The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “I’ll get them,” Conner offered. Then he hugged his daughter. “Have a good time, honey. I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too, Father,” Anya said with a slight catch in her voice.

  Sassie stepped behind Anya and pulled her back from her father’s arms. “You’ll rumple your dress. And stand up straight.” Then she put her hands on Anya’s shoulders. “Shoulders down at all times.” She tugged on the end of Anya’s hair. “Head straight.” Then she slid her hands down Anya’s arms. “Arms by your side. I expect you to act the way you’ve been taught. If you don’t, I’ll hear about it, and I’ll make you come back home. You are not going to embarrass me. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, mother.” Anya swiped at the tear sliding down her face.

  “And none of that.” Sassie gave her daughter a slight shake. “There’s nothing attractive about red eyes or tear streaks.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Now go make us proud.”

  Sassie stepped back from her daughter as Conner walked back in with two large bags. As he handed Chris the bags, he nodded to his daughter. “Put your hand on Chris’s shoulder and don’t let go.”

  Chris smiled. “Anya, you might feel more secure holding onto my arm since this is your first time traveling by key. It’ll feel strange when we enter the energy field, but we’ll only be there a few seconds. When we get out, you may feel a little dizzy and sick on your stomach.” Chris chuckled. “I thought I was going to lose my breakfast the first time I did it, but it passes pretty quickly.”

  “Now you see why I didn’t let you have any breakfast,” Sassie interrupted. “And don’t you dare ruin that dress by getting sick.”

  Chris waited until Anya turned back towards him. “Don’t try to move when we get there. Hold onto my arm and concentrate on breathing.”

  Anya took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and nodded.

  Chris smiled, said, “You’ll be fine,” and turned the key.

  ~~~~

  Earlier, shortly after Chris left his office, Kevin called Cameryn in. “Chris is picking up a minister’s daughter and bringing her back to the castle. Her name is Anya, she’s thirteen, and she’s going to work for Cryslyn. Would you help her get settled?”

  “Sure,” Cameryn said. “Does she have a room?”

  “I’m sure Cryslyn’s got one ready for her. And I think Chris is planning to take her straight to her room, so you might want to wait for them down there.”

  Cameryn nodded and started to go.

  “Cameryn, this is her first time away from home. She’ll probably be nervous and a bit scared. Would you mind showing her around, introducing her, taking her to lunch?”

  Cameryn smiled. “Play big sister?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  ~~~~

  Cameryn was in Anya’s room when Chris and Anya arrived. She gently pried Anya’s hand off Chris’s arm and helped her sit on the bed. As Chris put the bags down against the wall, he turned to Cameryn and raised his eyebrows.

  “Myron sent me. He thought she might feel better if one of us was here to help her get settled.” Cameryn handed Anya a glass of water.

  “Are you going to stay with her?”

  Cameryn nodded. “I’ll help her get her things put away, and then I’ll take her up to Cryslyn.”

  “Good. I’ll go back to the office.” As Chris opened the door, he said, “Anya, welcome to Milhaven and to the castle. I hope you enjoy your time with us. If there’s anything we can do to help, just let us know.”

  “Thank you,” Anya said in a small voice. “And thank you for coming to get me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Once Chris was gone, Cameryn sat down beside Anya and said, “I love that dress!”

  Anya looked down at it and wrinkled her nose. “You can have it. I hate it.”

  “Why? It’s gorgeous!”

  “I can’t run in this thing. I can hardly move, and I can’t breathe!” Anya’s eyes started to tear up.

  “I’m sorry.” Cameryn slipped her arm around Anya’s shoulders. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Anya shook her head. “I’m just nervous.” She laughed and wiped her eyes. “But I do hate this dress. I’d rather be wearing what you’re wearing.”

  “Then you’re in luck.” Cameryn picked up the leggings and tunic Cryslyn had sent down and handed them to Anya. “I’ll step outside while you get changed. Then, we’ll put your things away and I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  ~~~~

  About an hour before dinner, Kevin and Chris were in Kevin’s office when Cameryn knocked on the doorframe. “I’m back.”

  “Come on in.” Kevin said. “We want to talk to you.”

  Cameryn sat down beside Chris. “What?”

  “What do you think of Anya?” Chris said.

  Cameryn paused and then shrugged. “Just remember you asked. I think Cryslyn needs to find someone else to handle her inventory.”

  “You don’t think Anya can handle it?” Kevin asked.

  “I’m sure she could, but so could a lot of other people.”

  “Then I don’t understand,” Chris said. “Why should Cryslyn find someone else?”

  “Because you need to bring Anya in here and make a page out of her. I’m leaving in a month and Isak will be leaving before too much longer. Jenni’s good, but she and Petri can’t do it all. Anya would be a good page, and she’d love it. Talk to her. Spend some time with her. You’ll see.”

  Kevin nodded and looked at Chris. “Maybe we should check her out.”

  “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

  Chapter 52

  A Brief Respite

  The next week dragged by for Kevin. That weekend was Rhianna’s second weekend off and he felt like it would never come. Since it was the last weekend of July, Marshall was supposed to go up to Kyle’s, so Kevin let Nikki go with him. As soon as Marshall and Nikki were at Kyle’s, Kevin went to Crinsor Run to meet Rhianna.

  Gwynn insisted that they eat lunch with her and Hayden, but as soon as they could, Kevin and Rhianna left for Milhaven. Rhianna spent most of the afternoon at Doreen’s, and then joined Kevin for dinner at the castle. When they were done, Kevin took Rhianna to the island to see Landis.

  While Rhianna visited with Landis, Kevin went in search of Ariel. He’d seen him several times since he’d taken him to the island, but only briefly, and always with other people around. When he found Ariel, he said, “Landis will be with Rhianna for a couple of hours, so I thought you and I could go somewhere and talk.”

  “Where?” Ariel asked.

  Kevin took out his key. “How about the plateau?”

  Ariel nodded and put his hand on Kevin’s arm.

  While they were walking along the cliffs watching the sea roll in, Kevin asked Ariel how he liked living there.

  “I like it.” Ariel grinned. “I was nervous at first, it’s so different from anywhere I’ve ever been, but I love it here. And the cave is perfect. I’ve got everything I need. Thank you.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I can’t take credit for it. Torrey and the other women put a lot of work into getting it ready for you.”

  “I know. Warren told me, and I’ve thanked them, but I owe you a big thank you, too. I just wanted you to know I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.” Kevin paused a second. “How’s it going between you and Landis?”

  For the next hour Ariel told Kevin what he and Landis had talked about and how she’d reacted to a lot of it. “Sometimes I feel like there’s so much we need to talk about I don’t see any way we can get to it all, and at other times, I feel like we’re almost done. Do you know what I mean?”

  Kevin nodded. “When someone asks me what I do all day, I can give them an easy answer in less than a minute, but if I tried to give them an idea what it’s really like, I’d spend hours explaining it.”

  “That’s what I mean. If you really get into it, it’s
huge.”

  “And that’s what you need to do. Tell her what it’s really like, especially the bad stuff.”

  “Like the way the ministers jumped on you about slavery.”

  Kevin nodded. “And the arguments sorcerers and ministers get into, and the complaints that come in, but don’t leave out the good stuff, like the way people come together when there’s an emergency. There’s a lot of good out there. Be sure you tell her that part, too.”

  “I will. And I’ve told her the first thing she needs to do is find someone to be her assistant.” Ariel thought for a moment. “Doesn’t the assistant have to be human?”

  Kevin nodded again. “Which means it can’t be Rhianna, and it can’t be a sorcerer either, so she can’t ask Robyn.”

  Ariel frowned. “But the only humans she knows are on this island, and most of them are guards.”

  “She can find an assistant later, after she comes back, after she can defend herself.” Kevin glanced at the sun, which was high in the sky. “We need to get back. Anything else right now?”

  “Not that I can think of, but I’m sure there will be later.”

  Kevin laughed. “I’m sure there will be, too. Any time you need to talk, let me know. Remember, you’re my eyes and ears here. Warren’s focused on her magic, as he should be. Everything else is on you.”

  Ariel took a deep breath and nodded.

  After he took Ariel back to his cave, Kevin went in search of Rhianna. He found them walking on the beach.

  “Time for us to go?” Rhianna asked. When Kevin nodded, she hugged Landis, told her she’d see her soon, and put her hand on Kevin’s arm.

  Kevin took them to the cave in Rainbow Valley. He’d gotten everything ready Friday evening, and while they’d been on the island, Chris had set out refreshments and a couple of pitchers of scog.

  “Are we staying here tonight?” Rhianna asked as she picked up a pastry.

  “If it’s all right with you.” Kevin poured each of them a mug of scog.

  Rhianna smiled and took his hand. “It’s perfect, and we have it all to ourselves.”

  Sunday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, thanks to Chris, they went to Kyle’s. They were barely out of the energy field when Nikki came running. She leapt into Rhianna’s arms, sending her back into Kevin. Once they were untangled, Nikki escorted them to Kyle’s, where fresh coffee awaited them.

  Kevin had his usual Sunday morning appointment with Glendymere, so Rhianna stayed at Kyle’s while Kevin went to the canyon lands. She played with the dogs and chatted with Kyle and Marshall. After Kevin made a quick trip by the castle to check on things and get cleaned up, they had lunch with Kyle, and then took Nikki and Marshall back to the castle. After dropping Marshall off at the stable, Kevin, Rhianna, and Nikki went for a long walk in the woods.

  While they were walking, Kevin asked, “Is that observer still hassling you?”

  Rhianna frowned. “If you mean is that observer still following me around questioning everything I do, the answer’s yes.”

  “Couldn’t your uncle do something about that?”

  Rhianna shook her head. “It’s not his problem, it’s mine, and I’ll handle it. Besides, he couldn’t do anything anyway. It’s not our way.”

  “Have you talked to your father about it? Or Duane?”

  Rhianna turned towards him. “No, and you’re not going to either, not if you want me to tell you when something’s bothering me. You say one word, or try to interfere in any way, I’ll never tell you anything again.”

  “All right. I won’t say anything as long as you don’t want me to, but the minute you do, I’ll jump right in there myself.”

  “As long as you wait for me to say you can, we’re fine, but for now, don’t.”

  After they walked on for a while, Rhianna said, “I hate to say it, but we need to head back. I have to get to Crinsor Run before long.”

  Kevin sighed as they turned around. “Where did this weekend go? I feel like I just picked you up and now I have to take you back.”

  “Feels that way to me, too.”

  Kevin took her hand. “I’m really looking forward to when we don’t have to say goodbye, to when you’re here, by my side, every day.”

  Rhianna smiled and squeezed his hand. “I am, too.”

  Chapter 53

  Last Days of Summer

  Cameryn had spent the six weeks since Anya’s arrival training her during the day and trying to get ready to get married in the evenings. In addition to planning a party for the whole town on her big day, she had to furnish her house, set up her kitchen, and assemble a new wardrobe since most of her clothes were the official tunics and leggings of the castle staff.

  Meanwhile, Zeb, her betrothed, had spent the summer clearing the land for the house, fencing his pasture, building his barn, and getting everything ready so once the house was up, they could move in.

  Fortunately he had plenty of help as both he and Cameryn were well-liked. Marcus pitched in whenever his sorcerer or carpenter skills were needed. Even Doreen got involved since she went with Rigel and some of the guards to help build the barn. Women from town as well as from the castle dropped by the office to wish Cameryn luck and give her things they thought she might need.

  Around the middle of August, Cryslyn set a big box outside her office for the staff to drop off things for Cameryn, and whenever the box was full, she’d have one of the guards take it downstairs and put it outside Cameryn’s door for her to empty that evening. At some point during the night, one of the guards would pick the empty box up and put it back outside Cryslyn’s door. By the last week, Cameryn’s room was so full all she had left was a narrow pathway from the door to her bed.

  Cryslyn and Serra had altered several dresses from the storeroom for Cameryn and after lunch on Wednesday, Cryslyn took the dresses down to Cameryn’s room. When she opened Cameryn’s door, her mouth dropped open. She pulled the door to, went back to her office, dropped off the dresses, and went down to Kevin’s office.

  When Cryslyn walked in, Cameryn was sitting at the conference table going over the list of things she had to get done before Saturday. Cryslyn sat down opposite Cameryn and folded her arms on the table.

  Cameryn hadn’t noticed Cryslyn walk in until she sat down across from her. “What can I do for you?” Cameryn asked as she set the list aside.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you needed some storage space?”

  “What?”

  “I took a couple of dresses down to your room, but it’s so full of stuff I couldn’t find any place to put them. How can you tell what you’ve got?”

  Cameryn closed her eyes. “I can’t. I need to get it all packed, but I don’t know where to start.”

  Cryslyn gave a little laugh. “You can’t pack anything in there. You need to spread that stuff out and get it organized.”

  “I’d love to, but where?”

  “Just a minute.”

  Cryslyn looked at Petri. “Where is he?” she asked as she tilted her head towards Kevin’s office.

  “He’s in his office with Chris. Want me to let him know you’re here?”

  “That’s all right. I will.” Cryslyn got up, went to Kevin’s door, knocked once, and open it. “How busy are you?”

  “Not all that busy,” Kevin answered. “What do you need?”

  “Are you expecting any company this weekend? The kind we have to prepare rooms for?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Not that I know of. Why?”

  “I want to let Cameryn use a couple of the rooms to sort her gifts and get them packed.”

  Kevin shrugged. “Fine with me.”

  “Good, and she needs help moving all that stuff upstairs. Can you move it for her?”

  Kevin nodded. “Where is it?”

  “In her room. When can you do it?”

  “Now if you want me to.”

  “Come on.”

  An hour later, all of the gifts had been moved upstairs, along with four large trunks. After
Kevin brought in the last load, Cryslyn looked around and shook her head. “Sorting and packing this stuff is going to take some time.”

  “I agree,” Kevin said. “Cameryn, I really appreciate that you’ve been trying to do everything in the evenings, but the time has come for you to retire as a page.”

  Cameryn sighed. “Thank you.”

  “You’ll be there Saturday, won’t you?” Cryslyn asked Kevin. When he nodded, she said, “Good. After the house is finished, you can move all this stuff down there for her.”

  Kevin nodded again. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Cryslyn looked at Cameryn. “Is there anything else you need? Anything we can do to help?”

  Cameryn shook her head. “As far as I know, everything’s taken care of. I need to check on a few things tomorrow, but unless a problem comes up, we should be all set.”

  “If any problems come up, let me know.” Cryslyn looked around again. “Don’t forget to try on those dresses and let me know if they need anything done to them.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  Cryslyn nodded. “And now I think we need to get out of here and let you get to work.”

  ~~~~

  Saturday was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, but it was also a hot one. By lunch, most of the people who had gathered to help Zeb and Cameryn build their home would have been happy to see some clouds move in, as long as they didn’t bring rain.

  Kevin had expected hot and muggy, so he’d offered to supply the scog for everyone as his wedding gift to the couple. He had Fenway order enough to keep the entire town in scog for a month and had moved a dozen barrels to the construction site first thing that morning, but at the rate they were going through it, he figured he’d have to go back for more before the day was done.

  While the men hammered and sawed, the women kept food on the tables and kept an eye on the children. Fenway closed the tavern after lunch and he and Ainsley joined everyone at the construction site and kept the pitchers full of scog.

  By late afternoon, the house was up, the roof was on, and the windows were in. There were still a few interior walls to be put up as well as cabinets and doors, but the main structure was up and according to Marcus, it was a fine and sturdy house. But it would be up to Cameryn and Zeb to make it a home.