Prince Paul’s shout, even though he was immediately overcome with shyness when he found everyone looking at him, shook loose reactions from the rest.

“Ascelin and I will come with you, of course,” said the duchess. “After all, Sir Hugo’s wizard was once my own ducal wizard.”

“And I’ll come!” “And I’ll come!” cried all the knights present.

King Haimeric waited until the hubbub died down a bit, then turned first to his son. “I would love to have you with me, Paul,” he said solemnly. “But this quest is too dangerous to risk both the king of Yurt and the royal heir to Yurt. If I don’t come back, you’ll need to be here to take care of your mother and to succeed to the throne.”

Paul nodded, as solemn as the king. “All right, Father,” he said, swallowing disappointment with visible effort. “I’ll try to be a king you can be proud of.” He paused. “But when I grow up, I’m going on a quest, and no one will stop me then!”

King Haimeric smiled at his son and turned to the rest of us. Behind him, I could see the queen quietly and thoroughly ripping a lace-trimmed handkerchief to pieces.

“I appreciate everyone’s willingness to accompany me,” said the king. “But I can’t possibly take you all. We’ll have a better chance of finding the queen’s uncle if we can move quickly and unobtrusively. I’m not even going to travel as king of Yurt, but only as a simple pilgrim. I might take two or three of you, perhaps …”

There was a new outbreak of voices as all the knights pleaded to be among the two or three. The servants had long since given up any pretense of clearing the tables and hovered at the edges of the group, listening. The king looked genuinely troubled to have to disappoint so many people.

But he made his choices quickly. “You come with me, Dominic,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot together over the years, and it seems right that we should share this quest.”