Blast it, if he had done anything wrong, this was way beyond her pay grade. But a VIP under the protection of one of her quaternions -- and therefore, under her protection, too -- had legitimate grievances. And if Kilfeather really had moved the Pas de Sabots in violation of official permission, not to mention demanded a hostage as coward's payment, then everything he and his guardsponies subsequently did constituted felonious acts.