by Marie Brown
"But that would mean—" Varley swallowed hard.
"Yes, you and your father both would be on thin ice indeed. Now here's the rest of it. If she fails to marry you to Orlen's daughter, you must be eliminated anyway. Your father, too, of course. He knows nothing of any of this. Orlen has had spies following you for some time now. He knows all about you, Camryn, and Leena. And he's quite prepared to blow the whistle on you to turn the public eye away from himself, since people are already suspicious of his dealings. See, his luck is better than your mother's, and his fortune has increased dramatically over the last couple of years."
Leena's head swam. She had never even suspected such a wild tale! "And if this were known—"
"If this were known," Varley said grimly, "my mother would be cast away, penniless, and at the mercy of the Organization. However, if she were to succeed, she would have more wealth, more power, more land. . ." He shook his head sadly.
"I would suggest you leave," Ratboy said, genuine concern in his voice. "The Organization always gets what it wants. If you are not around, they can't come after you to make good on her debts."
"Yes, but if I am not around, who's going to stop her? And what about Father?" Varley shook his head. "No, we stay. There is a banquet in a few days, Leena must attend with me—"
"Don't you understand?" Ratboy's voice shook with intensity. "They mean to kill you if you don't do as they say!"
Varley gazed at him calmly. Ratboy flushed slightly, but didn't back down. "There must be another way. If I take your suggestion and leave, what then will become of the barony? I have lives to consider other than we three."
"What will become of them if you are dead? Tell me that!"
"They will not kill me. At least, not now, they need me too badly. We will deal with that when the time comes."
"But—"
"No buts, Ratboy. Now what are we going to do about this mess?"
"Leave?" A withering glare from Varley actually made Ratboy wince.
"Can we tell your father?" Camryn suggested.
"Hmm." Varley considered carefully. "How is it that he doesn't know? Rat?"
"The accountant is Eliana's man," was the prompt reply. "She seems to enjoy blackmail. She's holding something over him, too."
"Lovely. So all the figures in the books are bogus. How—no, that's right. We hardly need money to take care of the day to day business of the barony. . . only when something must be purchased, or it is a tax year. Come to think of it, this is a tax year. No wonder she's desperate! The King won't take an answer of 'I'll pay you later' very kindly."
Camryn snorted. "Hardly! I'd love to see her try to explain that one, though."
"I think maybe telling Father is a good idea. Perhaps he will have a solution that doesn't involve anyone's death."
"When will you do it?" Leena asked.
"I think tonight. I'd wanted to stay," he glanced quickly at Cam, "but this is more important. My thanks, Ratboy. You did a wonderful job."
"No problem, none at all."
"I'd best be getting back. It's pretty dark out there already."
Camryn and Leena sighed simultaneously, then grinned at each other.
"If you must." Camryn rose. Taking that as a cue, so did everyone else. They moved outside in a compact group.
"Care for a ride back to town, Rat?" Varley grinned a challenge in the dim light.
"No!" Sheer panic flashed across the sharp features. "No, walking suits me just fine. Just fine. In fact, I'll be off now."
He moved away silently, gray clothing fading into the twilight. Leena chuckled. "Afraid of horses, is he? That's good to know. Good luck, Varley. Now if you'll excuse me, I feel the need for a bath."
"Don't use all the hot water," Camryn teased. She escaped inside with all the dignity she could muster. The copper boiler in the bathing room here was a completely different design than she was accustomed to. She hadn't known how to work it properly, resulting in an icy cold bath the first time she had tried to use it after Cam. How was she to know that there was a little tap to turn which let in water, constantly replenishing the supply?
After her bath, Leena appropriated one of Cam's shirts to sleep in. She paused in the act of slipping it over her head, caught by the strangeness of the situation. She settled the soft cotton of the shirt about her shoulders slowly, then sat on the little stool in front of the mirror. Here she was, alive and well, sharing a home with the Lord Varley's boyfriend. She snorted. Not to mention the fact that half the Barony thought she was Varley's betrothed. There were people who would kill her with a smile on their faces. The Baroness wanted her to betray one of the men who had saved her from exile and certain death. And to top it all off, her own former betrothed was devastated by her disappearance and wished her well. She sighed heavily and pulled herself up off the stool.
In the main room of the lodge, Camryn stood gazing blindly out the window.
"What is it?" she asked, joining him.
"Nothing. Just. . . worried a bit, that's all."
"Me too."
They stood together for a while, taking comfort from each other's presence. Then Leena yawned hugely. "Well, Cam, the world may be falling down around us, but I'm tired."
"Go to bed, Leena. I'll even put out the lights for you." He blew out the three lit lamps, then banked the fire. No gaslights for this rustic cabin in the woods, just plain old fashioned fire. Leena laid down and pulled her blanket up from the foot of the couch. Camryn started to move toward the window, then stopped and shook his head slowly. He went to the bed and sat on it. Leena had the feeling he was still staring off into nothingness as she fell into sleep like a stone.
Chapter 7
Chaotic activity woke Leena. It felt like only a few minutes had passed since she had laid down. "What's going on?"
"We're leaving." Camryn finished rolling a blanket up and tied it with a short cord. He tossed it over the couch to a pile of assorted gear by the door.
"What happened?"
"My mother, that's what." Varley's voice emerged from the bathing room. "She's gone too far this time."
Leena gathered her scattered wits and stood up. "What can I do to help?"
"Get started on the food, okay? We'll need enough for about a week's journey overland."
"Where are we going?"
"Anywhere, as long as it's away from here. She tried to push the blame off on Varley for all she's done, and then she blew the whistle on all of us. She told enough truth to make us all look guilty as sin, and herself as pure as newfallen snow."
Leena swore pungently. "You mean, she knew about you two all along?"
Cam nodded. He turned up four travel packs from a chest and began neatly packing the clothing and other items Varley was pitching out of the bathing room.
Leena moved into the kitchen and began sorting through the available food. She gathered everything that would keep well out on the road and began sorting through it. Dried meats, bacon—there wasn't much of it left, it could be eaten right away. With a grin, she included Camryn's precious spices. He'd never forgive her if she left them behind. Bread, some cheese, a few vegetables. . . and of course, Cam's famous trail mix. He made it up for the foresters, since it was a wonderful source of instant energy.
"Got a way to carry all this stuff?"
"Here." Camryn tossed her the fourth pack and she loaded it up.
"What now?" She looked around. The usually tidy lodge was a chaotic mess. "And where's Varley?"
"He's getting the horses ready." Cam surveyed the pile of things by the door with satisfaction. "There, that should do it." He looked around, then checked in the bathing room for anything that Varley might have missed.
"He'd better not put that bloody sidesaddle on Ladybird," Leena muttered. The thought of a week sitting sideways, with that padded wooden hook chafing her leg, was not a pleasant one. She chased Cam out of the bathing room and put some clothes on. Work clothes this time, no fine gowns for a cross-country escape.
"Everyone ready?" Varley called.
"In a minute," Leena said, braiding her hair rapidly.
"Cam, help me get these packs on the horses."
Leena tied off the end of the braid and flew out to help with the packs. Once on the horses, there didn't seem to be as much stuff as there was on the ground. Each of them had a blanket roll—good thick blankets, Leena noted approvingly—a bag of grain, and a bulging travel pack. The pack of food was on Leena's horse, as was an extra bag she didn't recognize.
"What's this?"
"Medical kit," Varley replied shortly, tightening his girth another notch. "We all ready? Then let's go."
"A moment—" Leena called for Ashley. The hound crept up slowly, aware that something was amiss. Leena hugged her for a moment, then told her to go into the woods and have a good life. Varley fidgeted impatiently.
Leena mounted, glad that she now had proper boots and pants that fit. That shopping trip had yielded more than just ball gowns.
The horses moved off single file onto the narrow track through the forest. Leena shivered in the chill night air and wondered where they would end up. Ashley escorted them through the forest until they reached the main road, then she stood and watched them leave. Her training would not allow her to go on the road, away from her proper territory, when she had been told to stay.
Once they were on the wide paved surface, Leena rode up beside Varley. "So what happened?"
"She had me arrested and locked up in the holding cells."
"But why?"
"Because my father is a blind, stubborn fool, and refused to listen to what I was telling him. She walked in on the argument and he confronted her. Next thing I know, I'm in the cell with the guard captain telling me none of his men would see me if I happened to get out. He laid the keys to the cell right up close to the bars and mentioned that there were always trade ships leaving for Anarill this time of year."
Leena felt a thrill of excitement. "And is that where we're going?"
"I don't know yet. We'll have to discuss it later."
Varley lapsed into a gloomy silence. Leena rode beside him for a ways, then allowed her mare to fall back. Anarill! Now that would be something to see. A place where people were convinced that magic was real. . . Where creativity was encouraged, and people were free to do whatever they wished. . .She wondered if all the tales, or even just some of them, were true. She fell into a pleasant daydream, punctuated by the steady trotting hoofbeats on the hard dirt road.
Chapter8
Travel on the High Road was not nearly as difficult as Leena had expected. Despite the fact that they had prepared for pursuit and rough camping all the way to the coast, there was no sign of interest in their passage. At the end of the first day of travel, they camped in the forest. Leena found that evergreen needles, while fragrant and springy, were a poor substitute for the thick cushions of the couch she had been accustomed to. She was sore and exhausted from the long ride, but more than willing to go on.
The next night, and every night thereafter, they stayed in inns. Their pace slowed with the lack of pursuit until they might have been enjoying a pleasure trip, rather than escaping certain death. When they rode into the port city of Cainar they were laughing and smiling, ready to discuss passage to Anarill with shipmasters to find the best deal. Cainar was the largest city any of them had ever seen. The streets were cobblestoned and huge stone houses loomed three stories tall over them. People stared at them as they rode down the main street.
"What is wrong with them?" Camryn was nervous. "Why are they staring so? Have they never seen travelers before?"
"They surely are used to strangers here. Perhaps they are just curious?"
"Or maybe they think we need a bath." Leena groused. The last two inns they had patronized had scarcely been worth the name. Neither had boasted a bathhouse and Leena was unpleasantly aware that she was filthy and smelled of horse.
"Whatever the cause, a few stares won't stop us from getting a room at an inn."
The road passed beside the great central court of the city. Leena noticed a crowd of people gathered around some workers. They were erecting some kind of wooden structure. She saw three tall supports sticking up over the heads of the crowd.
They continued on to the docks, where they made arrangements at an inn. Leena made her way to the bathhouse immediately, while Camryn and Varley ate and began inquiring about shipmasters.
Clean and refreshed, Leena returned to her companions and ordered a meal of her own. There was a stranger with them.
"And here is our third companion," Varley said as Leena gazed curiously at the stranger. "Leena, this is Captain Bael. He has offered us passage on his ship, the Clearwater. She sets sail this afternoon, before the tide rises."
"So soon?"
"Aye, lass. Times be strange here, and I dare not wait longer. Wouldna waited this long but for a slow merchant, couldna get his wares ready sooner."
"Strange how?" Cam looked sharply up from his contemplation of his mug of ale.
"Been strange soldiers here, askin too many questions. Claim they serve some inland Lord, lookin for fugitives." His shrewd eyes looked them over one by one. "Two men and a woman, they say. Travellin together and guilty of crimes such as no decent man would even mention."
Ice shot through Leena. She put her spoon down, completely losing interest in her bowl of stew.
"They been leanin hard on those with ships, pokin in where their noses no belong, askin about passengers. Mayhap they be lookin to use those stakes the townsfolk built out in the square."
Camryn made a strangled noise. Varley took a deep breath, about to say something, when there was a commotion at the door. "There they are!" a voice shouted. "Get them!"
"Hellfire!" The seaman swore and leapt up as soldiers poured in. Camryn gasped as he recognized the livery of Lord Orlen. "This way! Follow me!"
The trio followed Bael as he darted for the back door of the inn. He led the way through the narrow alley, making turns into branch alleyways, until they burst out into the open on the docks.
"Look normal, now," he ordered, and slowed to a walk.
The others did their best, but couldn't restrain their paranoid glances at the crowd.
"There be my ship." Bael indicated a three-masted ship flying a red and yellow flag.
"There they are! By the docks!" The cry rose behind them. Leena spared a glance behind before bolting. The soldiers were running through the crowd. Some of them carried torches. The memory of the wooden poles in the town square flashed through her mind and lent wings to her feet. Even so, she was the last aboard the ship. The plank was pulled in almost before she stepped off it and the Captain rushed around, bellowing orders.
"Cut the lines! Out oars! Move yer lazy hides, blast you! Be ye wantin to get boarded? Then move!"
The crewmen dashed about and somehow got the ship moving before the soldiers reached them. Leena, Varley, and Camryn clung together in a stunned knot, watching the frantic activity about them. Then Camryn gasped and pointed.
"Look!"
Lord Orlen's men had piled onto another vessel and were pulling away from the docks as well. The Captain saw this as well and bellowed for a faster stroke.
"Rest easy, friends, we've only to make the breakwater before we're all safe." Bael indicated the manmade stone barriers which stretched from either side of the wide natural harbor. "Beyond that, no man's rules apply."
They made it, barely. The Clearwater shot through the stone walls a bare two shiplengths ahead of the soldiers. A great cheer rose from the crew as they cleared the breakwater.
"See? I told ya we'd make it!" The Captain grinned from ear to ear. "C'mon, I'll show ye to yer room."
He led them to a tiny cabin with four narrow beds built into the wall. "Here you go, then." He turned to leave.
"A moment, Captain?" Varley said.
"Aye?"
"Our thanks for helping out back there. May I ask why
you were so willing to help strangers?"
"Lad, there be many reasons why I no be wantin to be boarded, catch my drift? And besides, if I can spare nice folk the fate that befell me nephew, then mayhap I will."
With that, he vanished, leaving Varley staring after him with a disgusted look. "A pirate. Of all the ships available, why did I have to get the bloody pirate?" He flung himself down on one of the bunks.
"Varley, this is hardly the time to let your delicate sensibilities get in the way," Camryn observed dryly. "Pirate or no, he saved our lives."
Leena's legs chose that moment to give out and she collapsed where she stood. "I can't believe how close that was!"
"Yes, well, we're safe now." Cam helped her up and led her to the other bottom bunk. "Just rest and relax now, we're safe."
"How long will the crossing take, anyway?"
"Three or four weeks, barring any storms."
"Did anyone think to grab the packs?"
Blank looks met her gaze.
"Ah, blast. It'll be a truly new beginning in Anarill then, with nothing but the clothes we stand in."
Chapter 9
The journey dragged on, long and uneventful. Once the three friends had adjusted to the motion of the sea, sailing became a fairly pleasant experience. No major storms troubled the Clearwater as she plowed steadily through the waves towards Anarill. Varley's conscience was somewhat appeased when he discovered that Bael was a mere smuggler, and not truly a pirate. Leena worried about Varley. He was distant and preoccupied, scarcely willing to speak to anyone, even Camryn. He spent a great deal of time on the forward deck, gazing into the waves.
After twenty five days, the Clearwater pulled into port at Trade City. Leena nearly burst with excitement, despite the fact that they had no plan and no possessions. Disembarking on the dock of a whole new land was one of the high points of her entire life. They said their farewells to Captain and crew, then moved hesitantly into the city. The sun hovered near the horizon, beyond the sprawl of the city.
