It was important for people to speculate about Paul, of course. And he played Sir Paul the Dissolute as a charming man with grandiose gestures, poorly hiding a weak intellect. It would be amusing were it not so serious. They were waiting for the next contact from traitors against the Crown, men so desperate they would invent a lost, living prince. But something else was bothering her, and she’d learned never to ignore her instincts. Gooseflesh rose along her arms, even as she finished eating the first course of lampreys spiced with ginger and cinnamon. There were hundreds of people in the hall; it was so crowded that she rubbed elbows with Paul and the man on the other side of her. Yet, still she felt that something was wrong. It wasn’t until she was eating from the cheese selection at the end of the meal that her gaze met that of a man two tables away from her. He was staring intently at her. And then she recognized him, and her stomach did a little twist of both gladness and dismay.
