The Prisoner of Limnos

Mmm, good stuff.

The sixth novella of Penric and Desdemona. Penric is still pursuing Nikys; Nikys is still being annoyingly wishy-washy and indecisive; and then it turns out Nikys' mother has been kidnapped by her brother's political enemies. Nikys receives news of this via the woman her brother had been courting, and asks for Penric's help to mount a stealth mission in to rescue her. This involves Penric dressing as a woman once again, this time taking the persona of Ruchia and then switching places with Nikys' mother so Nikys can take her mother out while Penric is left to escape on his own. The plot gets more complicated as Nikys' elder half-brother also attempts a rescue, and then everyone has to escape back to safety.

An interesting book to learn more about Nikys' family but all too short!