removed her veil and returned his smile. ‘You’re very kind to say so, my Lord.’ She sat and gathered Flute up into her lap. The little girl nestled down and regarded the abbot with her large dark eyes.
‘A beautiful child, Lady Sephrenia,’ the abbot said. ‘Your daughter by any chance?’
She laughed. ‘Oh, no, my Lord Abbot,’ she said. ‘The child’s a Styric foundling. We call her Flute.’
‘What an odd name,’ he murmured. Then he returned his gaze to Sparhawk. ‘You hinted at a matter you wanted to keep private,’ he said curiously. ‘Why don’t you tell me about it?’
‘Do you get much news about what’s happening on the continent, my Lord?’
‘I’m kept informed, yes.’ The bearded abbot said it rather cautiously as he sat down again.
‘Then you know about the situation in Elenia?’
‘The Queen’s illness, you mean? And the ambitions of Primate Annias?’
‘Right. Anyway, a while back, Annias came up with a very complicated scheme to discredit the Pandion Order. We were able to thwart it. After the general meeting in the palace, the preceptors of the four orders gathered in private session. Annias hungers for the Archprelate’s throne, and he knows that the militant orders will oppose him.’
‘With swords if necessary,’ the abbot agreed fervently. ‘I’d like to cut him down myself,’ he added. Then he realized that he had perhaps gone too far. ‘If I weren’t a member of a cloistered order, of course,’ he concluded lamely.
‘I understand perfectly, my Lord,’ Sparhawk assured him. ‘The preceptors discussed the matter, and they concluded that all of the primate’s power – and any hope he had of extending it to Chyrellos – is based on his position in Elenia, and he’ll keep that authority only for so long as Queen Ehlana’s indisposed.’ He grimaced. ‘That’s a silly word, isn’t it? She’s barely clinging to her life, and I called it “indisposed”. Oh, well, you know what I’m talking about.’
‘We all flounder from time to time, Sparhawk,’ the abbot forgave him. ‘I know most of the details already. Last week I got word from Patriarch Dolmant about what was afoot. What did you find out in Borrata?’
‘We talked with a physician there, and he told us that Queen Ehlana has been poisoned.’
The abbot came to his feet swearing like a pirate. ‘You’re her Champion, Sparhawk! Why didn’t you go back to Cimmura and run your sword through Annias?’
‘I was tempted,’ Sparhawk admitted, ‘but I decided that it’s more important right now to see if we can find an antidote. There’ll be plenty of time later to deal with Annias, and I’d rather not be rushed when it gets down to that. Anyway, the physician in Borrata told us that he thinks the poison is of Rendorish origin, and he directed us to a couple of his colleagues here in Cippria.’
The abbot began to pace up and down, his face still dark with rage. When he began to speak, all traces of monkly humility were gone from his voice. ‘If I know Annias, he’s probably been trying to stop you every step of the way. Am I right?’
‘Fairly close, yes.’
‘And the streets of Cippria aren’t the safest place in the world – as you found out that night ten years ago. All right, then,’ he said decisively, ‘this is the way we’re going to do it. Annias knows that you’re looking for medical advice, right?’
‘If he doesn’t, then he’s been asleep.’
‘Exactly. If you go near a physician, you’ll probably need him for yourself, so I won’t let you do that.’
‘Won’t let, my Lord?’ Sephrenia asked mildly.
‘Sorry,’ the abbot mumbled. ‘Maybe I got a little carried away there. What I meant to say is that I advise against it in the strongest possible terms. What I’ll do instead is send some monks out to bring the physicians here. That way you’ll be able to talk with them without chancing the streets of Cippria. We’ll work out a way afterwards to slip you out of town.’
‘Would an Elenian physician actually agree to call on a patient at home?’ Sephrenia asked him.
‘He will if his own health is of any concern to him,’ the abbot replied darkly. He suddenly looked a bit sheepish. ‘That didn’t sound very monkly, did it?’ he apologized.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Sparhawk said blandly. ‘There are monks, and then there are monks.’
‘I’ll send some of the brothers into the city to fetch them right now. What are the names of these physicians?’
Sparhawk fished the scrap of parchment the tipsy doctor in Borrata had given him out of an inside pocket and handed it to the abbot.
The bluff man glanced at it. ‘You know this first one already, Sparhawk,’ he said. ‘He’s the one who treated you the last time you were here.’
‘Oh? I didn’t really catch his name.’
‘I’m not surprised. You were delirious most of the time.’ The abbot squinted at the parchment. ‘This other one died about a month ago,’ he said, ‘but Doctor Voldi here can probably answer just about any question you might have. He’s a little impressed with himself, but he’s the best physician in Cippria.’ He rose, went to the door, and opened it. A pair of youthful monks stood outside. They were, Sparhawk noted, quite similar to the two young Pandions who normally stood guard outside Vanion’s door in the chapterhouse in Cimmura. ‘You,’ the abbot sharply ordered one of them, ‘go into the city and bring Doctor Voldi to me. Don’t take no for an answer.’
‘At once, my Lord,’ the young monk replied. With a certain amusement, Sparhawk noted that the monk’s feet twitched slightly as if he were about to snap his heels together.
The abbot closed the door and returned to his seat. ‘It should be about an hour, I expect.’ He looked at Sparhawk’s grin. ‘Something funny, my friend?’ he asked.
‘Not at all, my Lord. It’s just that your young monks have a very crisp manner about them.’
‘Does it really show that much?’ the abbot asked, looking a little abashed.
‘Yes, my Lord. If you know what you’re looking for, it does.’
The abbot made a wry face. ‘Fortunately, the local people aren’t very familiar with that sort of thing. You’ll be discreet about this discovery, won’t you, Sparhawk?’
‘Of course, my Lord. I was fairly sure about the nature of your order when I left here ten years ago, and I haven’t told anyone yet.’
‘I should have guessed, I suppose. You Pandions tend to have very sharp eyes.’ He rose to his feet. ‘I’ll have some supper sent up. There’s a fairly large partridge that grows hereabouts, and I have an absolutely splendid falcon.’ He laughed. ‘That’s what I do instead of making out the reports I’m supposed to send to Chyrellos. What do you say to a bit of roast fowl?’
‘I think we could manage that,’ Sparhawk replied.
