I had demanded that Javier go to the healer first, and he had said that you reported in to your commander first and that we’d already strained that by going to Snow. We compromised on me yelling, “Rinald!” as we passed the stable, and he appeared a moment later and began stripping Javier’s shirt off him while he gave his report.
The bruises that had just been starting when I’d examined him were starting to turn spectacular colors now. I couldn’t believe he’d been climbing with his ribs in that state. Rinald let out an appreciative whistle, and the captain stopped mid-word and stared.
After a minute, he recovered and said, “I’m going to guess you engaged the enemy, then.”
Javier made a self-deprecating gesture at himself. “The enemy beat me bloody, sir. Three against one. But not quite as bad as they thought they did, and they threw me in with the healer here, so once they were gone, I managed to secure our escape.”
The captain’s bloodhound jowls trembled as he shook his head. “You did the right thing, man. Can you lead us back there? All… well… four of us?” I could tell by the deepening wrinkles that he didn’t think much of their odds, but presumably he had to dosomething.
“We’ll roust a few lads from the stables,” Rinald put in. “Can only horse eight, but that should even the odds a bit.”
This did not make the captain look much happier, but he nodded. I was suddenly glad that there wasn’t an actual camp for them to stumble across.
“I’ll be honest, sir, I don’t know,” Javier said. “I can try, but I was following them, not looking for landmarks, and I’m a city boy. But I’ll do my best.”
“If they were smart, they’d clear out as soon as they knew you escaped,” the captain said. “But maybe we’ll get lucky. Healer Anja, did you get a look at any of them?”
I shook my head. “Just heard their voices. I might know them again if I heard them, but I can’t swear to it.” If being a healer has taught me anything, it’s that memory is desperately fallible, so that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
“Right. Well, guardsman, it sounds like you performed above and beyond the call of duty. I could wish you’d gone for backup, but… well, I understand why you didn’t, all things considered.”
“I would have if I’d had more than a few seconds,” Javier promised. “There’s a reason we usually work in pairs.”
“Right.” The captain rubbed his hands over his face. “Healer Anja, let me extend my deepest and profoundest apologies. This should never have happened. This neverhashappened. If I’d thought for an instant that there might be a chance of someone being snatched, I’d have written to the king himself to demand more men.”
I felt a stab of guilt. The poor man was probably worried about what had been his retirement post. “No, no, Captain. There was nothing you could have done. I don’t doubt that they’d been biding their time since the king left. No one had any reason to believe that matters would escalate like that.” Which was true, more or less. Witherleaf’s safety lay in its remoteness and the fact that everyone knew everyone else and an outsider would stick out like a sore thumb. “I’ll tell the king that to his face if he asks.”
That did ease one of the creases in the bloodhound face. The captain nodded, tapped the table, then rose to his feet. “Rinald?”
“Nothing broken,” Rinald said, in deep disgust, “though not for lack of trying. Your man here has bones like an ox. I’m binding those ribs, though. And if we do find these miscreants, you are not to engage them, you hear?” He leveled a finger at Javier. “You’ve done quite enough of that.”
“Yes, Healer Rinald,” said Javier meekly.
“You’re never that obedient withme,” I muttered.
“Healer Rinald doesn’t get into trouble every time I leave him alone for five minutes.”
I rolled my eyes and left them to their preparations. I didn’t envy Javier a long ride on horseback, but our story seemed to have gone off without a hitch, and I could feel nothing but intense relief.
I limped back to my room, feeling like laundry that had been dropped on the floor wet and had dried out into some fantastically wrinkled shape. Eloise had already bespoken a bath, and she clucked over the bruises on my arm. They were a nasty shade in the shape of fingers with a tight grip, but I was pleased, since it sold the story better.
“It’s shocking is what it is,” Eloise told me, while her hair made inroads on one of the towels. “We’ll be murdered in our beds next.”
“Saints, I hope not. I intend to spend a lot of time in my bed in the near future.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Areyouall right? Truly? They didn’t… ah… take any liberties?”
Damnation, we hadn’t thought our story through that far. “Other than the sack on my head and dragging me along, no. I don’t think they were interested in that. I think they just wanted to know if I’d figured out what was wrong with Snow and, if so, to make sure I didn’t tell anyone about it.”
“Have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Figured out what’s wrong with Her Highness.”
“Oh. Uh. Not exactly. I’ve got a pretty good idea, though.” I sank deeper into the water, until I was up to my chin. “If we can just get through the next few days, I think everything will be fine.”
And it was fine.
