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.
"Okay," 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--"
"It's all right, child," the Queen said. "He doesn't disturb me. And I
do wish you'd call him Sir Kenneth. That's his title, you know."
"Now that's what I mean," Malone said. "Why do you want us to _act_ as
if we believe you, when you know we don't?"
"Because that's the way people do act," the Queen said calmly. "Very
few people really believe that their so-called superiors _are_
superior. Almost none of them do, in fact."
"Now wait a minute," Boyd began.
"No, no, it's quite true," the Queen said, "and, unpleasant as it may
be, we must learn to face the truth. That's the path of sanity." Lady
Barbara made a strangled noise but Her Majesty continued, unruffled.
"Nearly everybody suffers from the silly delusion that he's possibly
equal to, but very probably superior to, everybody else--my goodness,
where would we be if that were true?"
Malone felt that a comment was called for, and he made one. "Who
knows?" he said.
"All the things people do toward their superiors," the Queen said,
"are done for social reasons. For instance, Sir Kenneth: you don't
realize fully how you feel about Mr. Burris."
"He's a hell of a fine guy," Malone said. "I work for him. He's a good
Director of the FBI."
"Of course," the Queen said. "But you believe you could do the job
just as well, or perhaps a little better."
"I do not," Malone said angrily.
Her Majesty reserved a dignified silence.