“Good night.” As Rhianna watched Blair leave, she decided she’d see to it Blair had her herbs by the weekend, but this time she’d raid her mother’s kitchen garden. There was no way she was going back to Ardmore until Allisandra’s planter was ready.
Rhianna was still at the kitchen table when Rigel and Doreen got back.
“So, how did she like it?” Rhianna asked when they walked in.
“She absolutely loved it.” Doreen’s smile spread from ear to ear. “She said it was the most wonderful gift she’d ever had, and then she cried.”
Rigel looked a little sheepish. “I wish women wouldn’t do that. I never know what to do when they cry.”
“If they’re crying because they’re happy, you don’t need to do a thing,” Rhianna said. “What did her husband say?”
“He thought it was a terrific gift too, and he said he’s looking forward to the meals she’ll cook now that she has herbs again.” Doreen frowned. “Apparently there are certain stews and stuff Jana won’t cook if she doesn’t have fresh herbs.”
Rhianna nodded. “My mother’s the same way. She makes some things my father loves, but she’ll only make them when she has fresh vegetables. So I know what he means.”
“I never paid much attention to what we ate, but we had fish nearly every meal.” Doreen looked at Rigel. “What about you? Can you tell the difference between fresh herbs and dried ones?”
Rigel shrugged. “I eat whatever’s put in front of me, but the food from Miranda’s kitchen tastes a lot better than most. I don’t know what she uses, but whatever it is, I hope she keeps using it.”
Rhianna agreed. Then she looked at Doreen. “We need to make one of those planters for Blair.”
“Did she say she wants one?”
“As much as she’s going to. She asked if we were planning to make one for this kitchen, and her eyes lit up when she asked.”
Doreen nodded.
“And we owe Allisandra one for the herbs.”
Doreen shook her head. “You can find another way to pay her for the herbs. The planter’s my way of thanking her for what she did here, at the house.”
“And for the flowers and herbs she’s providing for the gardens,” Rhianna said. “Don’t forget about those.”
“Will the planter be enough for all of that?”
“It will if she’s the first sister to have one.”
Doreen laughed. “Do you think we’ll have to make one for the other two?”
“Probably not for Laryn, but as soon as Danyelle finds out about Allisandra’s, she’ll want one too, at least according to Allisandra.”
“That’s fine. We can do that as soon as we get some more lumber. I’ll order enough for the planters when I get the wood for the barn, stable, and fence.”
Rigel looked at Doreen and raised his eyebrows. “More building?”
Doreen nodded.
“I’ll let the guys know. If I tell them you’re going to feed us again, you’ll have your barn, stable, and fence up in no time.”
“Let me talk to Cryslyn and see how much money I have left before you make any promises. I’m not sure how much I paid for the last party, but if the money’s there, we’ll do it.” Doreen stood up and took Rigel’s hand. “Thank you for helping tonight.”
“You’re welcome.” Rigel slipped his arm around her waist. “Anytime.” Then he smiled. “Want to go for a walk before you head off to bed?”
“I’d like that.” Doreen looked at Rhianna. “Want to come?”
Rhianna shook her head. “I’m going on up. I’ve got a few things I want to do here tomorrow morning before I leave for the castle. See you in the morning.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Wednesday morning Blair left for the chapel shortly after daybreak, Nan left for Tolliver’s after breakfast, and Doreen was in her office trying to figure out how much lumber she needed to order. Rhianna knew Doreen wouldn’t be interested in any company until the order was done, so when she got ready to leave for the castle, she asked Freida if she’d like to come along.
As they made their way to the castle, Freida asked Rhianna why she was going.
“I’m helping the pages learn how to defend themselves.”
Freida frowned. “I wouldn’t have thought they’d need to know that. The Master Sorcerer’s office has to be the safest place on Terah.”
Rather than explain, Rhianna shrugged. “They aren’t always in the office. And one day they’ll move on to other places.”
Freida nodded. “I guess, but I don’t see what good it’ll do. My father taught me how to handle a dagger and a bow, but neither of those did me a bit of good when the slavers attacked. I was asleep when they came crashing through the door. I didn’t have enough time to find my dagger, much less use it.”
“I’m sorry. That whole experience must have been a nightmare, but you’re safe now.”
“I wish my parents were, and Josh.”
“Josh?”
“The man I was planning to marry.”
“Did he get captured, too?”
Freida shook her head. “He was killed. The slavers were killing everyone they thought was too old, and Josh tried to protect his grandmother. They killed him and then killed her.”
“I’m so sorry.”
They went on in silence for a few minutes and then Rhianna said, “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”
Freida shook her head. “I doubt you’ll understand, but I’ve seen enough violence to last me a lifetime, and training with a dagger is a lot like fighting.”
Rhianna nodded. After a few minutes, she asked, “How do you feel about children?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a playground at the castle and they can always use some extra help out there. If you’d like to play with the children for a while, I know you’d be welcome.”
“I might do that. Sounds like fun.”
Freida must have had fun because she got up early Thursday and Friday so she could go to the castle with Rhianna. While Rhianna worked with the pages, Freida helped watch the children in the playground. Then, after lunch, she and Rhianna went back to Milhaven, sometimes to Doreen’s house, sometimes to the chapel to visit Blair, but they usually dropped by Fenway’s for a mug of scog on the way. By the end of the week, Freida was starting to relax.
Meanwhile, Kevin was having a quiet week. The only piece of mail that required any discussion was from Bianca’s governor concerning the eight women and children Gwendolyn had given her. Gov. Cranson had sent Karl their names and where they were from and asked when it would be convenient for him to bring them to Milhaven.
Kevin figured it would take a week to find out if any of their husbands were up at the camp, and if there were, bring them back to Milhaven. They decided to ask Gov. Cranson to bring the women and children the next week, after they had a better idea which women would have a place to go and which ones would need somewhere to stay in Milhaven.
Kevin didn’t mind asking Doreen to take in single women, but he wasn’t sure how she’d feel about housing children. Friday evening while he and Rhianna walked Nikki, he explained they had another group of captives returning to Camden. When he asked if Doreen would be willing to take in another woman or two, Rhianna said she’d be fine with it as long as she didn’t run out of bedrooms.
“What if they have children?”
Rhianna hesitated. “She’s never said one way or the other about children. I doubt she’s ever been around any. Her aunt’s children were her age or older. I don’t know if she’s ever held a baby.”
“I doubt these are babies,” Kevin said. “The slavers tended to kill pregnant women so they wouldn’t have to deal with infants. But there could be some toddlers, and from the little experience I’ve had around children, they’re worse than babies. They get into everything.”
Rhianna laughed as she nodded. “I’m not sure how Doreen would react, but I can ask her.”
“I’d appreciate it. I don�
�t want to ask her to do anything that will make her uncomfortable in her own home. We can find somewhere else if she’d rather not have them here.”
Rhianna nodded.
“And I may be getting ahead of myself. All of these women were married so we’re trying to find their husbands. We may be lucky and find all of them, like we did with the married women from Wyndsor.”
“Speaking of the women from Wyndsor, what’s going to happen with Freida? If she stays here, she’ll need something to do.”
“What’s she doing now to fill her days?”
“Mostly she stays with me. She comes to the castle every morning and helps out in the playground while I’m working with the pages. I think she enjoys that, by the way.”
“We may be able to do something with that,” Kevin suggested. “But before we do, let’s give it a little time. I don’t want her to know it yet, but we rescued her parents. Her father was at the cave and her mother was in the dungeon. I took them back to Myer’s Creek a month ago, but when I went there Monday to get them, the whole area was deserted. We hired a tracker to see if he can find out where they went. If he finds them, she can join her parents.”
Rhianna nodded. “It’ll be a relief for her to know they’re all right. Too bad you can’t do anything about the man she was supposed to marry.”
“Why? What happened to him?”
“He died trying to protect his grandmother. The slavers were killing anyone too old to sell.”
Kevin shook his head. “I heard about that from the people who discovered the raid. Horrible. All I can say, and I realize it’s not much comfort, is the slavers who attacked them are either dead or locked away for life.”
“It won’t bring him back, but it’s something.” Rhianna walked in silence for a moment. “I’m glad no one tries to enslave any elves. We’d be tracking the slavers to the ends of Terah. I’d never get any rest as long as one slaver was left alive.”
“I know the feeling,” Kevin said, “but the idea of tracking them down is a lot simpler than the reality of it. Of course the fact that they had access to a key didn’t make things any easier. But after we got the key, we did get most of them. Never did find the crew who operated on the Kivee though.”
“They had an easy escape route. All they had to do was cross the river and you couldn’t touch them. That’s one of the big differences in your laws and ours. Borders wouldn’t mean anything to us. We’d keep right on going. You can’t.”
After a bit, Kevin said, “I’m going to Judith’s tomorrow to get Marshall’s mother. Want to come?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I want someone to go with the person she sends to get Eryn. I don’t know Judith, and I don’t want to risk anything happening to Eryn along the way.”
“Her name’s Eryn?”
Kevin nodded.
“How did you find out?”
“I asked Chris to handle it. He told Marshall we keep family information on all our staff. He got Marshall’s father’s name too, as well as the names of his grandparents.”
“You aren’t planning to tell Judith that Eryn’s an elf before she’s in the room, are you?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I’ve got to have a reason for needing to talk to one of Judith’s slaves, a reason she can’t ignore.”
“But if you tell her Eryn’s an elf, you’ll put Eryn at risk.”
“I don’t think so, not with me already there, and especially not with you standing beside me.” Kevin walked on for a moment. “If I tell her you and I realize she had no way of knowing Eryn’s father’s a warrior elf and we’re not there to cause her any problems, that we’re trying to prevent any repercussions from the accidental capture of an elf, don’t you think she’ll let us have her without any fuss?”
“I don’t know,” Rhianna said. “But if I go, and I go with the person she sends to find Eryn, I can guarantee you that person won’t harm Eryn.”
“I think Judith would realize that, don’t you?”
Rhianna shrugged. “You don’t seem to know how dangerous I can be. Are you sure she will?”
“I know what you’re capable of, Rhianna. And when I think of you as a warrior elf, I know you can take care of yourself. It’s when I think of you as a woman that I get into trouble.”
Rhianna laughed softly. “Thank you, I think.”
“Well, do you want to go with me?”
Rhianna nodded. “What time do you want me at the castle?”
“Chris told her I’d be there shortly after lunch.”
“You didn’t talk to her yourself?”
Kevin shook his head. “I was busy setting things up with Bianca before the meeting. That’s when Chris cornered Judith. The sorcerers don’t usually stay after the meeting’s over. Except for Rolan. He hangs around to see what he can overhear. Drives Damien up the wall.”
“Up the wall? Strange way to put it, but I like it.” Rhianna grinned. “I’ll be there before lunch.”
“By the way, dress down,” Kevin said.
Rhianna frowned. “Dress down?”
“You know, not like a warrior elf.” When she still looked confused, he added, “I know you’ll be armed, but most elves are whenever they’re not in North Amden. Just don’t make it obvious you’re a warrior elf.”
Rhianna’s frown deepened.
Kevin sighed. “Dress like you are now, not like you did for Norrie.”
“All right. But why?”
“Because I want to keep this whole mess quiet. If Master Sorcerer Myron and Warrior Elf Rhianna show up at Judith’s castle, the staff and all the townspeople will notice and rumors will run rampant. I’m going as Kevin, businessman from Omaha.”
“Omaha? Where’s that?”
“As far as I know, there’s no such place on Terah, which means no one will be able to use it to figure out who I am after we’re gone. With a bit of luck, the only people in Riordan who will know the true reason for our visit will be Judith and her second. I don’t want word of this getting out or it may cause all kinds of problems.”
“You’re right about that.”
When they got back to Doreen’s house, Rhianna asked, “Want to come in for a cup of tea?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’ve got to get back. I still have a few things to do this evening. If you get a chance, see if you can find out how Doreen would feel about housing a couple of children. If she’s not comfortable with it, we need to make other arrangements.” As Rhianna nodded and opened the door to head inside, he added, “Sleep well. See you in the morning.”
Chapter 27
April 12
Saturday morning when Rolan got to his office, a letter marked personal and confidential was sitting on his desk. He checked the seal on the back to make sure it was intact.
He broke the seal and opened the message. There was no heading, no signature, nothing but a time and date. April 17 at 9:00. Rolan noted the meeting in his calendar and leaned back in his chair. Now he’d get some answers.
Chapter 28
Eryn
Rhianna was at the castle by ten Saturday morning. She dropped by the office and then headed out to the stable to see if she could find Nikki.
Marshall had just come back from exercising one of the horses and was walking him around to cool him off. Nikki was lying on the grass near the stable watching.
“Hi,” Rhianna said as she walked towards Marshall. As soon as she heard Rhianna’s voice, Nikki jumped up and ran over to say hello. “Mind if I borrow Nikki? I thought we’d go for a walk through the woods.”
“She’ll enjoy that. I’ll be here until after lunch. Do you want to keep her longer than that?”
Rhianna shook her head. “I’m meeting Myron for lunch so we’ll be back before then.”
While they walked, Rhianna wondered how finding Marshall’s mother might change his life. She was fairly certain his mother would want to go back home, but did Marshall? He hadn’t lived in Farragon since he was a chil
d, and he seemed to enjoy taking care of the horses, not to mention the way he felt about Nikki. Would his parents be willing to let him choose where he wanted to live? And if so, which would he choose?
Crossroads. Every life was full of them. She’d had a few in her life lately, too. One was deciding to leave Crinsor Run to watch over Landis. A second was coming to Milhaven. And she was afraid she’d soon encounter a third. When the problem with Rolan was over, should she return home or stay in Milhaven? And what would her parents say if she chose to stay?
Before she knew it, they’d walked a full loop and were back at the stable. Marshall was putting a saddle on another horse.
“Looks like we got back just in time,” Rhianna said as she and Nikki walked up.
“I wasn’t going far,” Marshall said, “just a few turns around the pasture. But since you’re back, we may take the trail along the river. Want to go for another run, Nikki?”
The dog, who had been drinking water out of the trough, trotted towards Marshall.
“Have fun,” Rhianna said as they started down the road. Then she headed back to the castle.
During lunch, Rhianna asked Kevin if he’d given any thought to Marshall’s reaction to seeing his mother and the effect it would have on his future.
Kevin nodded. “He’s a free man. As far as I’m concerned, he can stay here with us, but it has to be his choice. I know one thing though. If he leaves, I won’t be the only one who’ll miss him. Nikki will be heartbroken.”
Rhianna nodded. “Watson, too. That horse adores him. Actually, from what I can tell, they all do. Here’s hoping he decides to stay.”
~ ~ ~ ~
After lunch, Kevin went upstairs to change clothes. He put on his gray off-duty tunic, pulled on an old, dusty pair of boots, and used a slim leather belt at his waist. He tucked his sorcerer’s pendant inside the tunic along with the chain that held his keys. Then he pulled out the cape he’d worn while they were traveling and put it on.
Rather than walk through the castle dressed like that, he used his key to go straight to his office. When he emerged from the energy field, Rhianna started laughing.
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