She blushed rather delightfully. “Yes. And then I went south, cut across a few fields back to the river, and followed it to the castle. Fortunately, there aren’t many people out and about in the countryside at night in January. And most of the livestock was in for the night. I might have startled a badger or two.”
“And Emeline made sure you weren’t hurt.” Vitus asked this one more cautiously, because he was not entirely clear on how much he could reasonably worry.
“Nothing much connected. I’ll have a few aches in the morning. I have a few now. That’s fine.” She lifted her head, stretched one toe toward the ceiling, then flexed her foot. “Moment. My feet are cold now.” She pushed herself sitting, moved the pillows she’d been propping them up on, and then tucked herself under the covers, though she kept her toes away from his feet.
He nudged her foot with one of his. “I’m warmer.”
“Doesn’t seem kind.” She immediately tucked her feet between his shins, though, and he restrained a shiver. Her feet were, in fact, still rather cold, despite a hot bath somewhere in there. “Who do you think that was? I couldn’t tell.”
“Logic strongly suggests one of the Fortiers,” Vitus said. “A lot of that ranting was rather personal, wasn’t it?”
Thessaly wriggled to get closer to him, one arm around his ribs, the other snaking under the pillows. “It was.” She let out a long sigh. “It probably wasn’t Dagobert.”
“He’s not fit for it, is he?” Vitus said. “If he is, he’s been putting on a wonderful show the rest of the time.”
“Excellent point. Whoever that was was free-moving. Well, until the end.” She snickered once. “The last charm, um. Sortof equivalent to kneeing a gentleman in sensitive places proper modest Victorian maidens aren’t supposed to know about.”
That suddenly made the last part of the duel make rather more sense, and Vitus winced, then hugged her tightly. “I’m glad to know you can take care of yourself.”
“You’re not, I don’t know. Unmanned by it?” Now he could hear she was more uncertain.
He paused before answering, kissing her hair gently, hoping the touch, his arms, his presence, would convey as much of what he felt as any words. “Not if you permit me to demonstrate my virtues at some point in the future. You’re the duellist. Part of me wanted to protect you, but it’s foolish when you’ve put so much time into your skill, and that’s not what I’m good at.”
“You protected me in other ways.” Thessaly’s voice was quiet, secure somehow, a kind of security Vitus had heard from Mama and Papa, the kind that was decades of a contented marriage. Knowing what she could expect, and certain it was hers for the asking. “The talisman. Each to our own gifts and talents.”
He certainly had nothing to say to that, even while he felt he’d plunged into a large ocean with no landmarks in sight. He wanted whatever that was, in her voice, with all his heart, and he didn’t know how to make sure it kept being there. Vitus took a deep breath, going on. “If it wasn’t Dagobert, was it Lord Clovis? Sigbert? Someone else?”
“What did you make out of what he was saying? I couldn’t hear all of it properly.” Thessaly moved so he could see she was wrinkling her nose up. “I don’t think it was Lady Maylis, certainly not Lady Chrodechildis, and I’m fairly sure not Laudine. For one thing, I’ve never seen them not in a proper gown, ever.”
“Trousers,” Vitus said, thinking through that. “Have they seen you in duelling clothes?”
“In the past, a couple of times. Or at least they could have. I take your point, though.” Then she nudged him gently. “What was he saying?”
“Nothing kind.” It had played through his mind while he was waiting. “Like he had a claim on you, like I was interfering, taking something that wasn’t mine to take.”
“I heard you say I had a choice. And I heard the bit about him blaming you for Childeric.” Thessaly sighed. “All right. It might have been Lord Clovis. It might have been Sigbert. Only it’s been too long since I duelled Sigbert to be sure. It might have been one of Bradamante’s sons-in-law. There being three on offer this evening, the Percys came over from France for the supper.”
“It doesn’t answer much at all, except that I shouldn’t show my face there without a lot of caution,” Vitus said. “I’ll have to talk that part of it out with Florent. You don’t think it was Florent?”
“Oh, no. I’ve seen him duel. He drags his right foot slightly, no matter how hard he tries not to.” Thessaly seemed very sure, which was a lot of weight to put on one foot. But he had to assume she knew what she was talking about. She added after a moment. “I have a little of the same problem. It’s why I noticed. If I had to bet, I’d think it was Lord Clovis. A little more bulk, a little less nimble, and whoever it was didn’t pull out some of the things we learned at Schola under Professor Trenton.”
“Suggestive,” Vitus agreed. “What are you going to do? When do you need to see them again?”
“Next week. Saturday. Supper, one of the chances for me to spend time with Sigbert and him to be persuasive.” Now, Thessaly pushed up on one elbow. “He will not convince me. I want to be clear about that. Especially not after tonight.”
“Especially?“ Vitus could not follow that logic at all, though to be fair, it had been a rather eventful evening.
“We work well together. Exceedingly well. I don’t want to form that kind of pairing with anyone else, thank you.” She sounded absolutely determined about it, the absolute stubbornness of a small child who didn’t know all the other ways of being in the world.
“Not going to argue with you.” He might have said more, but she yawned ferociously just then. “How about we sleep? Perhaps I can demonstrate my particular kind of manliness in the morning. If you wish.”
“I think I’ll wish. Maybe more than once. Just to make a point.” Thessaly nestled against him and was almost immediately asleep. It left Vitus to lie there, listening to her breath, and quietly be glad that nothing worse had happened that evening. Even if now he was worried about what might come.
29
JANUARY 25TH AT ARUNDEL
“Grand-mère is in something of a mood. Please do excuse her.” Sigbert had met Thessaly at the portal. It was a week after her last and far more secret visit to Arundel, and her presence had been requested for a family supper. “Would you prefer a brief walk before going into the fray? The cemetery? Not at its best this time of year.”
