She had left the dress back in Barwich Manor, packed away in lavender.
Kate closed the valise and went to the stables to retrieve the griffin.
* * *
The trip from Wellinsport to the borders of the Dragon Duchies took seven days and proved uneventful. Kate received some strange looks from innkeepers when she and the griffin stopped for the night. Silver rosuns assured her a warm welcome, though they did not buy her freedom from questions.
Women almost never traveled by griffin, and everyone was curious to hear her story. Kate concocted a tale of rushing to the bedside of her dying father, from whom she had long been estranged, and who wanted to see his dear child before he passed.
Morgan would have approved.
Kate had never traveled beyond the coastline of Rosia and she enjoyed seeing new sights: flying over fields gold with wheat ready to be harvested, meandering rivers that glistened in the sunlight, shining lakes and thick woods. Her enjoyment was always tempered by her fears for Dalgren. Flying on griffinback reminded her of flying with the dragon.
Dalgren had talked to Akiel on his arrival in the Aligoes, telling him he had decided to surrender.
“He was very unhappy, mum. He said he was tired of being a fugitive,” Akiel had told her. “He brought disgrace and dishonor to his family and he wants to try to make amends.”
“He thinks I murdered that dragon, Lady Odila,” Kate had said despondently.
“No, he doesn’t, mum,” Akiel had assured her. “He said to tell you he did not ever believe that. He was upset and angry and he took out his anger on you. He finally realized his anger was with himself.”
Kate was grateful he no longer thought her a murderer, but she remained worried about him. She worried about what would happen if he was convicted.
Dragons never talked about dragons who broke the laws of dragonkind. According to them, dragons never committed crimes. They made this assertion not only out of pride, but out of necessity. Humans who lived among the dragons had to be able to trust that these powerful and deadly creatures could keep their terrible power in check and not go rampaging around the countryside.
The weather was fair and Kate arrived at the border of the Dragon Duchies with four days to spare before the last day of the month, when Dalgren’s trial was slated to begin. She was probably going to need that time, for once they arrived at the border, the griffin refused to continue. She pleaded with the beast to carry her to the city of Cieleterre, but it departed. The griffin was apparently convinced that dragons were lined up along the border of the Dragon Duchies waiting to devour any griffin foolish enough to trespass. Kate would have to make the rest of the journey by mail coach.
Phillip had recommended she stay at an inn known as the Half and Half, for half of the inn was on the dragon side of the border and the other half on the human side. As Kate retrieved her valise, she noticed she was not the only traveler choosing to stay here. An elegant wyvern-drawn coach-and-four stood in the yard. She could tell that the coach belonged to a Rosian of wealth and standing, for it was painted sky blue and decorated with gold gilt bees and a coat of arms featuring a bee.
A second, smaller coach accompanied the first. This one was piled high with luggage which several servants in livery were now removing.
The wyverns that pulled these carriages were by far the best-behaved wyverns Kate had ever seen. The stable hands were freeing the wyverns from their traces. Any other four wyverns would have been snapping and fighting among themselves or trying to bite their handlers. The coachman and servants had the beasts well under control, keeping them separated, stopping fights before they started.
Two women had apparently been the passengers in the first coach, for they were talking with the servants about which pieces of luggage to take to their rooms. Kate was eager to continue her journey and she barely spared a glance for the women, beyond noting that the younger of the two was holding a spaniel in her arms. Both regarded her with unabashed curiosity, for the sight of a woman riding a griffin was out of the ordinary.
Let them gawk, Kate thought, going to speak to the innkeeper.
“When will the mail coach to Cieleterre arrive?” she asked. “Will I have time to rest and order something to eat?”
“Madame will have a great deal of time,” said the innkeeper. “The next mail coach is not due for ten days. Madame just missed the last one, which left this morning. We look forward to having you as our guest in the interim.”
“Ten days!” Kate gasped. “But that is too late! I must be in Cieleterre four days from now!”
The innkeeper shrugged. “I am sorry, Madame. I do not know what to say. The mail coach travels to and from Cieleterre every ten days. And now if Madame will excuse me, I must attend to my other guests.”
He hurried away. Kate stood in the yard, clutching her valise, gazing after the innkeeper in blank dismay as he bowed and fawned over his wealthy guests, the older of whom he addressed as “countess.”
For their part, the countess and her young companion paid scant attention to him. They were far more interested in observing Kate. The countess asked the innkeeper a question, apparently regarding Kate, for she glanced at her as she spoke. After he responded to her, the countess and her companion began to whisper together.
Kate was tired, stiff, and sore. She had flown all this way and was now going to arrive too late to attend Dalgren’s trial. She could have wept with disappointment and fatigue. She deeply resented the fact that these two pampered females apparently thought they had the right to gossip about her.
“Sir, could I hire a horse?” Kate called to the innkeeper, not caring that she was rudely interrupting his conversation.
Before he could reply, the countess came walking across the yard toward Kate, obviously intending to speak to her. Kate had no desire to satisfy this woman’s curiosity and she started to turn away.
“Please forgive the intrusion, Madame,” the woman called, her voice a rich contralto. “My companion and I could not help overhearing your predicament.”
She lowered the cowl of her fur-lined cloak to reveal white hair arranged artfully about her face, whose beauty, even in middle years, was arresting. She regarded Kate with cool, intelligent eyes that observed everything about her from the scarf she had tied around her shaved head to the fine leather boots.
“My companion and I are traveling to Cieleterre ourselves,” the countess continued. “Our coach is large and comfortable, and we hope you will allow us to convey you to your destination.”
Kate was astonished and ashamed she had so badly misjudged the two.
“Thank you,” she said in confusion. “Your Ladyship is too kind. I could not take the liberty…”
“You traveled alone and by griffin, Madame,” said the countess with a smile. “You must be in need of haste.”
“I confess that I am, my lady,” Kate admitted. “But I would not want to intrude.”
Her gaze went to the countess’s companion. She was perhaps twenty, with brown hair and a frank and open face. She handed the spaniel to a servant and came over to join them.
“Please, do come with us, Madame,” the young woman said, adding with a laugh, “The countess and I have talked about all our friends and spoken of every topic under the sun and now we are bored to death with each other’s company. You would be doing us a favor.”
“Traveling by horse will take you almost as many days as waiting for the mail coach,” the countess added. “The journey would be hard and uncomfortable. You will find no inns or way stops between here and Cieleterre. And while the Dragon Duchies are safer than most places, lawless men have been known to roam the outlands. A woman traveling alone by horseback would not be safe.”
Kate found herself liking these two. She was still reluctant to accept the countess’s offer, but she had to admit to the logic of her argument. Dalgren needed her. She could not afford to stand upon her dignity.
“Your Ladyship has convinced me,” said Kate. “
If I am not intruding, I would be very grateful for the chance to join you.”
“Excellent,” said the countess. “We are staying the night and will set out early in the morning.”
She held out her hand to Kate. “I am Cecile de Marjolaine and this is Her Highness, Princess Sophia.”
Kate gawked. Her traveling companions were the Princess Sophia—the young woman to whom Thomas was engaged—and the Countess de Marjolaine.
“If Henry Wallace is the most dangerous man in the world,” Amelia had once said, “Cecile de Marjolaine is the most dangerous woman.”
Seeing Cecile frown slightly, Kate realized that she had been rudely gaping. She recovered herself enough to make an awkward curtsy. She would now be expected to introduce herself.
Kate had been using her mother’s maiden name, Rose Gascoyne, on her travels and she was about to give them that name, when she realized lying to them presented a problem. These two were traveling to Cieleterre, and while Kate considered it highly unlikely they had anything to do with Dalgren or the court-martial, she couldn’t take the chance. She was planning to speak in her friend’s defense and she had decided to do so under her own name.
Rosian naval officers would be present. Kate might be placing herself in danger, but she would deal with that when the time came. She could not tell another lie in front of Dalgren. She had to prove to him she had changed.
“I am Katherine Gascoyne-Fitzmaurice, ma’am,” Kate said. She gave an awkward curtsy and watched closely to see if they recognized her as the notorious Captain Kate who had escaped the noose.
Neither appeared to do so. Sophia told her she was pleased to meet her. Cecile said the same and Kate was breathing a sigh of relief when Cecile spoke again.
“Gascoyne … I seem to know that name.”
She paused, trying to remember.
Kate was caught. She didn’t care what happened to her, so long as she could save Dalgren. She needed to make the countess understand that she had to reach Cieleterre.
“My lady—” she began.
“I seem to recall a Freyan viscount by the name of Gascoyne,” Cecile said. “Are you related?”
“He was my grandfather, my lady,” said Kate.
The Viscount Gascoyne had been notorious for only one reason and that was his suicide. Kate was spared from further comment by the spaniel, who had managed to wriggle out of the arms of the maid and was now pawing and sniffing at Kate’s boots.
“Oh, you naughty Bandit,” Sophia said, scolding him. “Don’t jump on the lady!”
“Don’t scold him, Your Highness,” Kate said with a laugh. “He must smell the griffin.”
She bent down to pet the dog, who sniffed her gloves and appeared to approve of her.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing the carriage with him, Mistress Katherine,” Sophia was saying. “Bandit goes everywhere with me.”
“Not in the least, ma’am,” said Kate, giving Bandit’s silky head a pat. She was so tired she wondered if she could stand up without falling. Cecile was quick to notice.
“Come, Sophia,” said the countess. “Mistress Katherine is fatigued from her journey. We should let her rest.”
“Of course,” said Sophia. “I hope you will join us for supper, Mistress. We dine at eight of the clock. I am so envious of you! I have always longed to fly on a griffin! I want to hear all about it.”
Kate knew enough about court etiquette from her mother to know that if the princess invited you to dine, you did not decline the invitation, as much as she longed to do so. Sophia was engaged to Thomas and she would be certain to talk about him. Kate had heard the young women of Freeport chatter interminably about their young men. She would have to listen to Sophia praise his dancing, his conversation, his blue eyes. Kate would have to smile and pretend he was a stranger.
She made a feeble protest. “Please consider, ma’am, that I have spent seven days in the saddle. My clothes are filthy and wrinkled and, as the little dog can attest, I smell of griffin.”
Sophia retrieved the spaniel and gave him a scolding. “Now see what you have done, Bandit! You have left muddy paw prints all over the lady’s skirt. I am so sorry, Mistress. I insist that you dine with us, so that I can make amends.”
Cecile gave Kate a cool look.
“Of course Mistress Katherine will dine with us,” said the countess. “I will send my servant for you at eight.”
“Your Ladyship is too kind,” said Kate.
She dropped another curtsy as the two women walked toward the inn, accompanied by their servants carrying enough luggage between them for a month’s stay.
As she reached the door, Sophia looked back over her shoulder to smile at Kate and make Bandit wave his paw.
Kate sighed deeply.
EIGHTEEN
Alone in her room, Kate took one look at her clothes and despaired. She could not do much to clean them, but she could at least clean herself.
She had never ordered a bath at an inn, but she knew such things could be done. The procedure turned out to be extremely complicated, requiring the servants to haul in a brass tub. They heated copious amounts of water in the kitchen, then had to carry the jugs to her room.
The innkeeper might well have refused, but he had taken note of Sophia’s friendliness to this guest, and went out of his way to accommodate her. The maids set up a folding screen to shield her modesty and even scattered rose petals in the water. They looked askance at Kate’s shaved head, but carefully averted their eyes.
“I lost my hair in the plague,” said Kate.
She had never felt anything so wonderful as sinking into the hot water. She stayed until the water grew too cool for comfort and emerged from the bath refreshed.
When she was going to dress, she found that her clothes were missing. Kate wrapped herself in a towel and confronted the maid and demanded to know what had happened.
“Her Highness says we were to take ’em to be cleaned, miss,” the maid answered, seeming astonished that Kate would ask. “We will bring them to you in the morning, once they are dry.”
“Her Highness!” Kate repeated, startled.
“The princess says her little dog jumped on you and got you all muddy, so we were to clean your clothes,” said the maid.
“I am supposed to dine with Her Highness. What am I to wear?” Kate asked.
“Her Ladyship said that since you are traveling light, you might like to borrow something of hers. She sent this along for you. Beautiful, I call it!”
The maid produced a lovely gown, long and flowing, with lace at the elbows and neckline. The countess had also thoughtfully added a matching scarf trimmed with lace for Kate to cover her head.
Kate was at first resentful that the women had taken such a liberty, but she eventually calmed down and even smiled. They had probably done so out of their own self-interest. The three of them would be cooped up together in the carriage tomorrow and the countess undoubtedly did not care to travel with a companion who smelled of griffin!
Kate drew on the gown, which seemed to float over her body like a silky cloud. She tied the scarf around her head and held a serious talk with herself.
“Of all the strange things that have happened to you, this is one of the strangest. Keep your wits about you. Be careful of that princess. She can’t possibly be as nice as she seems. And when she mentions Thomas, do not blush!”
The countess’s servant came promptly at eight and escorted her to a private sitting room. Kate entered warily, not knowing what to expect, fearing some kind of social ambush.
What she found was Sophia sitting on the floor in a rumpled dress playing with Bandit. The countess was seated in a chair, reading a book by the light of the fire.
Sophia scrambled to her feet in a flurry of petticoats to welcome Kate.
“Bandit is here to act as guard dog,” Sophia said, laughing.
Bandit licked Kate’s hand, then proved his worth as guard dog by growling at the waiter when he entered.
The countess laid down her book. The servants served the meal, which consisted of salmon, trout, a meat pie, bread, and rice pudding, accompanied by both red and white wine. Sophia tied Bandit’s leash to the leg of a chair and told him to be good—an order he obeyed by starting to bark.
Kate had not eaten since early morning and she was famished. The princess and the countess ate with hearty appetites, and although Sophia had said they had grown bored with each other’s conversation, they did not give evidence of that at the table.
The countess acted the role of hostess and steered the conversation to politics. She and the princess discussed the political situation in Braffa and how the Braffans were attempting to manipulate the price of lift gas.
Kate knew nothing about politics. The mention of Braffa immediately brought Thomas to mind; she kept her head down, concentrating on the meal.
The princess and countess changed the topic of conversation to Estara. King Ullr of Guundar was trying to stir up trouble, laying claim to some islands Estara considered theirs. The princess’s brother, King Renaud, was attempting to defuse the situation. Kate was thinking that the world was a far more complicated place than she had ever imagined, when the moment she had been dreading came.
“Speaking of Estara, have you heard from Prince Thomas, Your Highness?” Cecile asked.
Kate hurriedly took a gulp of wine.
“Yes, my lady,” said Sophia. “I received a letter from His Highness before we left. This salmon is excellent, don’t you think?”
Cecile was not to be deterred. “What does the prince write to you?”
“He writes that he is in the Aligoes with the Royal Navy chasing pirates,” said Sophia.
Kate choked and was forced to hide her face in her napkin. She feared the shrewd eyes of the countess would notice her discomfiture, but Cecile was not paying attention to Kate. The countess focused on Sophia.
“Prince Thomas will soon be back in Everux, I have no doubt,” said Cecile. “He must be counting the hours until he sees you again.”
Privateer Page 18
