“My lord of Wenlock!” said my Queen. “Kindly unhand the Count of Selford!”
You swept down the corridor toward me with your company of ladies and the surprised ambassador of Thurnmark. A look of thwarted anger crossed Wenlock’s face, and he released me. His lackeys fell back in embarrassment.
“We will not have these brawls in our home!” you proclaimed, and looked Wenlock in the eye. “Now apologize to his lordship, and get you gone—you will return at once to your home in Ethlebight, and come not to court until you are summoned!”
Wenlock purpled in anger, but he did as commanded, and hastened away along with his following. I barely heard his words, for echoing through my head were those words—Count of Selford—and as I looked at you in rising astonishment, I saw the confirmation in your eyes.
“You had best go back to your apartment,” you said, “and change your linen and hose. You are somewhat soiled, my lord.”
“I obey, Your Majesty.” I bowed, and waited till you and your party passed, and then, as elation blazed through my blood, I returned to my rooms—where later, in the soft silent hours of the night, I would await Your Majesty’s pleasure.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With thanks again to Ada Palmer, for a lucid explanation of the differences between assurgo, cresco, and convalo.
More from this Series
Quillifer
Book 1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTO BY COURTNEY WILLIS
WALTER JON WILLIAMS is an award-winning author who has been listed on the bestseller lists of the NewYork Times and the Times of London. He is the author of more than thirty novels and collections of short fiction, in addition to works in film, television, comics, and the gaming field. In 2000, he won a Nebula Award for his novelette “Daddy’s World” and again in 2004 for “The Green Leopard Plague.”
Williams is a world traveler, scuba diver, and black belt in Kenpo karate. You can visit him at walterjonwilliams.net.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Walter-Jon-Williams
SimonandSchuster.com
Facebook.com/SagaPressBooks
@SagaSFF
ALSO BY WALTER JON WILLIAMS
NOVELS
Quillifer
Ambassador of Progress
Knight Moves
Hardwired
Voice of the Whirlwind
Angel Station
Days of Atonement
Aristoi
Implied Spaces
The Rift
METROPOLITAN SERIES
Metropolitan
City on Fire
STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER
Destiny’s Way
MAIJSTRAL SERIES
The Crown Jewels
House of Shards
Rock of Ages
Ten Points for Style (omnibus of The Crown Jewels, House of Shards, and Rock of Ages)
DAGMAR SHAW SERIES
This Is Not a Game
Deep State
The Fourth Wall
DREAD EMPIRE’S FALL SEQUENCE
The Praxis
The Sundering
Conventions of War
Investments
Impersonations
COLLECTIONS
Facets
Elegy for Angels and Dogs Tor Double (with Roger Zelazny’s The Graveyard Heart)
Frankensteins and Foreign Devils
The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories
HISTORICAL NOVELS (AS JON WILLIAMS)
To Glory Arise (published as The Privateer)
The Tern Schooner (published as The Yankee)
Brig of War (published as The Raider)
The Macedonian
Cat Island
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. † Text copyright © 2019 by Walter Jon Williams † Jacket illustration copyright © 2019 by Alejandro Colucci † All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Saga Press Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 † SAGA PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. † For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com. † The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. † Cover design by Greg Stadnyk † Cover photography by Thinkstock © 2017 † Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. † ISBN 978-1-4814-9001-6 † ISBN 978-1-4814-9002-3 (eBook)