'Then we'll get a repair job done.' Thunder grinned. 'I know a cobbler who can do very clever stitches. We'll kill the maggots and let him have the head.'
The queen nodded ...
'Very well. That's the first thing. The next is to find out how the maggots got into the box. You had occasion to question the loyalty of our Head Master ...'
'I warned you not to raise Red Hand son of Red Cloud into that esteemed position, Majesty.'
'Aye. So you did. And I explained that I did it at the insistence of my clan chieftains. Anyway, your doubts were based on rumour ...'
'I have further evidence, Majesty.'
'Hgh.' the old woman grunted.
'Your daughter, The Princess Adrina, has supplied useful information.'
'That black-haired vixen.'
'The princess has a young friend who encounters Lord Morgon when he visits Gorm.'
'Aye. Morgon likes young boys. What's new about that?'
'What's new is the company he keeps when he likes them, Majesty. The princess claims that Red Hand joins Morgon in these little get-togethers.'
'My daughter is claiming that our Head Master goes into the camp of our enemies and meets their War Master … that is high treason.'
'It is, Majesty.'
The old woman sat in silence for a while. Thunder stood beside her, staring at the crawling maggots, waiting for her to speak. When she did, her voice was hushed.
'Do you think my daughter is telling the truth?'
'Aye, Majesty.'
She nodded thoughtfully.
'Adrina is sparing with the truth. Have you any idea why she might be telling it now?'
'There can be only one reason.'
'And what is that?'
'It is in her interests to tell the truth.'
The old woman's face wrinkled into a smile.
'Aye, Thunder son of Storm Cloud. You have the measure of my daughter. She is telling the truth because it serves her purpose. When we know why it serves her purpose, we shall know something of the plot the little vixen is hatching.'