought that an honest desire for preservation could be carried too far.

If the New Kelvinese retained some of their founders' enchantments and sorceries, these were not readily available. More than one building had been smokily lit by torch or candlelight rather than having a window or two knocked in revered walls. City streets had often been far too narrow-as if constructed to bear lighter or different traffic.

Although he found Lady Melina an avid audience for his traveler's tales, Baron Endbrook was too canny to talk for long. While Lady Melina was still smiling gently in the glow of her memories, he flashed his lure once more.

"Sadly, I failed to come to any sort of meeting of the minds with the New Kelvinese with whom I met.

When they spoke of magical matters, they used words that could not be translated, either by the skilled merchant I had hired or their own people. It was as if they spoke of color to a man blind from birth," he concluded, turning the New Kelvinese's insult to his own use.

"My queen," he said, "immediately deduced that what we needed was one who might not be blind to those colors."

That was as far as he was willing to go in mentioning Lady Melina's reputation for sorcery. In Hawk Haven-and most other countries he knew-sorcery was still considered a foul art.

What the New Kelvinese might or might not do with magic was made acceptable simply by regarding their interest as not in sorcery as such. If some mad antiquarians dabbled in such arts this was simply part and parcel of the national fanaticism for old things. That New Kelvin had remained a small nation, unthreatening to any and all, had made this mental reservation an easy one to maintain.

That New Kelvin is the only place we know that supplies silks and some of the more exotic drugs doesn't hurt either, Waln thought cynically.

Lady Melina fingered the stones in her necklace.

"I have made something of a study of color," she said, "and might be interested in turning that knowledge to your queen's benefit. Indeed, why go so far as Dragon's Breath? Winter is coming and the Sword of Kelvin Mountains make a formidable barrier in the colder months. Why not let me study these objects here-or even in Her Majesty's domain?"

Waln had been expecting something like this. Queen Valora did not want Lady Melina given time and leisure to toy with the enchanted artifacts. Nor did the queen believe that Lady Melina had the ability to unlock their secrets without help.

"Not," the queen had said, "that I doubt she has made some study of the arcane arts, but compared to Hawk Haven, Bright Bay was positively open-minded on the subject of magic. Lady Melina may have stumbled on a text or two, even studied with some knowledgeable elder now gone to the ancestors, In time, she might even unravel the secrets, but I don't have time. If I am to make my new kingdom more than a playing piece on someone else's board-or worse, see it become a prize of Waterland-I must have power of my own. Real power-not just the threat of power."

Waln had agreed. The more he listened to Queen Valora the more he realized how vulnerable the Isles were. True, a good part of the fleet had followed the queen, but without the stands of timber from themainland, without the metals, without the dozens of things the island shipping industry had taken for granted, they were doomed.

"I cannot permit you to do so," Waln replied bluntly to Lady Melina's request. "My queen's orders forbid such. What I can offer is a chance for you to come with me to New Kelvin-to be my translator in this language of color."

I don't need to tell her now-or ever-that bringing such a translator was a condition of New Kelvinese cooperation.

"And why," Lady Melina said, her slow smile showing that she had deduced at least some of the reasons for Queen Valora's refusal, "does your queen trust me?"

Again Waln was blunt.

"She does not, Lady Melina. If you were to join me on this expedition, she must have hostages against your good faith."

Lady Melina's laugh was as rough as a puma's purr.

"I like you, Baron Endbrook. You are a sailor without a drop of artifice."

If you wish to think so, he thought, swallowing a silent chuckle, I am pleased to have you do so.

"Hostage against my good faith," Lady Melina repeated. "What might this be?"

"You have children," Baron Endbrook said, feeling a momentary pang as he thought of his own little girls.

"I do," she said, "four, now that the king has taken one. Jet cannot be spared his new responsibilities.

Sapphire wants her sisters as hostages to winter in Bright Bay. I might be able to spare you one, though."

Baron Endbrook managed not to look disapproving at Melina's cavalier disposal of her young, remembering that it was not uncommon for the members of the Great Houses to trade children for entire seasons in order to foster friendship between their families. Probably Lady Melina thought of this arrangement as nothing more than a rather peculiar form of such fostering.

"And there must be some guarantee in the form of something you value."

For the first time, Lady Melina showed a flash of maternal fury.

"As if I do not value my children! Think again, Baron Endbrook. I value them highly. They are my greatest wealth and immortality-and all that remains to me of Rolfston."

Her sorrow on this last point seemed genuine, but Waln had his orders.

"I am sorry, my lady, but we will be entrusting you with access to three irreplaceable artifacts of great value. It is only * reasonable that you give into our keeping something that you find equally valuable."

"And that is?"

"Your necklace."

Lady Melina pealed with laughter, the sound coming from her in shrieking waves and continuing until tears ran down her cheeks."My necklace?"