Well. There was an outside chance that, if enough of them leaped upon Geoffrey in his sleep, they might be able to take him prisoner—but Alain doubted it mightily, especially since he had no doubt the elves were guarding Geoffrey as well as they had guarded him.
Cordelia, however, was another matter. She was so small, so fragile! Even with all her witch-powers, she could not fly if they kept her from her broomstick. Geoffrey, if worse came to worse, could simply disappear—but Cordelia could not, just as warlocks could not make brooms fly.
Alain stood in the darkness and the dank chill, shivering, lighted only by one elf-light. He hefted his sword in his hand, waiting for the moment when he would hear Sir Julian's voice address the Lady Cordelia, when he would have the chance to leap to her aid.
Until then ... ?
Well, if the commotion died down enough, if the voices faded away, he would risk stepping out to see the lay of the land. Perhaps he could hide behind an arras—what else were they for? Till then, he could only stand and wait and shiver.
He did.
An elf-wife slipped out from behind the arras. "Lady Cordelia!"
Cordelia spun about, staring down at the diminutive person. "Hail, Wee One!" She dropped to her knee. "Have you news of the Crown Prince?"
"One of our folk did wake him ere the murderers did fall upon him," the elf told her. "He fought his way free. We brought him to the tunnels within this house's walls, and he doth prowl through them, seeking for sign of thee. We have bade him flee to save his own life, but he will not, till he is sure thou art safe. Canst thou move him, lady?"
"It appears I do." Cordelia blinked away mistiness. "Brave man! Praise Heaven he is well!" Then the remark about "tunnels" penetrated. Secret passages, obviously. "Is there no passage from those tunnels, into the free air outside?"
"Oh, aye! We bade him come with us, to leave this strange place—but he will not, so long as he fears for thy safety. In truth, he is certain that they wish to slay thee, so even though thy chamber was empty, he still doth prowl the passages, seeking sign of thee. He will not go out from this place until he can take thee with him, alive and well."
Cordelia nearly melted, right then and there. Her limbs felt weak again, and the strange warmness moved up inside her—most strange, considering she was not even with Alain, much less touching him. Her heart had dissolved in that warmth, she was sure—but she felt her brother's hand on her shoulder and pulled herself together.
"We must seek him," Geoffrey said softly.
"Aye." Cordelia smiled through a mist of tears and had to blink it away. She turned to the elf. "Tell him I am wellalive and well, and that I wish him to flee to safety."
"Assuredly, I shall." The elf-woman whisked back behind the arras, and was gone.
Cordelia rose and spoke to Geoffrey without looking at him. "Come. We must find him, protect him."
"Aye, we must indeed," said Geoffrey, loosening his sword in its scabbard, "for if I know Alain, he will be pigheaded enough to stay until he sees you with his own eyes."
"Oh, do you truly think he would?" she cried.
"I do not doubt it for an instant," Geoffrey said drily. "Let us seek him out, then. Since we know where he is, let us call back the elf-wife, find these tunnels, and seek him out directly."
Cordelia froze at a thought. "Nay! Let us finish the course we first set! Find the Lady Delilah."
"I am ever ready for that," he said with a grin. Cordelia flashed him a glance of annoyance. "You are disgusting, brother. I confess I am glad of your aid, but not of your animal nature. Be assured that I do not wish to find the lady for the same reason that you do."
"I would scarcely think it! But say, sweet sister, what purpose there is in seeking her at all?"
"For that she is a shrew and destroyer beneath her beauty, brother, and if you have not seen it, be assured that I have."
Geoffrey frowned. "But we have learned that Alain is alive and well, and could therefore be in no danger from her. Should we not rather be seeking to find who set these assassins upon the Prince?" He stared, facts suddenly connecting in his head. "Surely you do not suspect the lady of the deed!"
"I would suspect her of anything," Cordelia returned, her eyes glittering. "Who do you think sent those men to fall upon him?"
Geoffrey frowned. "Say."
"The Lady Delilah! Do you not remember the dream we shared? It was she who gave the orders! If anyone commanded Alain's death, it was she!"
"That was but a dream..."
"A dream that came from a telepath who did not shield her thoughts, thinking we slept! She did not realize her words would sift through our slumbers to form pictures in our minds!"
Geoffrey pursed his lips, not wanting to believe such malice of so beautiful a lady—but by the logic of war, it was what an enemy would do.
Cordelia's eyes narrowed as she watched the emotions pass across Geoffrey's face. "Believe it, brother, till we have proof otherwise—the more so since 'tis likely she gave other commands also. Did she not whip up your lust this night, then send a woman to satisfy it, thus holding your attention so that you would not be aware that Alain needed your aid?"
Geoffrey's face darkened with the blow to his pride, but he had to admit it made sense. "Aye." Then the logical conclusion hit him. "If so, 'twas she who sent the blackguards to slay me while I sought ecstasy!"
"I doubt it not," Cordelia agreed. Her face turned stony at the idea of the woman actually trying to kill her little brother. "We shall pay her back in her own coin."
There was something in the way she said it that gave even Geoffrey chills.
"But what of Alain?"
"The elves shall bring him my word, and he shall heed it, I hope, going out from this house. But we must make sure of that safety in other ways."
"By choking it at its source." Geoffrey smiled like a wolf. Cordelia gave him a curt nod. "Do you still wish to believe the woman innocent? Then prove me wrong, brother. Find her."
CHAPTER 16
They searched. Delilah had not come back to her room, nor Forrest to his.
Geoffrey stood immobile in the center of Delilah's sitting room, eyes losing focus as he probed throughout the manor house with his mind. Finally, he nodded. "The room that was shielded."
"Of course!" Cordelia cried. "What malice does she brew in there?"
"Let us go see." Geoffrey turned to the door.
They ran through the hallways with no sound but the rustle of their garments, staying to the shadows (and there were a lot of those). Down below the Great Hall, down in the basement of the manor house, there where there should have been storerooms, they found an oaken door with men in livery standing sentry.
Geoffrey slipped his dagger out of its sheath, but Cordelia stayed it with a hand. "They are weary already, brother. They have watched through the night." She stared at the two men for a few seconds.
One of them raised a hand to stifle a yawn. As he finished, the other began.
"Stay awake," the first growled. "No, you stay awake."
"I need to..."
"I just got to..."
Then both slumped to the floor. After a minute, each snored.
Cordelia and Geoffrey stole silently around the corner and up to the door.
"Softly," Geoffrey whispered. "Let us take them unawares."