I nodded.
He gave a low whistle. "Sweet Goddess."
"And that is the point," Doyle said.
Rhys looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"We have all been worshipped in the past, but for most of us it is in the long past. For Conchenn it has been less than three hundred years. She was still being worshipped in Europe when we were asked to... leave."
"So you're saying that she's got more power because she was being worshipped?" Rhys asked.
"Not more power," Doyle said, "but more..."
"Oomph," I suggested.
"I am unfamiliar with the word," he said.
"More... jazz, more bite, more crack to the whip." I waved my hands in the air. "I don't know. Rhys knows what I mean."
He came down the three steps to the living room. "Yeah, I know what you mean. She's got more of a charge to her magic."
Doyle finally nodded. "I will accept that."
Frost came to stand with us. Doyle looked at him from behind dark glasses, and the bigger man hesitated, frowning. "I have an insight to add, my captain."
The two men carefully measured each other. I interrupted. "What's wrong with you two? If Frost has something to add, then let him say it."
Frost continued to look at Doyle, as if waiting. Finally, Doyle gave one quick nod. Frost gave a small bow. "I have watched movies on Meredith's television set. I have seen how humans react to these movie stars. Their adoration of the actors is a type of worship."
We all looked at him. It was Rhys who whispered, "Lord and Lady, if anyone could prove that she's been worshipped..." He let his voice trail off.
Doyle finished the thought for him. "Then there would be grounds to exile us all from this country. The one thing we were forbidden to do was set ourselves up to be worshipped as gods."
I shook my head. " She did not set herself up to be worshipped as a deity. She was just trying to earn a living."
The men thought about that for a few seconds, then finally Doyle nodded. "The princess is correct by law."
"I don't think Maeve intended to get around the law," I said.
He shook his head. "I do not mean to imply otherwise, but whatever her intent, she has the added benefit of having been worshipped by humans for the last forty years. A human movie star cannot take advantage of that kind of energy exchange, but Maeve is sidhe, and she will know exactly how to use such energy."
"What does that say about the models and actors in Europe that have sidhe blood in them?" I asked. "Or even the royal families of Europe? Sidhe had to marry into all the royal houses of Europe to cement the last great treaty. Are they all taking extra benefit from their human admirers?"
"It is not something I can speak to," Doyle said.
"I'll take a guess at it," Rhys said.
Doyle frowned at him, and the look was clear even through the dark glasses. "We are not paid to guess."
Rhys grinned through his fake beard. "Think of it as an extra plus when you hire me."
Doyle lowered the glasses enough for Rhys to see his eyes.
"Ooh," Rhys said. Then, laughing, he said, "I'll bet that anyone with enough sidhe blood in them can gain power from all that human adoration. They may not be aware of it, but how else do you explain the successful reigns of the royal houses with the highest percentage of sidhe blood? All are still active, while the houses that took the sidhe only once treated it like a plague and stopped, and they have died out."
Julian came back into the room. "Ms. Reed has requested that this meeting continue out by the pool, unless there is some strong objection against it."
"I don't see a problem with taking this outside on such a beautiful day," I said.