“They can’t win,” Vanai said. “I can’t stay hidden forever, andthere’s nowhere I can go, either, not if they win.”

But the Algarvians could win, as Ealstan knew all too well.“Maybe not in Forthweg,” he admitted, “but Forthweg isn’t the only kingdom inthe world, either.” Vanai looked at him as if he’d taken leave of his senses. MaybeI have, he thought. But then again, maybe I haven’t.

Hajjaj stared down at the papers his secretary handed him. “Well,well,” he said. “This is a pretty pickle, isn’t it?”

“Aye, your Excellency,” Qutuz answered. “How do you propose tohandle it?”

“Carefully,” the Zuwayzi foreign minister said, which won a smilefrom Qutuz. Hajjaj went on, “And by that I mean, not least, not letting theAlgarvians know I’m doing anything at all. They’re our allies, after all.”

“How long do you suppose you can keep this business secret?” Qutuzasked.

“A while,” Hajjaj replied. “Not indefinitely. And, before it issecret no more, I had better get King Shazli’s views on the matter.” I hadbetter see if I can bring King Shazli’s views around to my own, if they happento differ now. “I don’t think that will wait. Please let his Majesty’sservitors know that I seek audience with him at his earliest convenience.”

His secretary bowed. “I shall attend to it directly, yourExcellency,” he said, and hurried away. Hajjaj nodded at his bare browndeparting backside: like all Zuwayzin, Qutuz wore clothes only when dealingwith important foreigners. Hajjaj’s secretary was diligent, no doubt about it.When he said directly, he meant it.

And, only a couple of hours later that afternoon, Hajjaj bowed lowbefore the king. “I gather this is a matter of some urgency,” Shazli said. Hewas a bright enough lad, or so Hajjaj thought of him--the late sixties lookingback at the early thirties. “Shall we dispense with the rituals of hospitality,then?”

“If your Majesty would be so kind,” Hajjaj replied, and the kinginclined his head. Thus encouraged, Hajjaj continued, “You need to declare yourpolicy on a matter of both some delicacy and some importance to the kingdom.”