by Jess Schira
“So you decided you’d come out here and do what, take a midnight stroll by yourself. Foolish. Quiet country places aren’t as safe as they appear. It’s likely that this area is full of highwaymen who are eager to free wealthy travelers of their valuables.”
“Isn’t it lucky I don’t have any valuables that they’d be interested in,” Saika said, her ire rising.
Sebastian glanced at her hand. “I suspect your katana would appeal to a wide assortment of miscreants. They could keep it for themselves or sell it for a pretty penny.”
As much as she wanted to, Saika failed to think of an argument.
“And another thing you should consider,” Sebastian continued, “is the likelihood that the same people who were holding your family in that barn remain in the area. I highly doubt they’d have any reservations about grabbing you should the chance arise.”
Saika rocked back on her heels. “Yet it’s safe for you to be out here rather than in your room.”
“I think the men watching your family were too worried about the barn burning down about their ears to take much note of me, and if they did, they don’t know what my connection is to you or to the King and Queen. They have no reason to do me any harm.
Just because he was correct it didn’t mean she needed to agree with him. She wiggled the hand holding the katana. Moonlight glinted off the yaiba.
“No,” You’re not,” Sebastian agreed, “but just because you know how to use a katana and are skilled in hand to hand combat, it still doesn’t mean wandering around out here in the middle night is wise.”
Saika glanced at the inn and sheathed her katana. “I can’t go back inside. I can’t breathe in there and every time I close my eyes, I can’t stop thinking about how if just a few things had gone differently, my family and I would be dead.”
“Yes, I suppose I can see how that might make sleeping difficult. I’m surprised the rest of your family isn’t plagued with the same problem.” His expression hardened. “However, I feel it’s well within my rights to point out just how foolishly you acted. I warned you going off on your own was a mistake, and then you compounded it by entering the barn on your own. What did you expect to accomplish?”
Saika bit her lip. Fury at being taken to task mixed with shame that he was right. She had been foolish. Because of her actions, she and her entire family had come close to a horrible death and it would have been all her fault. “I didn’t think,” she said, her tone soft. “I just acted. My only concern was to get my family to safety.”
Her words stole some of Sebastian’s bluster.
She opened the gate and let herself into the pasture. A fat ewe with a half grown lamb by its side lifted her head and met Saika’s eyes.
Sebastian followed close at her heels and fastened the gate.
“Your family, are they well?”
Saika walked past the ewe and shrugged. “They haven’t said much. After they ate a little supper, they went straight to bed, and unlike myself they immediately fell asleep. I’m glad, since I’m sure there will be some sleepless nights in the week ahead, especially my youngest sister who frequently experiences nightmares. I haven’t told them why they were taken, not that I’d be able to tell them much.”
She and Sebastian walked further into the field and angled towards a small group of sheep who pawed at the frozen grass. Saika chewed her lip and considered her next words. “I wish I knew why this is happening to me. What did I do to attract the attention of the men in the barn?”
Saika felt Sebastian’s eyes on her. “Are you Catholic?”
The question startled Saika. “Yes … why?”
“King George is on the verge of signing a law that would make life difficult for Catholics in the United Kingdom. Before we left London, I started to suspect that the reason you were being used as a weapon was to prevent the law from being signed.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?”
“It occurred to me that since you’re from Ireland, you were probably Catholic.”
Saika nodded her confirmation. “But I still don’t understand-”
“My knowledge of the impact the new law would have is limited, so I spoke to someone who is very closely connected to the matter-”
“You spoke to someone about me.” A knot formed in the middle of Saika’s stomach and ice cold dread spiked through her. Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.
“Yes. I needed-”
“How much did you tell them?”
“I briefly outlined your situation.” Saika groaned. “And based on the information, my friend confirmed that it was possible you were being forced into action by someone opposed to the Acts of Union. In which case, it was very likely a member of the Catholic Church.”
Saika pushed her sick feeling aside and considered his words. “I’m Catholic, but I still don’t understand what anyone would want with me.”
“Your religious beliefs, combined with the training and weapons you received from your grandfather, would have made you the perfect choice as an assassin. I imagine there are many people in England better suited to commit regicide. They took your family as a means of ensuring your compliancy.”
Saika tipped her head back and stared at the moon high above her. Seeing its silver light helped soothe her frayed nerves. “They must have been planning this for some time.”
“Of that I have no doubt.”
Saika took a deep breath and ran her fingertips along her katana’s sheath. “But we foiled them, which is the most important bit.”
Sebastian’s mouth firmed and he directed his attention towards the flock. A small dark brown ewe with a white head and legs, moved away from its comrades and started across the frozen grass towards them. “I hope you’re right.”
“What are you thinking?”
Sebastian shrugged and his expression grew a bit lighter. “Nothing, just a random thought, which I didn’t mean to speak allowed.” He dropped his gaze to her katana. ‘I don’t suppose you would detach yourself from your weapon long enough to let me touch it.”
Saika chewed her lip. Since her grandfather passed his katana onto her, it had never been touched by anyone other than herself. She liked Sebastian and was learning how to trust him, but there was a limit to how far she was willing to extend the trust. Her fingers curled around the katana’s tsuka and she pressed it against her side, protecting it in much the same way a mother protects an infant child.
“No.”
Sebastian nodded and turned back to the ewe who continued to move towards them, unmindful of how the rest of the flock was drifting further away from the humans.
Saika shifted closer and touched his arm, drawing his attention back to her. She offered him a tentative smile. “But perhaps I can give you a lesson about how to fight like a samurai.”
********
Sebastian wiped sweat from his brow and leaned against the low stone wall. He glanced to the East. “It would be best if you returned to the inn.”
Saika followed his gaze and studied the horizon where the tip of the sun was starting to emerge. She jammed one end of the stick she held into the ground and frowned. “I didn’t realize it had grown so late. Or early. We’ve been out here for hours.”
She should be tired, even as the thought crossed her mind, her knees weakened and shoulders sagged and she realized that physically, her body was more exhausted than it had ever been, her mind, however, was spinning.
She didn’t know how long she and Sebastian had been in the pasture, with only a flock of sheep for companionship, their hands wrapped around thick sticks while she explained the basics of samurai swordsmanship and he told amusing tales about the things he’d seen and experienced since he’d started to work for the royal family.
It was the first time Saika had ever experienced a training session that wasn’t devoted to honing her physical and mental state. The first time she’d ever laughed and had fun while training.
Sebastian picked up his co
at which he’d long since draped across the stones and shrugged into it. “Your family will be waking soon. It would be best for you to be safely in your room before that happens.”
Saika picked up her katana. She knew he was right, her family already had too many questions she couldn’t answer. The last thing anyone needed was for her to add even more.
And yet a part of her wished the night would go on forever and she could remain out here with Sebastian until the end of time.
Together they turned and let themselves out of the pasture and walked towards the inn. Sebastian stopped when they reached the barn.
“Should stay here. I’ll watch until you reach the inn and when an acceptable period of time has passed, I’ll go inside.”
Saika’s brow furrowed. “But soon people will begin to stir. Surely the stable lad will be here before long.”
“If he arrives before I leave, I’ll simply tell him I woke early and decided to stretch my legs.”
“Will he believe you?”
“Of course he will. When you think about it, it isn’t that far off from the truth.”
Saika rubbed her katana’s saya with her thumb. During the course of their adventure, it sometimes seemed like the only thing she wanted to do was escape Sebastian, but something had happened to them while they were in the sheep pasture, while they batted at one another with sticks, he’d managed to shift from a nuisance to a friend. She didn’t want to leave him.
Sebastian arched a brow and stared at her. “Well,” he demanded, “what are you waiting for?”
Saika didn’t know, and even if she did, she wasn’t sure she’d want to tell him.
She chewed on her lower lip and after a moment’s hesitation, she stood on her toes, leaned forward and brushed a quick kiss across his lips before she dropped back onto her flat feet.
Startled, Sebastian blinked at her. “What was that for?”
Saika shrugged. “Nothing, not really. I … I just wanted you to know I appreciate everything you’ve done for myself and my family.” Saika meant each word. “I thought you deserved a reward.”
Before he could think of anything to say, she turned and hurried towards the inn.
From Moonlight to Mayhem
Chapter Sixteen
Thoughts swirled through Saika’s mind as the heavy door thudded closed behind her. It wasn’t proper or sensible to be lost in a dream about what might have happened if she’d done things differently last night during the hours she and Sebastian spent together. Her most pressing concern shouldn’t be Sebastian, but rather how to protect her family over the next few days.
She shut the heavy oak door with a bit more force than necessary and winced when it thudded against the frame. For someone who didn’t want anyone to know how she’d spent the night, she really should be working harder at being discreet. She just hoped her family was so tired from their ordeal the noise failed to wake them.
She walked into the parlor and found her stepmother sitting at a small table where a pot of tea steamed by her elbow while she watched the sunrise.
Saika held her breath and shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and prepared to sneak across the room to the stairway.
She shouldn’t have bothered. After a single step, Kathleen Donovan turned and met her stepdaughter’s eyes. She raised a single brow and nodded to the chair on the opposite side of the table. “Saika, sit down and share my tea.”
Kathleen Donavon’s voice was pleasant and she framed the sentence as a polite invitation but Saika sensed it was in her best interest to accept it. For the most part, Kathleen was a pleasant easygoing woman but on more than one occasion Saika had noticed a steel core beneath the affable appearance. Once her stepmother made up her mind, it didn’t change. Saika had two options, she could have tea with Kathleen and deal with the inevitable questions now, or wait until the next time she was cornered. She moved towards the table. Resolving the matter now meant she only had to deal with Kathleen and not the rest of the family.
Kathleen went through the ritual of pouring tea and passed the cup to Saika. “You’ll enjoy this. The mistress of this inn has a good blend. Before we leave for home I must remember to ask for her recipe so I can duplicate it when we return home.”
Kathleen nudged the second cup across the gleaming table top. Saika leaned over it and cupped her hands around the mug and warmed her chilled skin while she inhaled the honey and black tea scented steam. The steam calmed her nerves.
“You’re up and about early this morning.”
Saika’s stomach knotted and she was very glad Sebastian hadn’t walked through the door with her. “Yes. I was having a difficult time sleeping so I-”
“Decided to engage in some katana practice.”
“How-”
Kathleen’s eyes shifted to Saika’s katana sword. “Why else would you be out and about this early in the morning and walking about with your katana? It’s not the first time you’ve snuck in an early morning training session, and I fear it won’t be the last, though I do wish you would practice more feminine pursuits.”
Saika sipped her tea.
A strange light danced in Kathleen’s eyes. She pursed her lips and seemed to be waging a silent war with herself. “And wasn’t it nice that Mister Harper was also awake and willing to act as your … sparring partner.”
Saika’s mouth fell open and she stared at Kathleen who smiled and stirred her own tea with a slow, steady hand. “As your stepmother I must remind you it’s not proper for you to wander off, unchaperoned, with a young man, especially in the middle of the night.”
Saika set her cup on the table and bowed her head. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you.”
“I should be horrified, and perhaps later I will be, but for the moment I can’t manage it. Considering everything this family has been through the past few days, your impropriety feels like a minor matter.” Kathleen’s eyes narrowed. “Though I may change my mind after a few days and be furious with you.”
“I understand.”
Kathleen’s spoon rattled against the side of her mug. “I’m thankful you and I have an opportunity to speak.”
Her tone sent a shiver down Saika’s spine.
“First, I need to thank you. We would not have survived much more time in that stinking pit.”
“It …it was my fault you were in there.”
Kathleen’s eyes sharpened and her bow shaped mouth flattened into a firm line. She tipped her head to one side and studied her stepdaughter. “Saika, whatever do you mean? How could what happened possibly be your fault?”
Saika laced her fingers together and drew a deep breath. “The men who took you-”
“They never said why,” Kathleen interrupted. She frowned and lifted her tea and breathed in the fragrant steam. “Which seems strange. They went to so much effort to get us away from London and while our health wasn’t one of their concerns, I don’t think they wanted us to die, at least not quickly.
It would be so simple to keep her family in the dark, to let them assume the entire experience was as mysterious to her as it was to them, but honor, and knowing the consequences of her actions from her last days in London would catch up with her didn’t allow Saika to do so. The only way to ensure her family remained safe was to tell them as much of the truth as she knew. “Mister Harper helped me piece together a few things. He thinks you were taken as part of a political move by a group who wants to fight a law King George will sign in a few days.”
“I don’t understand how that has anything to do with us.”
“Mister Harper found a piece of paper at the barn, a banknote. With the exception of the bank’s name, Silver Spoon Bank, most of the information had been burned away, but Mister Harper hopes to find someone connected to the establishment who can provide information about the men who took you.”
Kathleen’s eyes narrowed and she placed her tea on the table. “Saika, have I ever done anything to give you the impression that I’m a fool?”
&
nbsp; “Of course not!” Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Then you should know that I’m smart enough to realize that while there might be some reality to the words you just told me, I also know there’s a great deal you’re not saying. And don’t think I failed to notice how you sidestepped my question about how my family managed to get caught up in some political intrigue. There was a reason my family was targeted by those bastards.” She spit out the last word and startled Saika. She’d never heard her Kathleen use harsh language and found it unsettling. “All of my instincts warn me you’re in the middle of everything and I want you to tell me why.”
Saika opened her mouth, but no words came out. Kathleen held up a hand. “I do not recall a single time when you have ever lied to me and I would like to think it’s a habit you will never break.”
If there was a way out of this situation, Saika failed to see it. “When I returned home the same evening you were taken there was a man waiting for me. He told me he knew where everyone was and that he’d provide me with the correct location after I completed a task for him.”
Kathleen paled.
Unable to look at her stepmother, Saika stared at the tabletop. “They told me I needed to assassinate King George, that once I did that, they’d free my family.”
The color drained from Kathleen Donavon’s face and she pressed a hand to her chest. “By all that’s Holy! I can’t …” She drew a deep breath and steadied herself. “Nothing I imagined match what you’ve just told me. Please, don’t tell me more.”
“I won’t.”
Kathleen chewed on her lip and stared at Saika for a few moments. “What you’ve told me … nothing has been resolved?”
Saika shrugged. “I have no way of knowing. Mister Harper has contacts who will help him determine what to do next.”
Kathleen drew a deep breath. “The time we spent stuck in that stinking pit was good for one thing. It provided your father and I with plenty of time to have a conversation and speak of things we’ve been neglecting. We both agreed it’s time to move on.”
