The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  Chris laughed as he got up and left.

  About an hour later, a knock on the door was accompanied by a distinctive scratch. Kevin laughed. “Come on in, Nikki.”

  Rhianna opened the door, let Nikki in first, then followed. “Nikki said it’s too nice an afternoon to spend in the office. She wants to go for a walk.”

  “She does, does she?” Kevin petted his dog while looking at Rhianna. “She’s such a good dog I’d hate to disappoint her. Want to join us?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  ~~~~

  The sun was setting when Kevin and Rhianna got back to Kevin’s office. After he shut the door, he ran his hands up and down her arms. “I hate for you to go.”

  “I hate it, too.” She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’d like nothing more than to stay right here with you, shut away from everything.”

  “We could.” Kevin stroked her back. “Maybe not in here, too many interruptions, but somewhere.”

  Rhianna laughed and shook her head. “They’d find us. I’m surprised no one showed up last night.”

  Kevin chuckled. “Me too, but they’d have been taking their lives in their own hands if they had.” Then, after a moment, he asked, “I hate to bring it up, but when do you need to be back in Crinsor Run?”

  Rhianna grinned. “Half an hour ago.”

  Kevin’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Rhianna shrugged. “I wasn’t ready to go. Besides, it won’t be the first time I’ve been late to dinner.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s the first time I’ve made you late.”

  “I doubt it’ll be the last. Besides, you’re late to dinner, too. Mother’s expecting you to join us.”

  Kevin shook his head. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not. Saying goodbye to you is going to be hard enough. I’d rather not do it with an audience.”

  Rhianna smiled and said, “I agree,” as she leaned in to kiss him. “I really do need to go, but I don’t want to. I’m greedy. I want another night, another day,” she shook her head, “but duty comes first.”

  “We’ll have lots more days and nights together. But for now, we’ll take what we can get. Just let me know when you’re going to have some time off, even if it’s only a few hours.”

  “But if all I’ve got is an afternoon, we’ll have to meet somewhere else. If I go to Crinsor Run, I’ll get tied up with family and there’ll be no time for us.”

  “I’m sure Xantha knows someplace else we can meet.”

  “I’ll mention it to him when he takes me back tonight.”

  Kevin put his arms around her and held her close for a couple of minutes. Then he eased her back so he could kiss her again, and that time they both fell into the kiss until it was the only thing either of them knew.

  Minutes later, while they were still lost in the kiss, there was a knock on the door. Kevin was able to rouse himself enough to say, “Who is it?”

  “Chris.”

  Kevin shook his head. “Come in.”

  “I’m sorry,” Chris said as he opened the door, “but Cpt. Kort needs you. One of the guards spotted smoke from the roof so they got Marcus to check it out. He said a barn’s on fire.”

  Kevin frowned. “A fire? Again?”

  Rhianna laughed and shook her head. “You need to get going before it spreads. Chris can take me back to Crinsor Run.” Then she kissed him on the cheek, said, “Go help Marcus. See you soon,” and nudged him towards the door.

  Chapter 47

  Break's Over

  After breakfast Monday morning, Sedwin went into Stanton to pick up some supplies. While he was loading his wagon one of the farmers Gildan had been working with, Maylor, walked up.

  When Sedwin asked him how things were going, Maylor said, “They were going great, but now that my help’s gone…” Maylor shrugged.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Gildan left last Friday. I hated to see him go. He didn’t know much about farming, but he’d do anything I asked. Guess all the women chasing after him scared him off.”

  Sedwin laughed. “Bet lots of good food came with that chasing.”

  Maylor chuckled. “I imagine so, but so did a lot of tangles, and I don’t think he was ready to get tangled up. The last time I asked him to come to town for me, he begged off. Only thing I asked him to do that he balked at.”

  “Well, guess I’d better get going,” Sedwin said as he climbed up on the seat. “You take care.”

  An hour later, while Sedwin was having tea with his wife, he told her what Maylor had said about Gildan.

  “He just left?”

  “That’s what Maylor said.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “Not that I know of. Maylor’s blaming it on the women who were trying to get him to court their daughters.”

  Danyelle laughed. “Poor guy. But at least he’s gone.”

  “But we still don’t know why he was here.”

  “No, but he spent a bit of time watching us.”

  “What?!”

  Danyelle shook her head. “He didn’t get close, nowhere near the children.”

  “Where was he? And why didn’t you tell me?!”

  “And what would you have done?”

  “Chased him off!”

  “Which is why I didn’t tell you,” Danyelle said quietly. “I scanned the woods every day while he was in the area. He set up a blind on the other side of the pasture.”

  “That’s a good ways off. What could he see from there?”

  “He had a spy glass.”

  “What was he looking for?”

  Danyelle shrugged. “I have no idea. He’d show up maybe once a week and sit out there from early morning until sunset. Sitting there watching us do chores had to be boring.”

  “Maybe that’s why he moved on. Nothing to see.”

  “Could be, but I wish we knew why he was watching us to start with.” Danyelle got up and put her cup in the sink. “More tea?”

  Sedwin shook his head. “I need to get back to work.”

  “So do I, but first I need to write Myron and let him know Gildan’s moved on.”

  ~~~~

  Within an hour of getting Danyelle’s letter Tuesday morning, Kevin was sitting in her kitchen with a fresh cup of tea. “Did you meet him at any point while he was here?”

  Danyelle shook her head. “All I did was watch him watch us from his blind out back.”

  “Blind? Like a hunter’s blind?”

  Danyelle nodded.

  “What was he watching?”

  “Us, but all he saw was a family doing chores. I wanted everyone to act natural, so I didn’t let anyone know he was there. I didn’t even tell Sedwin until after he left town.”

  “Bet that went over well.”

  Danyelle shrugged. “There’s no way I could have stopped him from going after Gildan if I’d told him at the time and that would have caused more problems than it would solve. As it was, I made sure the children didn’t go anywhere near him.”

  “How?”

  “Kept them too busy! My windows got washed, the barn and shed got cleaned out, the herb garden has had better care than ever before, and every bit of tack has been cleaned and all the brass has been polished.”

  Kevin laughed. “How often was he out there?”

  “Once a week, and not on the same day either. Guess that’s why he set things up so he would be working for different farmers. Gave him a bit more control over his schedule. On the days he came, he usually showed up around breakfast. Twice he stayed until dinner, but the other two times he didn’t leave until daybreak the next morning.”

  “He spent the night watching you?”

  “I imagine that was his intention, but he must have fallen asleep because he was asleep when I got up.”

  “What do you think he was after?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Did he ask any questions in town?”

  “No
t as far as I know, but he spent a lot of evenings with some of the worst gossips around. If he wanted to find out anything, he could have done it easily.”

  “Who? The farmers’ wives?”

  Danyelle shook her head and laughed. “No, mothers looking for husbands for their daughters. They set their sights on him when he first got here and went after him with everything they had, including a lot of dinner invitations. From what I heard, he left some disappointed women in his wake.”

  “I doubt finding a wife’s at the top of his to-do list, and it certainly doesn’t help us figure out what’s going on.” Kevin sighed. “Whatever he’s doing, the House of Nordin seems to be at the center of it, and that means Rolan’s probably behind it.” Kevin stood up and put his tea cup in the sink. “I’m sorry about this, Danyelle. I hate Rolan’s dragged the rest of you into his fight with me.”

  “It’s not your fault. I’d like to say it’s not your problem, but if Rolan’s behind it, it’ll fall in your lap eventually. But so far, all he’s done is watch. As long as that’s the worst of it, there’s nothing you can do so there’s no need to worry about it.”

  “Thanks.” Kevin took out his key. “Guess I’d better tell Kyle to keep an eye out for him. Makes sense he’ll head there next.”

  ~~~~

  After Kevin got back from lunch Saturday, he called Ariel into his office and asked if he had any plans for that evening.

  “I’m on duty this weekend,” Ariel answered.

  “But we close the office before dinner on Saturdays. It would be perfectly reasonable for you to have plans for the evening.”

  Ariel shook his head. “Not if I’m on duty. Things happen whether the office is open or closed.”

  “Is that the way you feel for yourself or is it policy for all pages?”

  “All pages, sir.”

  “One more thing I didn’t know.” Kevin sighed. “Any chance these rules are written down somewhere?”

  Ariel grinned and shook his head. “They’re passed down from one head page to the next.”

  “We need to have this stuff in writing so Chris and I know what’s going on. Do you think you and Petri could make a list of the main rules and procedures? Just the main stuff, like what’s expected of the pages while they’re on duty.”

  Ariel nodded. “Do you want the off-duty stuff, too?”

  “There are rules for when they’re off duty?”

  Again Ariel nodded.

  “Then that too, and it might not hurt to make a copy to take with you to give to Landis. It might come in handy when you explain what pages do and what she should expect out of them. And speaking of Landis, the reason I asked if you had plans this evening is I thought we’d talk about your new job.”

  Ariel’s eyes lit up. “Where should I meet you?”

  “Here, around seven?”

  Ariel smiled. “I’ll be here.”

  ~~~~

  Ariel was waiting in the office when Kevin got back from dinner. “I thought we’d go somewhere else to talk,” Kevin said as he held out his arm to Ariel. A couple of moments later they were in the sitting room in the cave in Rainbow Valley.

  Ariel looked around. “Where are we?”

  “Rainbow Valley, my home away from home.”

  Ariel frowned. “This is a cave.”

  Kevin grinned. “And one of the most comfortable places I’ve ever lived.”

  “You lived here?”

  “While I was training with Glendymere.”

  Ariel’s eyebrows shot up. “Glendymere lives here?”

  “His cave’s on the other side of the mountain. There’s a tunnel that leads to his chambers. Come on. I’ll show you around.” As Kevin gave Ariel the tour, he pointed out who had lived where.

  While they were walking back towards the sitting room, Ariel said, “These rooms are nice. You don’t even think about it being a cave.”

  “Think you’d be all right living in one?”

  “If it’s like this.”

  “Good, because you will be when you join Landis. That’s one of the reasons I brought you here. You need to figure out what you’ll need so we can get it together. I want your quarters set up before I take you out there.”

  After they sat down, Ariel said, “I knew the others rode into Milhaven with you, but I had no idea they were with you while you were apprenticed.”

  “I was more a student than an apprentice. I had less than a year to learn what to do. If it hadn’t been for Chris and the rest of them, I’d never have made it.”

  “Was Chris your assistant back then?”

  Kevin nodded. “And guinea pig.”

  “Guinea pig?”

  “The one I tested things on. When I needed to pick a person up with my outstretched hand, he got picked up, and dropped a couple of times. Good thing Glendymere was around to catch him. After I learned to fly, I had to learn how to carry someone with me, so he was the first one I carried. I can’t say he enjoyed all of it, but it must not have been too bad since he’s still with me.”

  “Will I have to be Landis’s guinea pig?”

  Kevin laughed. “That’s up to you, but it’s not part of your job. I’m sure she can find a volunteer if she needs one.”

  “The other people who live there?”

  Kevin nodded. “A small group of men who used to be castle guards when Tsareth was alive volunteered to go with her. They and their families are there. Their captain’s in charge as far as they’re concerned, but not as far as you’re concerned. And this matters because there will be times when you and Landis will argue, and the guards won’t like that.”

  “Why would I argue with her? If all I’m doing is explaining how things work, what would we argue about? If she wants to do it a different way, that’s her option, right?”

  “Yes, and explaining is all you’ll be doing at first, but if Landis becomes a seated sorcerer, she’ll face things she’s never come up against. After she understands the basics about how things work, I want you to make up hypothetical situations and ask her what she’d do.” At Ariel’s frown, Kevin said, “When the mail comes in, you read it so you can sort it, right?”

  “Nothing marked personal, but everything else.”

  “So you know what my father and I have had to deal with, the complaints, contract disputes, arguments, and so on. I want you to pick some of that stuff and ask her how she’d handle it. When she tells you what she’d do, I want you to ask her why, and if there’s any way her solution could make matters worse or cause another problem, tell her, and ask what she’d do then. I want her to think, to figure out what she believes and how she’ll handle things before she has to. And it will sound a whole lot like arguing. And that’s what the guards might not like.”

  “Just like some of ours get upset when Chris argues with you.”

  “Exactly. And you’ve watched Chris ignore them. I want you to do the same thing. If they get mad, they get mad, but none of them has any authority over you. Their captain knows what your job is and that there’s a good chance some of his men will object to things you say to her, but he plans to tell them you’re there on my orders and doing what I asked you to.”

  “Am I the only one who’s more or less separate from the guards?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Sister Theresa and Darwyn are there. Darwyn’s a sorcerer who helps the guards and their families, but he works for me, just like you do.”

  “Is he the one helping Landis with her magic?”

  “No, he’s not involved with Landis in any way.” Kevin paused a moment. “Did you ever meet Warren, the district sorcerer of Ragenon?”

  Ariel grinned. “I went to Walnut Springs with Badec a couple of times. Warren’s wife used to make the best pastries.”

  Kevin laughed. “She still does. She and Warren will be there, too. Warren’s the one working with Landis.”

  Ariel nodded. “From what Badec said, he’s good.”

  “He is.”

  Ariel thought for a moment and th
en said, “I have a question. You said the guards worked at the castle while Tsareth was alive. Why can’t they tell Landis what she needs to know?”

  “Because they’re guards. They know how the guard’s set up, what guards are supposed to do, and what they aren’t, but I doubt they have any idea what goes on anywhere else in the castle, much less in the sorcerer’s office.” Kevin hesitated. “Rolan doesn’t run his office like ours. All his pages do is run errands for him. Slaves do all the work around the castle, and from what I hear, the people in Brendolanth have to fend for themselves. I imagine they have district ministers and sorcerers, but I don’t get the impression he has anything to do with them. He keeps up with the spies he sends out to find out if anyone’s plotting against him, but that’s it. Everyone else is on their own.” Kevin paused. “What I want you to do is tell her how we do it. It’ll give her a place to start. Then, once she gets there, she can figure out how she wants to do it.”

  “I’ll be able to talk to you about how things are going, won’t I?”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ll check with you at least once a week, maybe more.”

  “Can I ask the guards how things like meals and dirty clothes were handled when Tsareth was alive? I doubt any of that’s changed.”

  “You can ask them anything you want to. I’m not sure how much they’ll be able to tell you, but they’ll do everything they can to help. They want her to succeed.” When Ariel nodded, Kevin asked, “Anything else?”

  “Not at the moment, but I imagine I’ll have some questions later.”

  “That’s fine. You know where to find me.” Then Kevin took out his key and handed it to Ariel. “I want you to take us back to the office.”