Sword Fight

by Nathan Van Coops

  There were whispers between persons on the other end, then the voice came back on. “I’ll connect you right away, miss.”

  The phone didn’t even have time to ring before someone picked up.

  “Valerie? Valerie, is that you?”

  “It’s me, Lady Charlotte.”

  “Oh my God, we’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where are you? I’ve been calling the manor constantly. No one has heard a word.”

  “Why are you still at Sterling Tower?” Valerie asked. “Jasper killed Henry.”

  “I heard about what happened,” Charlotte said. “It’s all just so awful. If you had told me you were coming to the city, we could have resolved all of it easily. For Henry to attack Jasper in the street like that. We’re all so shocked.”

  “He didn’t attack him,” Valerie argued. “It was a duel to first blood. Jasper murdered him after it was already over.”

  Charlotte sucked in a breath. “But Valerie, there were witnesses. They all confirmed it. I know it must have all been a shock as it happened, but Jasper never wanted to hurt your brother. He told me so. We just want you to come home so this can all be explained. Where are you?”

  “There’s no explaining what he did. You need to get out of there. I’m telling you, Jasper Sterling is a killer.”

  “Now please, Valerie, don’t say that. This will be okay. I know you’re probably scared. Just tell me where you are. I’ll come to you and we can talk. I want to see you. They told me what that insane magistrate did to you—how he revoked your title. We’re working on getting that fixed right away. Just let me see you, we’ll talk about everything and sort it all out.”

  “Charlotte, Jasper’s not who you think he is. If you ever cared for me, for my father, for Henry, you have to believe me.”

  “You know I cared for—”

  “Then listen to the truth!”

  Charlotte didn’t reply for several moments, then finally whispered into the phone. “I want to believe you, Valerie. Just tell me where to find you.”

  Valerie chewed her lip as she stared out the window.

  If Charlotte could see what Jasper was, she could go home. They could seek justice from there. Once she got her title back, she could at least make an appeal to the king. A letter. Charlotte could sign it too.

  She’d be a noble again. Once she made her case known, she could enlist more nobles to help. Maybe Thea’s family would come to their side. She wouldn’t need to fight the Sterlings alone.

  “Just tell me where you are,” Charlotte insisted. “I’ll come to you.”

  Valerie twisted the phone cord in her hands. “Just you, okay?”

  “Just me. I promise.”

  “I’m outside the walls. In a waterside village called Tidewater.” She glanced around the dingy bar. “I’m at the . . .” A doubt nagged her. She glanced out the window to an inn across the street with a broad porch dotted with rocking chairs. “At the Swan and Pelican. It’s an Inn.”

  “Just stay right there. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

  “Okay.” Valerie slowly hung up the phone.

  Charlotte wasn’t the ally she wanted, but she was technically family. If she believed her.

  She went back to the storeroom where she had left her few possessions. She splashed herself with water from the utility sink, toweled off with a clean dish rag, and snatched up the keys to the Guardian. She studied them. Damon would be waiting for her answer, but he must have known she couldn’t go through with his crazy plan, didn’t he? Her? Fight in the tournament?

  She just needed to be out of this place. Looking around the room, part of her couldn’t believe she had ever sunk this low. Sleeping on a cot in a tavern? She eyed her bruises in the mirror. This wasn’t what she deserved.

  She gathered up the handful of money she had made the day before and considered what to do with it. She could leave it for Janet. Payment for her hospitality?

  But she could always send a courier from home to repay Janet for the odds and ends she had used. She would send a gift. Something nice. She stuffed the money into her pocket.

  She was twisting the lock on the front door of the tavern when the voice spoke.

  “Leaving without saying goodbye?” Janet was standing on the lowest step of the staircase that led up to her apartment.

  “I was . . . I was going to send a courier,” Valerie replied. “To let you know where I went.”

  “Fancy,” Janet said. “I take it you found a way out.”

  “I’m going home,” Valerie said. “I’ll have more options there. I guess you were right. I’m not the best bet for employment longevity.”

  “It’s a pity. I think the patrons liked you. You okay? You have someone looking out for you?”

  “I’m meeting my stepmother across the street.”

  Janet nodded. “All right then.”

  “I promise I’ll send something to pay you back for your hospitality,” Valerie said. “Once I get home I can—”

  Janet waved a hand to dismiss it. “Don’t worry about it.” She crossed the tavern and lifted the gate on the bar. When she reached the cash register, she pulled out her key and unlocked it. “You’ll want your pay.”

  “I’m okay,” Valerie said. “I got some tips from tables last night.” She glanced out the door to the inn across the street. “I should get going.”

  “Nonsense,” Janet replied. “A day’s work gets a day’s pay. I know my clientele are stingy bastards when it comes to tipping.” She counted out several bills onto the bar top. When she was satisfied, she evened the edges and held them out. “What’s fair is fair.”

  Valerie frowned but shuffled her way across the tavern. “You don’t have to pay me. After all, you’ve put me up for two nights. I should repay you.”

  “Then let me be generous,” Janet said. “A thank you from you is plenty.”

  Valerie took the bills. “Thank you.”

  “Good luck, kid.”

  Valerie nodded and moved back to the door. Janet began tidying up and prepping for her day, her focus already on the next task.

  Valerie wanted to say something more, but the words wouldn’t come. She slipped out the door and closed it behind her.

  It was a hundred paces to the porch of the Swan and Pelican. She made it exactly three feet.

  A trio of armored war cars roared down the street in formation. Another pair were only blocks behind. The first group skidded to a stop in front of the inn, and a half dozen armored soldiers poured out. They took up positions around the cars, scanning the inn’s exits.

  Valerie backed into the shadow of the Twisted Tentacle’s doorway as the next pair of cars raced in. They pulled up to the Swan and Pelican and dispersed a contingent of soldiers bearing the green and silver emblems of the City Watch.

  “Spread out. Find her,” the captain ordered.

  The soldiers advanced on the inn with weapons drawn.

  Valerie fumbled for the door handle of the Twisted Tentacle and scrambled back inside. Just before she got the door shut, she caught the captain looking her way.

  Damn.

  “That was quick,” Janet said. She moved to the window and took in the scene outside.

  To Valerie’s horror, the captain of the watch was still studying the tavern. He signaled to one of the soldiers and sent him their way.

  “Get in the back,” Janet said. “Lock the door.”

  Valerie rushed into the storeroom. The lock on the door looked flimsy and useless, but she slid it closed.

  The pounding on the front door made her heart leap into her mouth.

  “Hang on! Don’t knock my damn door down,” Janet shouted.

  Valerie pressed her ear to the crack to listen.

  A soldier’s heavy boots thudded across the main room. “We’re looking for a girl.”

  “Aren’t we all,” Janet replied.

  “It’s no laughing matter. Lord Sterling was attacked by a fugitive runaway, formerly of the hou
se of Terravecchia. She isn’t in her right mind, and we’ve been charged with bringing her in for her safety.”

  “Five war cars for one girl?” Janet said. “Seems excessive.”

  “Just take a look at the picture,” the voice said.

  “Sounds like an interesting case,” Janet replied. “Is there a reward?”

  “You’ll have to make arrangements with his lordship. You seen this face?”

  Valerie’s nails dug into the wood of the door as she waited for Janet’s response.

  “No one as fancy as that ever comes into this place.”

  The soldier grunted. “I’ll have a look around.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  The footsteps grew fainter, then increased in volume again as the man made his way around the tavern. The boots began to thud down the hallway toward the storeroom.

  “What’s back here?”

  “Just supplies.”

  “Show me,” the man said.

  “I’ll find the keys.”

  Valerie searched the space, desperate for a place to hide, but there was nothing. A few shelves, a bathroom so small you could barely get the door closed. Even if she crawled under the cot, too much of her would be exposed. The cot was still out. Was that a giveaway? She rapidly collapsed it and pushed it against the wall.

  “This lock always gives me trouble,” Janet said.

  It was clear that she was attempting to buy Valerie time, but for what? There was nowhere to hide.

  Finally, the lock turned and the door eased open. Valerie leapt behind it, pressing herself to the wall. Janet stepped all the way through and stood near the door handle, her back to Valerie. Valerie slouched as low as possible in case the soldier somehow peered over Janet’s shoulder and spotted her cowering behind the door.

  But the soldier didn’t make Janet move.

  “Need any toilet paper?” Janet offered, gesturing to the shelves.

  The soldier simply grunted again and ducked back through the doorway. “If you see anything suspicious, call the Watch. This girl is considered dangerous to herself and to others. Her family is eager to get her back.”

  “I’m sure they are,” Janet replied. “Mind if I have one of those pictures? I can hang it up in the bar.” She shut the storage room door and locked it again.

  Valerie slumped to the floor.

  A few minutes later, the door opened again. Valerie scrambled back to her feet, but it was just Janet this time.

  She held up the photo. “You ever see this girl? Apparently, she’s quite the troublemaker.”

  Valerie recognized the image as a headshot from a middle-school formal. It wasn’t even a good photo. Her younger self was grinning at the camera from behind far too much makeup with a bow on her head that she had instantly regretted.

  Janet handed the photo over. “The good news is, I just had a server quit on me this morning. There’s a job opening if you’re looking. Doors open at eleven.”

  Valerie stuffed the photo into her pocket, determined to destroy the evidence of its existence. “Thanks. I’ll be here. I just have one more person I need to talk to first.”

  An hour later, she walked onto Lexington Avenue with the hood of her sweatshirt up to hide her face. She rapped on the door of the warehouse until it finally swung open.

  Damon stood in the doorway in a damp tank top and workout shorts. He was holding a weighted practice sword. His muscles gleamed with sweat, and he was out of breath.

  Valerie noted the workout equipment behind him, then let her eyes come back to his.

  “When can I start?”

  Damon’s mouth quirked into a smile, then he took a step back and gestured her inside.

  14

  Penthouse

  “I’ll ask you the question again, but this time there are only three acceptable answers,” Jasper said. “She’s either dead, admitted to St. Anselm’s, or you have her tied up in the trunk of your car waiting to be brought in. Which of the three is it?”

  The captain of the City Watch shifted his feet on the foyer rug and adjusted his grip on the helmet he held in his hands. “I’m afraid we were unable to find her, my lord. Locating fugitives can be difficult outside the walls. The seaside villagers tend to not cooperate.”

  Jasper turned to Blaise, who was lounging on the couch in the penthouse’s living room. “How much of a problem can this girl present for us?”

  “A minimal inconvenience,” Blaise replied. “We’ve made certain any noble families she might reach out to will notify us at once. She’s cut off financially, and thanks to that incompetent magistrate, she doesn’t even have her name to fall back on. If she’s hiding out on the waterfront working street corners for food, it does you no harm. Let her become a fishwife and be done with her.”

  “Perhaps if we offered a reward,” the Watch captain said. “Those folks down there do get desperate. Someone might turn her in.”

  “Spend more of my money to get someone else to do your job?” Jasper scoffed. “If you want to shirk your responsibility, then you pay the reward. Get out of here before I find someone else even more useless to fill your post.”

  The captain bowed sheepishly and backed out the door, closing it behind him.

  “It wasn’t a bad idea,” Blaise said once the man was gone. “A reward could be effective.”

  “If you’d sold the Terravecchia properties for the prices I suggested, perhaps we would have had the funds to spare. As it is, we’re already running out of money.” Jasper walked to the bar and began fixing himself a drink.

  “You said you wanted cash fast,” Blaise said, extracting a lighter from his pocket and reigniting his cigar. “That doesn’t equate to top dollar. And your expenses have been coming in faster than I can make deals. I hope you don’t intend to buy off all your competitors. You’ll be bankrupt by the start of the tournament.”

  Jasper added an extra shot of gin to his drink, then walked to the windows that overlooked the bay. “Most of the competitors will be of little consequence. I only need to worry about the ones who will survive the auto melee.”

  “If the king discovers you’ve bought your way through the tournament, he’ll be offering you a position in his dungeons instead of the Round Table. You’ll have a lot of people to keep quiet.”

  “Everyone who makes this deal will have as much to lose as I do. And we’ve already established the solution for the ones unwilling to bargain.” Jasper took a sip of his drink.

  Blaise blew out a cloud of smoke. “Yes, Lady Magdalena was a bit of a square when it came to the rules.” He pushed himself off the couch. As he did so, the front door opened, and Lady Charlotte entered the penthouse wearing one of the dozen dresses she had acquired since arriving in the city.

  Jasper took a deep breath and affixed a smile to his face. “My darling. You’re back early.”

  “I was worried. Were you able to find her? Did you find Valerie?” Charlotte dropped her bag on the bureau near the door and rushed into the living room. Jasper met her halfway and grasped her hands.

  “They’re still looking. It seems she wasn’t where she said she was. I’m afraid it’s just another lie she’s told you.”

  “I should have gone myself,” Charlotte said. “I knew I should have.”

  “My love, it’s too dangerous for you outside the walls. Our engagement is the talk of the city, and you are much too high profile. It would be as if the queen or one of the princesses were to be seen at the docks. There would be too many dangerous people hoping to harm you or hold you for ransom. These bottom-dwellers can’t be trusted.”

  “I know, I know.” Charlotte wrung her hands. “But Valerie is just a girl. I know she’s been in trouble, but she’s not even eighteen. How will she survive down there?”

  “We’ll keep searching,” Jasper said, moving closer and embracing her. “If she wants to be helped, she knows how. All she has to do is find the nearest city watchman, and they’ll bring her straight to us.”

  “Thi
s whole business is just so awful,” Charlotte replied. “I did my best to raise them, you know. They had the finest schooling . . .”

  “There are some things out of the control of even the best parents,” Blaise interjected. He flicked the ash from his cigar into an ashtray on the end table. “Lady Charlotte, you are doing what’s best for Valerie now. I’m sure she’ll come to her senses soon.”

  “Why don’t you focus on the wedding plans,” Jasper said. “That will help keep your mind off it. There’s nothing to bring a family together like a wedding.”

  Charlotte fidgeted with the ring on her finger. “Yes, I suppose so.”

  “And join me in a drink,” Jasper added. “We have much to celebrate. I have it on good authority that the guest list has tripled since last you checked it.” He guided her to the bar and began fixing her a cocktail.

  “Is the Royal Family coming?” Charlotte asked.

  “Rumors abound,” Jasper said. “You know they won’t be able to commit just yet, but when the king spends time with you at his tournament, he’ll no doubt want to extend his visit till the wedding.”

  “Extend? I thought you wanted to be married prior to the tournament?”

  “That seems ill-advised now,” Jasper said.

  “On account of how many families will be busy with preparations,” Blaise added.

  “And after the tournament is over, we will have even more to celebrate.” Jasper handed her a drink. “Especially when I win.”

  “I don’t know why anyone even needs to compete in these silly tournaments,” Charlotte said. “The king should simply choose the best man for the job. What good is it having everyone bashing each other with cars and swords when the country is at peace? We ought to just skip all that.”

  “The king loves tradition,” Blaise said.

  “And you must enjoy the pageantry of the games,” Jasper said. “Not to mention the masquerade ball.”

  “Well, everyone loves a ball,” Charlotte said.

  “Can’t very well have a tournament ball without a tournament.” Blaise puffed on his cigar as if it settled the matter.

  “Do you have a gown for the ball yet?” Jasper laid a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps that should be in your plans today?”