Hugh whistled, and a figure moved behind the shutters in the neighboring cottage. A freckled girl with long braids sprang through the doorway a moment later, eagerly meeting the group in the street.
“Hugh!” she said.
He gave the girl a smile. “Aye, it’s us. How are the goings-on?”
She stared up at him solemnly. “I’ve watered the plants and tended the animals. The laundry is fresh, and I’ll have perishables brought over before the sun sets.”
“Good girl,” Hugh said. “What about Izzy?”
The girl scowled and held up a long-fingered hand. “The beast scratched me. I’ve never met a creature who enjoyed so much sin.”
Hugh snorted a laugh, pointedly not acknowledging the disgruntled sound that rumbled out of his wife. “Cannot argue with you there, my girl. Now, how about we settle for your work with an extra copper for the scratch, and you take these horses to the stable for grain and a decent brushing?”
“Deal.” She glanced only briefly at Ginger before she leaned in to whisper, “And next time, let Harry mind the cat.”
At her comment, Hugh laughed full out, stepping down from his horse as he patted the girl on top of her head. “Thank you, Sarah. For your work and the utter joy of your honest soul.”
Miri and Cass dismounted as well and slid their packs over their shoulders after the horses were tied in wait for their turn with Sarah. Ginger led them into the house, stopping in the center of the front room to swoop up a large tabby cat missing half an ear.
“There’s my girl,” Ginger murmured, but the cat only stared at Miri over the woman’s shoulder with a look that promised blood.
Cass gave Miri a grin then took their packs as he followed Hugh through the house. “You’ll sleep here,” Hugh said, leading Cass to what was apparently a spare room off the kitchens.
Ginger set the cat back onto the floor, and the creature let out a low warbling growl. “Now,” Ginger said, “I’ll start the bath water while you get out of those filthy clothes. I’ll send them with Sarah when she’s done with the horses, and she’ll have them fresh bright and early for you.” Ginger’s expression fell. “I’ll be sorry to see you go, Bean. But I’m happy to have been graced by your presence while I could. Maiden’s blessings on you both.”
Miri hadn’t come to like goodbyes any better but let herself relax into the bittersweet feeling of cooking alongside Ginger and eating to the sound of the couple’s banter and Hugh’s hearty laugh as a game of backgammon was overtaken by stories from his youth.
When Hugh and Ginger retired to their upstairs rooms and Miri and Cass finally made their way to the small bedroom, Cass’s fingers brushed against Miri’s in the narrow hallway. Her eyes caught his as she turned through the doorway, and an inescapable urge rose through her. Cass seemed to recognize it, and something in his gaze told Miri he was feeling it too.
He moved toward her as her steps slowed, bringing her backward into the room, and Miri could only think of how it would feel when he touched her, when his warm, soft lips pressed to hers, and when his hands, always gentle, tightened around her in something that wasn’t comfort or protection. It was something that felt as reckless and urgent as she did.
A screeching yowl came as Miri stumbled over the cat. The creature danced underfoot before sinking its claws into Miri’s skin. Miri hissed a curse, and Cass grabbed her arm to steady her as she hopped on one foot and the hateful feline shot through the door.
“Isabella,” Ginger scolded from upstairs.
Cass stared down at Miri as she leaned to rub the tender leg. Her feet were bare beneath a borrowed homespun gown. She sighed and straightened, acknowledging whatever foolishness that had come over them. Miri was of queen’s blood. Cass was bloodsworn. They both had duties to fulfill. Cass’s was to protect her. Miri’s was to kill a king. In the morning, by the grace of the gods, each would see it done.
* * *
Miri rubbedsalve over the angry scratch on her leg, and she and Cass said their farewells to Ginger and Hugh with a promise to visit, should they ever return. Their packs had been filled with supplies, and their clothes had been laundered and scented with violets. Their first stop had been the seamstress, where Miri procured a lady’s dress. Their next was the stately manor where they would linger until nightfall while their horses hid in the stables. Their cover stories were secured in case Miri was noticed.
“We have friends in Ironwood,” Cass had said. He meant friends loyal to the dead queen.
Miri dressed in a richly furnished bedroom while Cass waited in the parlor. She would not allow a maid to help, should something go wrong and Miri be caught. She was already risking more lives than she cared to think about for long.
Miri tied her corset, wondering if Lettie had been able to track time where they kept her. It was impossible to know if Lettie was even aware her name day was approaching. It was possible Lettie felt as if centuries had passed, as if there were no torture greater than waiting for her death.
She also wondered if Nicholas visited her sister’s cell to taunt the rightful heir. It was unlikely. Nicholas might have named himself king of Stormskeep, but that didn’t mean the man had changed. He didn’t relish attention like the other lords. He quite enjoyed his secrets. Lord Nicholas had been able to hold his tongue. King Nicholas was doubtless even better at the task.
His son, however, had a tongue like a snake. He was a whispering, slithering reptile of a thing. Lettie had made sheep’s eyes at Augustus every time they were forced into his company. Miri had never understood it or been able to see why Lettie needed so badly the approval of those lords and their sniveling sons. And now she was prisoner to the very lord she’d wanted so much to impress.
Of all the kings of the realm, Miri hated Nicholas the most. But he was not the king she would kill next.
A soft knock came at the door, and the rhythm of it tugged Miri’s scowl into something softer. It consisted of the three short raps Thom had always used. “Do you need… assistance?”
Miri let out a resigned laugh. “Apparently. Please come in. I’m decent enough.”
Cass came slowly through the door, his eyes meeting Miri’s before he closed the door again behind him.
