Cortin swallowed. That shouldn't have surprised her, but it did—a flight to New Denver with the Crown Prince and Princess wouldn't be unusual for a member of the Royal Household, and she would get used to it, she supposed. Right now, though, it was a shock. She brought herself under control and said, "I'd be honored. Arrangements will have to be made, of course, to return our horses and pick up our personal gear. Oh, and we'll need proper insignia."
"All taken care of," Bradford said. "We had plenty of time while you were under treatment."
Cortin absorbed that, starting on her dessert. It sounded at first like Bradford or His Majesty had assumed, even before asking, that she would accept—and maybe they had, she couldn't know—but a little thought told her that wasn't necessarily the case. Bradford could carry all the insignia in a pocket, all of their personal gear wouldn't strain a single packhorse, and if she refused, they could all be returned to Middletown with only a slight loss of time. "Thanks—that was kind of you."
"Call it enlightened self-interest," Bradford said. "And I do have something to ask, when and if your primary duties permit."
"Of course, if I'm able."
"You are; you've done it. Act as auxiliary confessor and spiritual advisor to the Detention Center Inquisitors—I heard how much good you did."
"Gladly—but don't forget Dave; he's a Priest-Inquisitor too."
"I've already said I'd do it," Bain said. "And I'll probably have more time for that sort of thing than you will. I have a very strong feeling your primary job isn't going to leave you much time for anything else."
"Probably true," Cortin agreed. "I enjoyed helping, but if I'm going to do a good job as King's Inquisitor I may not have time to do that very well. And I'd rather not do it if I can't do it right."
"You'll be keeping busy, all right," Bradford told her, "with a whole Kingdom to draw from. The whole Systems, if your skills are necessary."