In the King's Service Read Online Free PDF Page A

he added, letting the infant seize one of his fingers and convey it to the tiny rosebud mouth. “He will be a fitting companion for a prince.”
    “One had hoped that would be the case,” Jessamy agreed good-naturedly.
    “Brothers—that’s what they’ll be,” came the reply. “He’s perfect. His hair will be like yours, I think,” Donal went on, gently cupping the child’s downy head. “But those are not your eyes, or Sief’s.”
    “No,” was all the child’s mother replied.
    Chuckling softly, Donal let himself sit on the edge of the bed, and was carefully giving the child back into its mother’s keeping when the bedroom door opened and Sief entered.
    “Ah, and here’s the proud father now,” Donal said, twisting around to greet the newcomer. “I’d come to congratulate you, Sief, and to inspect the new bairn. And to cheer the mother in her childbed, if the truth be known. My queen tells me that a new mother appreciates such things. Not that she speaks to me overmuch, of late. The morning sickness is a trial she would liefer have foregone for a few more months.”
    Sief found himself smiling dutifully in response to the king’s boyish grin, though he could not say why he found it unsettling to find Donal here.
    They had long been friends beyond mere courtier and prince. He had served Donal Haldane for most of his life—had been assigned by King Malcolm as the prince’s first aide, when Sief was a new-made knight and Donal but a lad of ten—and been his confidant and brother-in-arms through many a campaign and court intrigue. It had taken most of a decade for the young prince to guess that Sief was Deryni. By then, Sief had come to realize that Donal possessed certain powers of his own that were somewhat similar, somehow related to his kingship. Malcolm had possessed them as well, and perhaps had also recognized Sief for what he was, though they had never spoken of it.
    Sief had never spoken of it to the Council, either, though privately he had intimated to Donal that certain of his not inconsiderable powers were at the prince’s service. After all, part of the reason for the Council’s very existence—and for Sief’s placement in the royal household—was to safeguard the Haldane line on the throne of Gwynedd; for the Haldanes knew, as other humans did not, that the Deryni, properly ruled, posed little threat to the human population.
    In practice, Sief’s direct service to the king as a Deryni had been limited, and extremely discreet. Those of his race were able to determine when a person was lying—a talent of undoubted use to a king. In addition, a trained Deryni could usually compel disclosures when a person attempted simply to tell part of the truth, or to withhold it. With care, the memories of a person subjected to such attentions could even be blurred to hide what had been done—though such investigations were always carried out in private. The court was only aware that Sir Sief MacAthan was an extremely skilled interrogator. More often, he merely stood at the king’s side and observed, only later reporting on the veracity of what had been said.
    Over the years, such attention to nuance of truth and falsehood had become second-nature when in the king’s presence. Why, then, were Sief’s senses suddenly all atingle? Surely it was not at the prospect that the queen was once again with child.
    “Then, the palace gossip is correct,” Sief said tentatively.
    “Palace gossip,” Donal said, standing up with fists set to hips. “Surely you don’t pay any mind to that. ”
    “I do, when it may pertain to the welfare of the kingdom, Sire,” Sief replied. “Prince Brion is still shy of his first birthday. It is still very early for a new pregnancy for the queen. Self-restraint, my lord,” he added, trying not to sound self-righteous.
    “A king needs an heir and a spare,” Donal said breezily, “and good men to guard them and guide them as they grow. You know the heartache of losing