Blade smiled in spite of himself. Cyron might be nearsighted, but when it came to seeing what made other people tick he missed very little. Blade poured himself more wine, conscious that Miera's eyes were on him all the while, then drank half the cup before speaking.

«As to marrying Miera»-he turned to face her-«my lady, it is for you to say whether you will have me as a husband or not. Is it your wish?»

«Blade, if you-«began Alsin irritably, but the Duke waved him to silence, and Chenosh glared at him. Miera was clutching the tablecloth in one hand and her knife in the other, so tightly her knuckles were white. Gently Blade reached over and pulled the knife out of her hand.

«Yes, my lord,» she said finally, so quietly that Blade had to strain to hear her. «Yes, yes, yes, yes.» For a moment it looked as if she were going to faint. Then her hand leaped out and clutched Blade's, and her smile seemed to light up the whole room. For a moment Blade had eyes for nothing else except that smile.

Cyron's almost apologetic cough brought him back to reality. «What about the Captaincy of my Guards?»

«I'll answer that when you've answered a question of mine,» said Blade. This would be the bluntest question yet, but also the least dangerous. He'd gone too far for the Duke to turn against him now. «What happened to my predecessor? Did he really fall from his horse? And if he did, was it an accident?»

Chenosh answered, in spite of yet another sharp look from Alsin. «Lord Blade, I swear by the Fathers and my friendship for you that he whose place you take did fall, and by accident.» Then he smiled. «I will not swear that the accident wasn't a piece of good luck for us, though.»

The Duke nodded. «I add my word to his. Would we have set aside a faithful or at least useful servant before we could even be sure you would join us?»

«Wise men would not, that is true. But I did not know how faithful he was. Also, I have seen many strange things done in plots and conspiracies.»

Alsin snorted. «You've seen nothing, compared to what you'll be seeing here.»

Blade looked around the table and decided this was probably true. Then he looked at Miera again. Her green eyes were full of tears, but met his steadily. At least there was one person in this room he could trust!

Blade was betrothed to Miera three days after the dinner party, and married to her a week after that. She didn't object to the haste. In fact, she was so clearly not objecting that Alsin said she didn't have a lordly maiden's proper modesty.

At this, Chenosh finally lost his temper with the Marshal. «What is it, Alsin, that makes you so foolish about little things and so wise about big ones? Do you think people will forget you are a bastard if you guard the virtue of every woman around you, whether she wants to be guarded or not? You did not think to guard my sister from Orric's suit. Indeed, I always thought that you somewhat favored it-«

«That's a lie!» bellowed Alsin, in a voice which brought guards running to see who was killing whom. «I never favored Orric's suit. I only favored Miera's being wed, at a time when Orric was the only man who-«

«Do you mean to say my sister Miera is an undesirable match? If that is so, then you have spoken-«

Before Chenosh could finish the ritual phrase which would threaten a duel between him and Alsin, Blade stepped between the two men. «If I hear another word out of either of you, I'll have to tell the Duke,» he snapped. He looked at the guards standing around, trying not to listen or at least to look as if they weren't listening. «I may have to tell the Duke anyway, or these men will spread tales. Chenosh, I think you owe Alsin an apology for questioning his judgment. Alsin, I think you owe me an apology for questioning the character of your Duke's kin and my intended bride.»

Both men sighed, both apologized, and Alsin tramped off, back and shoulders stiff with indignation. Chenosh stayed behind, apparently wanting to speak with Blade, but it was Blade who spoke first.

«I hadn't heard that Orric offered for Miera's hand,» he said in a level voice. «I think it is something I ought to have known. Did someone forget to tell me, or-?»

«No. No one forgot to tell you,» said Chenosh hastily. He blushed red so that Blade found it hard to doubt his honesty. «Orric never made a proper offer. It was just that for some months he acted as if Miera would have to accept his offer when he made one. Alsin never did anything to support Orric except remind my father not to ignore him entirely until his disloyalty was a proven thing.»

«I see. I hope you'll remember that the next time you lose your temper with the Marshal.» Blade turned away, believing Chenosh but not wanting to talk with him anymore right now. An unpleasant question pricked at his mind. Is Miera happy to marry me only because I saved her from Orric?

There was some vanity in that question, but most of it was concern for Miera. The girl would be a widow before long, whether Blade was killed in battle or survived to return to Home Dimension. Inevitably she would have to remarry. Then she would have all the pain of learning the ways of a Crimson River husband after getting used to Blade. She might be better off marrying one of her own people, and letting her grandfather join Blade to his house with some other female relative.

Unfortunately the ducal house of Nainan was dying out, so there might not be any other woman for Blade to marry. Even if there were, it was probably too late to raise the question without offending the Duke. Then Miera would suffer her grandfather's anger, instead of having at least a few months of as much happiness as Blade could give her.

He still couldn't help wondering whether Miera would look up at him from the bridal bed with reluctance, or even fear. He also wondered how many more family secrets the leaders of the Duchy were hiding from him. Was he an ally or a tool? And did they know the answer to that question themselves?

The day of the wedding dawned bright, promising heat later. Blade was glad they would be holding the ceremony in the coolness of the morning. His wedding robe was stiff with embroidery and jewels and lined with fur, while Miera's wedding gown must have weighed as much as a suit of armor.

It was a small wedding, for a ducal house. Cyron had delayed the ceremony just long enough to let all the people who had to be witnesses ride in from their castles. Including the armed Guardsmen, no more than forty people rode out of Castle Ranit to the Sacred Grove downstream. There the Dukes of Nainan had taken their brides, acknowledged their heirs, received the allegiance of their Lords, and lain on their funeral pyres for centuries.

The Guardsmen took up their positions around the grove. They were all armed to the teeth, and Alsin would see that they stayed alert. With so little warning, it wasn't likely that any of the Duke's enemies could have prepared a major attack to break up the wedding. A handful of skilled assassins riding fast was another matter.

In the center of the grove was an open space with a stone altar and a metal reflector for the ceremonial fire behind it. Everyone except Blade and Miera dropped back as the priest led the way toward the altar. He held the ceremonial torch high, and brandished it as if it were a sword. He probably wished it were. Like most of the priests of the Fathers, this man was a Lord, either too old to fight or else forced into the priesthood by enemies.

The priest began pouring the grain, wine, spices, and butter over the sticks piled on the altar. With half his mind Blade watched the ritual. He wondered how many times he was now a bigamist, in how many different Dimensions? He hadn't lost count of the women, but he couldn't remember all the marriage laws and customs. Certainly no bigamist was ever as sure as Richard Blade that his various «wives» wouldn't learn about one another!