“But - What about ? your king,” Elissia protested again, still not up to believing that this was really happening. “When he wakes up and finds me in charge - “

  “He’ll be delighted that you were here and able to take over while he recovered,” Listan interrupted, finishing Elissia’s sentence in his own way. “I know his opinion of you, an opinion I share without reservation, so will you please say yes?”

  Elissia was almost beyond saying anything at all, but a sudden thought had come to her. She’d always been sure in her own mind that she could do the job of ruling as well as any man, only there hadn’t been much chance that she would be given the opportunity to prove the contention. Now she was being given the chance, so it was time to put actions where only thoughts had been.

  “All right, Listan, I’ll do as you ask,” Elissia said after only a very brief hesitation. “But don’t start feeling too happy and relieved. If your king wakes up and decides that this wasn’t a very good idea after all, it won’t be me taking the blame for it.”

  “I have faith in my king’s good sense, so I’ll happily take credit for the idea,” Listan said, his grin wide and full of the relief Elissia had warned him against. “Let me show you to another apartment where you can rest until a bath and clean clothes are made ready, and once you’re refreshed I’ll explain as much of the muddle as I’ve been able to determine.”

  Considering the number of people hanging around and doing things in the savage’s apartment, another apartment wasn’t a bad idea. Elissia followed Listan when he turned right up the corridor, but they didn’t go far. Listan opened one of the doors of the very next apartment, then stood aside as he gestured Elissia in first.

  “As soon as I heard that my king was unconscious, I knew that you’d need a place of your own,” Listan said as he followed Elissia into the sitting room where two girls waited. “I also arranged for maids, and asked them to look around for clothing as well as to prepare a bath. You girls: have you found clothing that will fit the queen?”

  “Yes, my lord, we have,” one of the girls answered as both of them curtsied. “And Her Majesty’s bath is ready and waiting.”

  “Excellent,” Listan said to the girls, then turned to murmur to Elissia: “We’ve been welcomed with open arms by the staff in this palace. They’re so grateful to us for taking down Waysten that they can’t do enough for us. I’ll leave you to your privacy now, and when you’re ready you have only to send for me.”

  Listan bowed before turning to the door and striding out, and Elissia wasn’t unhappy to see him go.

  Considering how badly she needed both the bath and clean clothes, the thought of those things was quickly turning into an obsession.

  “Your bathing room is this way, Your Majesty,” the same girl said with a smile, gesturing with one arm.

  “We consider it a privilege to serve you.”

  “You may change your mind when you see how filthy I am,” Elissia said with a rueful smile as she walked toward the indicated door. “Because of that, I’ll want to soak for a while.”

  The door was opened by one of the girls, and Elissia walked in to see a much larger bathing room than the one she’d had in her father’s palace. The bath was large enough to hold four people, the sanitary facilities were situated behind a wide screen, and there were even tables to lie on while someone with magical hands provided a massage.

  “Everything looks perfect,” Elissia said to the girls. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  Using the sanitary facilities took only a little longer than the mentioned moment, and then Elissia was finally able to take off and throw aside the clothing that had long since gone beyond well worn. The water in the bathing pool was deliciously hot, and Elissia settled into it with a sigh of delight. There were “seats”

  fashioned into the corners of the pool, and Elissia used one to do her soaking.

  When the water began to lose its warmth, the girls came close to help Elissia wash. They held the soap while she cleaned her body, and then one of them washed her hair. When the accumulated grime was finally gone, the girls held two towels for her body and hair which they used with gentle efficiency. When she was almost dry they heard the sound of chiming, and one of the girls went to see who was at the door. The girl was back in a pair of moments, her expression uncertain.

  “The lord Listan apparently arranged for a meal to be brought to you, Your Majesty,” the girl said after closing the bathing room door behind her. “Would you like me to tell them to take it back while you have a massage, and bring a fresh meal later?”

  “I think I’m more in need of food than a massage right now,” Elissia said as soon as she became aware of the new hollowness inside her, an awareness brought about by the mention of food. “Please have them set the food out, and I’ll be there to do the meal justice as soon as I’m dressed.”

  The girl who had gone to the door curtsied and went back to pass on Elissia’s orders, while the second girl went to a small ? storage box, the thing looked like. She lifted the lid and pulled out what was in the box, and Elissia found it all she could do not to stare openmouthed.

  “It wasn’t as difficult to find trousers and tunics in your size as we thought it might be, Your Majesty,” the girl said, holding out the items mentioned along with a pair of plain cotton drawers. “Those gentlemen who owned the clothing were more than happy to donate parts of their wardrobes to their new queen, and now that you’re back to be measured our seamstresses will have outfits done up for you as soon as you have the time to choose the material.”

  About to protest that she usually wore gowns rather than tunics and trousers, Elissia swallowed down the words. Gowns were awkward and unhandy to wear, not to mention usually uncomfortable. She was much happier wearing trousers, and now it looked like she would be able to continue the practice. And as far as being their new queen went, that was a subject best left for another time.

  By the time Elissia came out of the bathing room, her meal had been put out on a table in the sitting room.

  The two girls continued to hover in case their help was needed, but Elissia was too hungry to wait for someone to serve her. She shamelessly helped herself to the best food she’d had since the last meal Renni had prepared, and even poured a cup of the hot, fresh tea provided with the food.

  The end of the meal brought Elissia a surprise. She’d meant to check on the savage and then send for Listan as he was expecting her to do, but being clean and happily filled had produced a sleepiness that she couldn’t seem to shake off. She sipped tea while trying to wake up a bit, but it was no use.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a nap,” Elissia told the girls - whose names she still didn’t know - as she forced herself to stand up. “Please send word to Lord Listan that I’ll let him know once I’m awake enough to follow what he has to say.”

  The girls agreed that they would send the message, then they helped her to a really nice bedchamber where they also helped her to get out of her new clothing and into a nightgown. It seemed like forever since the last time Elissia had worn a nightgown, but she was much too sleepy to fuss. She got into bed, and was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

  Lord Listan of Arvin listened to the messenger as he stood beside his king’s bed, and when the messenger left the doctor turned to him.

  “Being taken by sudden sleepiness doesn’t sound quite natural,” the doctor said, a frown of concern on his face. “Your king is now deeply asleep, so if you’d like me to have a look at the queen I’ll be happy to do so.”

  “No need, doctor,” Listan answered with quiet satisfaction. “I need the queen’s help with this city, but not until she’s completely rested. I arranged to have a gentle sleep draught put into her tea, so she ought to sleep until tomorrow morning - without insisting on spending her time sitting at her husband’s bedside.”

  The doctor nodded his approval of the idea and turned back to his original patient, seeing nothing of the relief Listan also felt. Now he would be able to get a good night’s sleep, without worrying that the queen would decide to leave again. He’d assigned guards to her door, but hadn’t been able to get past the idea that guards would be useless if the queen wanted to leave. Now there was no chance of her leaving today, and tomorrow she would be available to help with his problems?

  Elissia awoke feeling well rested, but this time there was no sunshine to show the arrival of a new day.

  Heavy rain poured against the windows of her bedchamber, making her glad for the presence of the quilts she lay beneath. She snuggled down, thinking about going back to sleep, but her mind had apparently been working on a question and now was able to give her the answer.

  “That rotten, miserable - !” Elissia tried to think of something vile enough to call Listan as she sat up quickly. She hadn’t taken a nap, she’d slept through the rest of the day yesterday and all of the night. That meant she must have been drugged, and only one man had the authority to order that done to her. The next time she saw Listan she’d give him a piece of her mind he would not soon forget!

  Getting out of bed and going to the large wardrobe let Elissia discover where her “new” clothes had been put. She pulled out a pair of black trousers and a blue tunic, then found underthings in the drawer beneath the wardrobe doors. Her boots had been put on the bottom of the wardrobe floor next to a pair of short, light boots that looked to be her size, so she’d taken out the short boots to try them. If they fit they would be far more comfortable to wear than heavy riding boots.

  Getting dressed took only a little while, and the short boots fit as though made for her. That raised Elissia’s spirits a bit as she opened the door to her bedchamber -only to find the culprit she’d been thinking about relaxing in her sitting room. Listan rose to his feet when he saw her, but she gave him no time to comment.

  “How dare you do that to me?” she demanded at once as she stalked toward the man. “I know you’re responsible for whatever it was that put me to sleep, so don’t try to deny it!”

  “What I can’t deny is my duty toward my king and his queen,” Listan replied without the least trace of guilt showing. “You were almost as badly in need of rest as my king was, but you made no attempt to tell me to wait until today to explain the problems I had. That response showed me what my course of action had to be, and I followed that course. If you believe the decision to be wrong, speak to my king once he’s up and about again and he’ll see to my punishment.”

  “Your decision was wrong because you took it upon yourself to decide what was best for me,” Elissia said in immediate rebuttal, not in the least fooled by the selfless attitude Listan now showed. “I will speak to your king when he’s back to himself, but if he does nothing to punish you then it will be my job to see to. If you ever do something like that again, I won’t wait.”

  Listan’s expression changed to one of faint worry, as the man obviously knew a solemn promise when he heard one. Elissia turned away from him to find a table already set with breakfast, but rather than going directly to the chair also waiting for her she turned back to the savage’s man.

  “Tell me now if there’s anything on that table I ought to leave alone,” she said, letting the man know that what happened to him would be his fault alone if he lied. “I really want a cup of tea, but if - “

  “No, no, there’s nothing wrong with anything there,” Listan said at once, holding up one hand. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so I can tell you about the help I need. If you fall asleep again it won’t be my doing and it certainly won’t be to my benefit.”

  “But it certainly will be your neck on the block,” Elissia couldn’t help adding as she went to the table. “Do you want a cup of tea to wet your throat while you tell me about all those problems?”

  “Yes, thank you, I’d enjoy a cup of tea,” Listan answered as he followed her to the table. “But I have a question I’d like to put before I talk about the problems. I ? had the impression that you’d be dressed in gowns again now that the city is ours. Do you anticipate more difficulty that you continue to wear men’s clothing?”

  “There’s a good chance there will be more difficulty, but that’s not the reason I’m dressed as I am,” Elissia replied as she poured two cups of tea and passed one to Listan. “I’ve discovered that I’m more comfortable in trousers, so I’ve decided to stick with them for a time.”

  “What ? sort of difficulty are you picturing when you say there’s a good chance we’ll have more?” Listan asked, obviously having been distracted from the subject of her wardrobe. Which was a good thing, since Elissia wasn’t about to get her new maids in trouble for not providing more proper gowns. “Is one of Ramsond’s neighboring kingdoms likely to take advantage of the confusion and invade, do you think?”

  “That’s always possible, but not very likely,” Elissia answered with a headshake while she helped herself to the meal. “I’m sure the three kingdoms neighboring this one know by now that it was your king who took the city, and they would expect him to have scouts out near their own major cities. If any of them start to put an army together the scouts who see it would be under orders to ride at once to fetch more fighters from Arvin, and that’s the last thing they would want. Even if you’re greedy you don’t also have to be stupid.”

  Elissia glanced at Listan to see how the man was taking what she’d said, and she was surprised to see what that reaction turned out to be. Listan looked ? chagrined, might be the best word, as though he’d suddenly remembered he hadn’t done something vital.

  “Excuse me for a moment, Your Majesty,” the man said after a very brief hesitation, rising from his chair.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I see to ? something.”

  Elissia watched Listan hurry out of the apartment, wondering if she was supposed to be ignorant of the reason for his hurry. It was fairly obvious that Listan wasn’t the savage’s tactician, otherwise those scouts would already have been dispatched.

  Since that was obviously what Listan now meant to do, at least his common sense couldn’t be faulted.

  By the time Listan returned, Elissia was just about through with her breakfast. The big man took his chair again, sipped from his cup of tea, then took up the discussion from where it had been left off.

  “So? What other difficulty do you think we might have?” he said, just as though the question were idle.

  “We have all the fighting men in this city taken care of, so what other danger can there be?”

  “Every city has people who grew rich under the old regime and therefore hate to see the time end,” I explained, working to keep the ideas as basic as possible. “Every city also has a certain number of men who are easy to talk into things and those who can be paid to do anything. If those groups get together, you won’t find your fighters being attacked out in the open, only from the shadows. They’ll wait until your patrols have settled down into a routine, which will make your men less alert, and then the disaffected will strike.”

  “So how do we keep that from happening?” Listan asked, now as open as straightforward as he’d been when he’d asked for Elissia’s help in freeing his king. “We can’t just arrest all the wealthy men in this city, not without a really good reason. The innocent would become our enemies right along with the guilty.”

  “What you need is a small core of men and women who are natives here and therefore know what’s going on,” Elissia answered after finishing the tea in her cup. “They’ll tell you who prospered under Waysten and who would like to see him returned to power, and they can also help set up a watch on those people. As soon as one of the wealthy starts to deal with those of the lower class on more than an occasional basis, you’ll know who to arrest and lock up.”

  “How about those people who helped you rescue your brother and later leave the city?” Listan asked, clearly taking her suggestion seriously. “Do you think those men would be willing to help?”

  “You’ll have to ask them, but that would be a good place to start,” Elissia agreed. “If they do find men for you, make sure you let them know that they’ll also need to find some women to include in their group. If the person being watched has a shop, for instance, and they want to know if the patrons of the shop are there just to buy something, it will be easier for a woman to walk in and find out. Women are usually ignored in places where a man would set off all sorts of alarms.”

  “That’s a very good point,” Listan said with a frown, part of his thoughts clearly elsewhere. “Until now, I wouldn’t have thought that a woman could - Yes, I’ll have to make sure to pass on the idea.”

  And then the man actually got ready to leave - before Elissia could find out what else he wanted her to do?

  Chapter 2

  “Would you like to take a minute before you go to tell me what else you might need my help for?” Elissia said at once when Listan rose to his feet. “If there is something else, I could work on the matter while you’re busy with other things.”

  “And there’s another good suggestion,” Listan said, his smile showing he no longer had most of his attention aimed elsewhere, but then the smile disappeared. “We found King Limond here in the palace, along with Princess Tellita, Waysten’s sister. I left them both where they were found, but something needs to be done about them. Is there a chance you would be willing to see about that something?”

  “A something that involves more than just leaving them where they are,” Elissia said with a nod as she rose to her own feet. “Well, it’s got to be done so I might as well be the one to do it. Can you take the time to show me where they are?”

  “The leader of the escort I’ve arranged for you knows where they are, so you don’t really need me,”

  Listan answered. “But before you start that, you might want to take a look at the people we released from the dungeons. We had to call in just about every doctor in the city, but a good number of those former prisoners still won’t survive. For those who do survive, though, I have no idea what to do with them.”