«I am happy to meet all three of you,» he said. «I am indeed the Pendarnoth, but I was once a warrior and a traveler named Richard Blade. You may call me by that name at the right time. I am sure you all will know when that time is.» They giggled again at the innuendo. Then he stretched his arms high over his head and grinned again. «I am happy to see you here. But I have fought battles and ridden for many long days. At the moment I want most of all things in Vilesh not three beautiful girls, or even one beautiful girl, but a hot bath.»
The girls giggled again. The blonde pointed to a cord hanging from the corner of the canopy and said, «Pull on that cord, and it will summon the servants.»
Blade pulled the cord. A perfect swarm of servants of both sexes materialized so fast that he wondered if they had sprouted from the walls and floor. They led him into another room where a gilded copper basin decorated with bird shapes stood in the center of the floor. Relays of men brought in steaming buckets of hot water and emptied them into the tub until it was full to the brim. Meanwhile the girls were stripping off Blade's travel-grimed clothes. The three were still stark naked, but obviously gave the matter no thought.
The heat of the water seemed to seep through Blade's flesh into his bones, draining the tension and fatigue out of him. Meanwhile, the three girls climbed into the tub around Blade and went industriously to work on him with soap and sponges. The heavily perfumed soap matched the luxury of everything else in the palace, and Blade decided he would relax and enjoy it as long as he stayed in this Dimension.
Or at least as long as he stayed in the palace, he reminded himself. He was not sure of what his duties as Pendarnoth were. He wasn't even sure if the term «duties» made any sense applied to him. He didn't know whether he was to be permanently on exhibition in the palace, as decorative and about as useful to Pendar as one of those gilded statues in the galleries. It was possible. Nobody he had seen or spoken to here showed any signs of even knowing that there was a Lanyri threat, let alone worrying about it. Was Guroth lying?
Perhaps. That was all he could say until he had talked to Klerus. The High Councilor would at least give him a little more to go on, although hardly the whole truth. In the meantime, there were a few things he could do himself.
The bath was over. The other servants drained the tub down a pipe in the corner of the room and left. The three girls stood around him, toweling him dry, combing his hair (every bit of it), and rubbing him with scented oils. He was going to smell like a bloody perfume shop if this kept up.
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?»
CHAPTER EIGHT
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!»