Although
Chrístõ said in the previous story that he was heading to Beta Delta IV,
this story sees him arriving on Adano-Ambrado. The assumption is that
he has been to see Julia and then gone on to visit Penne.
Except all is not well in the House of Dúre. Penne is deathly sick and nobody knows whether it is a natural illness or some kind of assassination attempt. And there are some negotiations hanging in the balance. Chrístõ must pose as the king in order to protect his empire.
The obvious literary references are the Prisoner of Zenda, and of course, The Prince and the Pauper, with maybe a bit of Man in The Iron Mask thrown in. The Field of the Cloth of Gold allusion fits in even more perfectly, with the oddly named Dragon-Loge Marton setting up his peculiar camp next to the palace. I fully intend to introduce the Dragon-Loge into a couple of future stories, but for now all we need to know is that his ideas about women are very peculiar even by Penne’s standards and that his political situation is rocky.
The image of the Dragon-Loge Marton on his throne with his half naked girl on a chain comes from the seedy side of the IMVU chatroom. No, I don’t use it. I came across the image by accident and was intrigued by it. I have nothing to say further on that except that the misogynistic Dragon-Loge is a paragon of chivalry compared to some of the fantasists on that site.
The Dragon-Loge
seems to be the central issue of this story, but in fact, it is Penne’s
illness and how he came to be ill that matters. And the next sub-theme
is Cirena’s relationship with him. Having 
discovered
that she can’t have children, she fears that his roving eye might
persuade the rest of him along. And especially when presented with the
lovely Nestista to do with as he pleases. Even Chrístõ is convinced Penne
would be tempted. But Penne makes the right decision in the end. Perhaps
his blood being replaced by that of Chrístõ, The Ambassador and Maestro
did him some good?
Or perhaps not. Remember, of course, he is related to Li Tuo, another Time Lord who was a serial lover. Deep down Penne is always going to be a naughty Time Lord.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_the_Cloth_of_Gold
