Lady Barbara said: "But—"
Boyd, however, knew when to give in. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said.
She smiled graciously at him, and answered Lady Barbara only by a slight lift of her regal eyebrow.
Malone had been thinking about something else. When he was sure he had a firm grip on himself he turned. "Your Majesty, tell me something," he said. "You can read my mind, right?"
"Well, of course, Sir Kenneth," Her Majesty said. "I thought I'd proved that to you. And, as for what you're about to ask—"
"No," Malone said. "Please. Let me ask the questions before you answer them. It's less confusing that way. I'll cheerfully admit that it shouldn't be—but it is. Please?"
"Certainly, Sir Kenneth, if you wish," the Queen said. She folded her hands in her lap and waited quietly.
"O.K.," Malone said. "Now, if you can read my mind, then you must know that I don't really believe that you are Queen Elizabeth of England. The First, I mean."
"Mr. Malone," Barbara Wilson said suddenly. "I—"