"You may not realize it, but since until recently you were St. Thomas's
only female Enforcement officer, His Majesty follows your career with
considerable interest. Try your soup; it's much better hot."
Cortin obeyed. "It's delicious . . . I know I was, and I suppose
that's reason enough for curiosity--God knows I've run into more of it
than I like!--but why bribery? I took the same commissioning oath you
did, to obey His Majesty's lawful orders." If she didn't like them,
well, she could go rogue after all . . . "And why so suddenly? Before
the operation, everything was strictly routine."
Bradford shrugged. "That's what I thought, until this morning. One
thing you'll learn, if you take the bribe, is that His Majesty asks for
information and advice, but he keeps his own counsel and makes his own
decisions. He won't make this an order because I told him what you
were likely to do if you were kept from your revenge."