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day. He’d barely left the chamber when a page approached with a message. The king wished to see him. He followed the boy into another wing of the building where the king had his private quarters.
    He was shown into a small chamber, decorated lavishly for its size. The walls were paneled in oak, a fire burned in the fireplace along one wall, and several candles were lit, lending a sense of warmth and luxury to the space.
    Luc bowed when he saw the king seated at the table in the center of the room. At his right hand, another man sat.
    Stephen motioned Luc forward. The page backed out and shut the door firmly.
    “Have a seat. Take some wine,” Stephen said. “Have you met Drugo?”
    Luc eyed the other man, and shook his head. “Not yet, your grace.”
    “You’ve seen him, no doubt.” Stephen took a sip of wine, then continued, “Drugo serves as my eyes and ears, even in places where I am presumed to have no such senses. He is one of the reasons I had a court to return to after I was released from my imprisonment in Bristol.”
    A spy. Luc didn’t need the word spoken out loud. He gave Drugo a closer look. The man was at least forty, more likely closer to fifty years of age. He had an ascetic look, as if he were a monk rather than a courtier. His tunic and hose were well made, but so plain as to be utterly forgettable. He wore no rings. Above the cowl of his tunic, his face was thin, with hollow cheeks and an angular jaw. He wore a short, sharply-pointed beard. Deep set eyes glittered in the candlelight, surveying Luc just as closely. In all, Drugo gave the appearance of a man not to be trifled with. Not a man to make into an enemy.
    “If it’s important enough to tell me what Drugo is, then I presume there’s a reason you asked for me particularly, your grace,” he said to the king. “How can I serve you?”
    “Drugo,” Stephen said, “give him the details of what you’ve learned.”
    The spymaster drummed his fingers on the table once. “What I will tell you, my lord Luc, is in the strictest confidence.”
    “He’s not an idiot, Drugo,” the king muttered. “Would I have asked for an idiot to carry out such a mission?”
    “I will say nothing,” Luc promised quickly.
    Drugo nodded. “I have received several reports from certain informants that, taken together, now point to a matter of great concern. In practice, the king relies upon the loyalty of the barons who have declared for him. Without that ring of defense, the army itself could never respond to every sally the empress dares to make. We need the barons and their vassals to hold their castles and other strongpoints. A gap could spell disaster.”
    Luc nodded. Nothing so far counted as a secret. It was common knowledge.
    “The matter is this,” Drugo continued. “There is a conspiracy among a small number of lords in the west, near the Welsh border. According to my sources, a few lords who publicly support the king have privately switched allegiance to the empress. They will
not
defend their castles when the empress’s forces march through their lands. Indeed, they will lend her support and allow her to march unimpeded into the center of England, even to London where she can potentially claim the crown.”
    “If you know the names, then simply arrest these lords,” Luc said.
    “We need solid proof of their treachery,” said Drugo. “Consider the situation. King Stephen must not appear to be anything less than scrupulous in his reaction. We cannot afford to lose the support of the nobles, and if they see what appears to be an arbitrary arrest, they may withhold their full support. If we arrest one of those we suspect, the others will hear of it and hide their tracks.”
    “So I am to find the proof,” Luc guessed.
    “Precisely,” Drugo replied. He was about to go on, but at a gesture from the king, he fell silent.
    Stephen looked at Luc. “Tell me, what did you think of the lady Domina?”
    The change in subject startled Luc, but he