They were showing signs of wanting to lead him into the bedroom now-playful tugs on his ear, playful caresses of his genitals. Finally he picked the blonde up under one arm and the black haired girl under the other and carried them into the bedroom. He dumped them squealing on the bed, returned; picked up the brunette, and did the same with her. All three lay on their backs on the bed, arms over their heads, looking up at him expectantly.

He stood over them, yawned, and stretched. «Girls,» he said, «you have heard the stories, no doubt, that the Pendarnoth will have the strength of ten men.»

Two of them giggled, the blonde girl nodded and said, «We have. Is it just a story-or are we going to find out?»

«Not tonight, little ones. As I told you, there is much of the man in me, and that man has fought hard and ridden far. Tonight I doubt if I would have the strength of one man. I would need the strength of at least three to do all of you justice. And I will not do you less than justice by picking out one of you. As a matter of fact, I couldn't make a choice among you if I had to. Each of you is as beautiful as the others.» That was true. They were beautiful in different ways, but there was very little to choose among when you got right down to it.

Then he noticed something that brought him abruptly to the alert. The gaiety and lightness had vanished from all three girls' faces, and in its place was unmistakable tension, even fear. The girls weren't playing now. Something had genuinely frightened them.

He looked at the blonde. She seemed to be the spokeswoman for the three, or at least the one with the readiest tongue. «What is it, girl? Have I frightened you? Has my face suddenly turned green or something, so that you think suddenly I'm not a man at all?»

The joke fell flat. The blonde's blue eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Her voice shook slightly as she spoke. «Please. You can't-you mustn't-you won't send us away. Please.»

«Why not?» He half-suspected the reason, but he wanted to be sure.

«The c-c-chamberlain will think you-you didn't like us. And if a man doesn't like us-if we can't p-p-please him-«

«The chamberlain beats you?»

Surprise showed in all three sets of eyes. «How did you know?»

«I told you, I have traveled far. It is a custom in many lands.» A vile and ugly custom, he added mentally. Perhaps he might use some of his influence as Pendarnoth to get it changed around here? But that was for the future. For now the girls had given him an opening he badly needed.

«I understand. But I will tell Klerus himself why I did not take any of you. I will tell him the same things I have told you. I think he will understand. And I am sure that the High Councilor of the Council of Regents can tell a mere chamberlain of the palace not to beat three innocent girls.»

He got the reaction he was looking for. All three of the girl's started at the Klerus! name as though they had been stung or whipped. All three went even paler than before. The brunette actually burst into tears. The blonde tried to calm her by patting her on the shoulder. But Blade noticed the second girl's hand was shaking as she did so. He waited until all three of them seemed a little calmer, then said, «What is the matter now? Don't you think Klerus can keep the chamberlain from beating you?»

«Please, Pendarnoth,» said the blonde. «Don't speak to Klerus. He is… he distrusts everybody. If you told him about us, he would become suspicious. And when he becomes suspicious of somebody, worse can happen to them than just a beating. A beating is nothing.»

So Klerus distrusted everybody. Was that really anything Blade couldn't have guessed about a palace politician, good or bad? Probably not. But it was useful to have some confirmation. And he owed the girls something for that.

«All right,» he said. «I will not speak to Klerus. The three of you may spend the night here and share my dinner and my bed. But as I said, I want to do justice to you when I have my full strength. So you will go in the morning, and I will tell the chamberlain a magnificent tale. I will describe you as women of such qualities as most can only dream of having. I think that will keep the whips away from your backs.»

The girls knelt before him and would have literally kissed his feet if he had not patted them lightly on the heads. «Rise up, girls. This is not the way to salute a man. Now, do I ring that same bell for dinner, or what?»

The girls slipped out of bed and away in the gray light of morning, with many goodbye kisses and tearful thanks to Blade. They left a good feeling behind them, the feeling of having three more people in this marble and gold monstrosity who thought well of him. Well enough to warn him of danger? That remained to be seen. What the devil, it remained to be seen if there even was any danger.

Breakfast arrived soon afterward. Like the dinner, it was so generous that Blade could almost believe they were fattening him to serve as a sacrificial animal. Steaming hot stew in a golden bowl, a basket of hot flat bread, fresh fruit, cheese, sour milk with solid lumps of cream floating in it, and a green cordial with a half-lemon, half-mint flavor. He was just draining the last of the cordial from its golden cup when the main door of his suite flew open. Two servants in red livery darted in, knelt down, and bawled out in chorus, «Klerus, High Councilor of Pendar!»

It was as well that Klerus arrived after breakfast rather than before or during. The sight of the High Councilor close up would have been enough to take away Blade's appetite. Sallow oily skin, vast paunch, bald head, black eyes set so deep in rolls of fat they were almost invisible, jowls so flabby they hung down over his gold embroidered collar-there was nothing about Klerus that wasn't at least faintly revolting. But Blade also noticed other things. Klerus carried his weight well, with a dignity that seemed to imply that the slim were lacking rather than that he was in excess. And those ugly little eyes that fixed Blade with a cold, calculating stare made him at once alert and ready for the clash of wits.

Klerus began by asking the usual polite questions about Blade's health, food, sleep, and the like. Blade's replies were equally formal and polite. It was like the first few exchanges of a fencing bout. Each was seeking to discover the other's style, his distinctive strengths and weaknesses.

Finally Klerus tugged at the third of his four chins and smiled at Blade. It was a crocodile's smile. «I have heard that you found the girls pleasing last night.»

Blade nodded. «I did.»

«I am surprised you found the energy after your travels.»

«Lord Councilor, surely you have been around men of affairs too long to be surprised at this.» That was intended to score a point and it succeeded. Klerus' chins quivered, and his jaw set hard for a moment. He did not like that oblique reference to his status as a eunuch.

But Klerus regained his poise within seconds. «I am surprised at very few things, oh Pendarnoth. I am not even surprised at the appearance of a long-awaited legend in Pendar at the very moment when the Lanyri are preparing an invasion.»

It was Blade's turn to be caught off balance, but he managed to conceal it just as well as Klerus had. He decided not to admit having been told about the Lanyri threat. That would have had Klerus asking questions about Guroth in a moment. Blade remembered what the girls had said about dangers to anyone Klerus came to suspect of anything.

«The Lanyri-they are the people of the empire to the west, the ones who fight on foot?»

«They are. They are coming with a mighty army. It will be impossible for the Pendari to resist it, whatever pride they take in their horse archers.» That was a much blunter statement than Blade had expected. Did this mean Klerus was sufficiently desperate to try to enlist his aid without any preliminary feelers? Blade found that hard to believe.