Quicksilver's Knight

EPILOGUE

Moraga followed the maid back to her chamber, chatting excitedly about her pardon, and the thrill of going to Runnymede—but as soon as the door was closed, she tore her dress off and threw it in the corner with a curse. Howling with rage, she snatched the bowl off the washstand and swung it back to hurl against the wall ...

And saw Grommet standing there in the sunlight from the arrow-slit.

She froze, face going empty, shocked not so much at having one of her agents see her in her shift, but at having him see her with all masks dropped. She recovered quickly—what had he really seen, after all? Only the beginnings of a tantrum, and Heaven knew they had all seen her in that before, in full spate. She flung the bowl with all her might, shouting an obscenity. Grommet ducked with a yelp; the bowl flew where his head had been, and shattered against the wall.

"All right, all right!" he called from behind a chair. "Next time, I'll knock!"

Moraga/Finister caught herself on the verge of a laugh and held it down to a smile of vindictive satisfaction. "Oh, of course you can't! Mustn't have the servants seeing me let you in, must we? Well, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for orders," he said, coming out from behind the chair.

Come to gloat, more likely—but she didn't say it aloud, only shrugged. "The plan remains unchanged. We go along with the Gallowglass as far as we can."

"Just a different Gallowglass," Grommet said, with a gleam of a smile—until Finister glared at him; then he went deadpan. "You have to admit, chief," he said nervously, "that this mission has been a bit of a failure."

"Failure?" Finister gave a quick, forced laugh. "Not a bit! I'm all set to infiltrate the Queen's Witchforce now! And I'll be right next to that reptile Gregory with the perfect opportunity to bewitch him, as we ride back to Runnymede."

"True." Grommet frowned; he hadn't thought of that. Then he rallied a bit and took a chance. "But you didn't pull Geoffrey away from Quicksilver, did you?"

"No," Finister admitted, "not yet."

" 'Yet,' " Grommet agreed, but for the first time, he really doubted it. "You really think you can steal him?"

"Why not?" Finister tossed her head with a smile. "I've stolen everything else this kingdom has to offer—and Geoffrey Gallowglass has far too many hormones for his own good." She turned to look into the mirror, poking stray tendrils of hair back into place, willing her confidence to return. She stepped back, hands on her hips, swivelled them experimentally, and smiled more genuinely as she heard Grommet stifle a moan. "As you said once before, Grommet—where there is bachelorhood, there is hope."