“The party was in the tower, but like I said, it was supposed to be a surprise. So I was put in the wardrobe and when they told the guest of honor to look in the closet for his present, I was supposed to jump out. While I was there, two men came in and started talking. I figured any minute the door would be flung open, but they just kept talking. At first I didn’t really listen. I didn’t understand most of what was said anyway, a bunch of stuff about Imperialists and Monarchists and how Melengar would be one of the first.”
“First what?”
“I have no idea. But then I heard one say, ‘After we kill the king, we’ll begin making the changes.’ ”
“Someone said what?” Reuben asked, even though he had heard her just fine.
“He said they were going to kill the royal family. And I couldn’t figure out why they would say something like that with me in the room. Then I realized these two weren’t the ones who had put me in the wardrobe and neither of them knew I was there. When I heard them leave, I knew I had to get away. If either of them came to the party, they’d know I’d overheard what they’d said. I had to get out. I had to disappear.”
“Why didn’t you just come down the stairs?”
“I heard voices outside the door. It might have been them. The only other way out was the window. I thought I could climb down. I thought … but I slipped…” She started to cry again.
“Do you have any idea who they were? Did they use any names?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t hear anything like that. Please, I just want to go home.”
“You can’t leave-the gate has been sealed.”
The question was why? Maybe it had already happened. Maybe there had been an assassination. The girl might have been part of it. Looking at her, it seemed impossible, but he never would have thought she’d have climbed out of that window either.
“Something bad has happened,” Reuben told her. “That’s why they’ve rung the alarm. If what you say is true, someone might have just tried to kill the king.”
The girl closed her eyes and shook her head. “They’ll think I was part of it now-because I ran, because I climbed out the window. I wasn’t. I didn’t do anything. You have to believe me.”
“Listen, just try and relax, okay?” Reuben wasn’t sure which of them he was talking to. His heart was still racing from seeing what he had thought was a ghost but what turned out to be a girl-a girl in trouble, one he’d found like a stray dog. He was thankful they had made it to the shed before the alarm was called. The smell of maple wood, like the smells of the stable, were familiar to him. He could think there. “I’ll just go and tell them what happened.”
“No!” She grabbed him. “Don’t, please.”
“But if you’re innocent, you’ll be fine.”
“What if you tell the wrong person?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if you tell one of the men who planned to kill the king? Even if you don’t, if the king is dead and they think I did it … they won’t listen to me. They won’t believe me. I just want to go home.”
He couldn’t let her leave.
Reuben ran a hand through his hair. He needed a better place to keep her, somewhere safe, hidden, and where she couldn’t get away-just in case she was lying.
“Okay, this is what I’ll do. I know another place I can hide you. You’ll stay there and I’ll go see what’s happening. Then I’ll go to my father. He’s a sergeant at arms with the royal guard and it’s his job to protect the royal family. He’ll know what to do. Don’t worry-I won’t let anything happen to you. You just have to trust me.”
“I trust you, I do. You didn’t have to hide me or help me when I was climbing down. But I don’t even know your name.”
“Oh, yeah … sorry. I’m Reuben, Reuben Hilfred. What’s yours?”
“Rose.”
Reuben just stared for a moment. “Really?”
She nodded. “Why?”
“Ah … nothing. It’s just…” He reached out and took her hand. She may have thought it was to comfort her, but Reuben just wanted to make sure she was real. “Rose was my mother’s name.”
CHAPTER 5
Sergeant Richard Hilfred climbed the high tower’s steps two at a time, and in between wishing he was in better shape and concentrating on breathing, he imagined ways to kill Lieutenant Wylin.
Why do things like this have to happen on my watch, when I’m responsible?
He should have been notified of anything happening at the castle. How else could he be expected to provide protection for the royal family? Wylin-the little git that he was-had never said a word about a party for Captain Lawrence. Something had happened, and the entire castle was now on alert and Richard knew that somehow he would be blamed for the night’s fiasco.
“Barnes!” Richard shouted. “Where is he? Where’s Wylin?”
Sergeant Barnes was in the room at the top. The one that his son had become so fascinated with and the same one that made Richard so uncomfortable. There wasn’t much to it, just a round room of stone, long abandoned because it was out of the way, up too many stairs, hot in summer and freezing in winter. A harsh wind ripped through the open window, blowing curtains that were frayed and tattered. The chamber’s light came from a lantern on the table in the center. Littered with mugs and a picked-over tray of meats and cheese, it complemented the barrel of ale in the corner. The only other furniture was an old wardrobe and a dusty bed.
“I don’t know where the lieutenant is,” Barnes replied. He stood at attention, making Richard think he was being mocked. “Captain Lawrence ordered him to seal the gate.”
Richard’s mouth was already forming his next words when he noticed why Barnes was so formal. They were not alone. Outside the immediate glow of the lantern light stood Lord Simon Exeter. His Lordship was near the window, in his floor-length white cape. Underneath he wore a black leather tunic with buckles down the front that looked like sutures, as if someone had sliced his chest open and then strapped him closed again. His thumbs were hooked in his sword belt as he stared at Richard with an amused scowl.
“Your Lordship.” Richard snapped to attention.
Richard didn’t like being around nobles any more than he liked being around bees. He knew that if he didn’t bother them, they wouldn’t bother him, but Exeter was like a wasp-he was known to sting for little or no reason.
“I’m pleased to have you join us. I hope the alarm didn’t interrupt a pleasant dream. We wouldn’t want your duties to your king to get in the way of a good night’s sleep.”
Richard chose his reply carefully. “I wasn’t asleep, Your Lordship. I’m the senior royal guard on duty this evening. It’s my responsibility to investigate any possible threats to the king.”
“I see. You’ll forgive me if I conduct my own investigation.”
“Of course, Your Lordship. I welcome any and all assistance.”
Richard would have preferred to speak to Barnes alone, but as high constable, Exeter was the chief enforcer of the king’s law throughout Melengar. Every county or quarter sheriff, as well as each city constable, took their orders from him. He generally concerned himself with incidents beyond the castle’s walls, but Richard wasn’t about to challenge him over jurisdiction. Besides, Exeter was the Marquis of East March and the third most powerful man in the kingdom after the king and Chancellor Braga.
“Let’s bring Sergeant Hilfred up-to-date so we can hear what he thinks, shall we, Barnes?” Exeter said. “Repeat what you just told me.”
Barnes hesitated. He refused to look at either of them, his sight shifting to the barrel as he licked his lips. Barnes was one of the old guard, what Richard called the King’s Men, and one of those who took part in suppressing the Asper Uprising the year before Richard joined the guard. Having missed the event was something they never let him forget. Lawrence had been lieutenant then and Wylin the senior sergeant. Richard felt left out when they drank and reminisced about the campaign. According to them, the king had led the charge, but Richard guessed it was a lie. Nobles didn’t lead in battle. They waited safely in the rear until the tide had turned. Then they trotted around the dead, smiling at their victory.