Of course, she thought, he’d been fairly serious since Alyss’s death. She had seen him once or twice since then and he’d been grim and humourless. But that was only to be expected. He’d get over that soon enough. She realised her mother was replying to the question she had asked.
“Yes. Will. Your godfather. We’re going to ask him to take you on as an apprentice and train you as a Ranger.”
“But… I’m a girl,” Maddie said uncertainly.
Her mother regarded her dryly. “Sometimes I’ve wondered if you were aware of that,” she said.
Maddie waved the sarcasm aside. “I mean… there are no girl Rangers. There never have been… have there?” She frowned, trying to think if she’d ever heard of such a thing. Then she shook her head. She was sure there never had been a girl Ranger before.
“You’ll be the first,” her father confirmed.
“And I’ll be living with Uncle Will? At Redmont?” she said. They both nodded, and she couldn’t help the huge smile spreading across her face.
Castle Redmont was far less stuffy and formal than Araluen. Baron Arald and his wife, Sandra, were genial hosts and they’d always treated her with affection. Not only that, she thought, she would outrank everyone at Redmont—even Baron Arald. There would be nobody there who could tell her how to behave or what to do. This was wonderful news!
“I’d go easy on the Uncle Will if I were you,” Horace said in a warning tone. “You’ll be his apprentice, you know.”
“Yes. Yes,” she said excitedly, her mind racing. She could see a future of hunting parties and dances and picnics at Castle Redmont, with her at the centre of things, ordering people to do her wishes, rather than being ordered about by her parents.
Of course, she’d have to be careful that she didn’t overdo it. If word got back to them that she was enjoying herself too much, they were liable to cancel the whole idea.
“Life as an apprentice won’t be easy,” her mother said, eyeing her carefully.
Maddie rapidly composed her features so that she looked suitably chastened. “I know. But I’ll do my best.”
Inwardly, she was exultant. Will loved her. He doted on her. She could twist him around her little finger. She had always been able to. Why should things be different now?
“So… you’re willing to take this on?” Cassandra said, and Maddie lowered her gaze, nodding submissively.
“I’ll do my best,” she said. “I want you to be proud of me.”
Gilan and Halt rode up to the little cabin in the trees below Castle Redmont. As they approached the cabin, they could see a curl of wood smoke from the chimney. Tug, in his stable behind the cabin, neighed a greeting to Blaze and Abelard. They responded.
“Well, at least he’s home,” Gilan said.
As he spoke, the door to the cabin opened and Will stepped out onto the small verandah. He nodded to his two old friends.
“Halt. Gilan,” he said.
Halt’s heart sank a little at Will’s unemotional tone. Previously, their arrival at the cabin would have been an occasion for happy greetings, jokes and cheerful insults. Now Will simply leaned against a verandah post and watched them as they dismounted.
Halt stepped towards the two steps leading up to the verandah, then paused.
“May we come in?” he said pointedly. Will’s offhanded manner deserved some form of reproach.
“Of course.” Will stood aside and motioned for them to enter the cabin.
Halt took off his cloak and looked around the familiar space. He frowned slightly. There were unwashed dishes on the kitchen bench and two of the chairs were pulled out from the plain pine table, sitting at random angles. The fireplace was full of dead ashes and needed a good cleanout. Will’s cloak was tossed carelessly over the back of one of the armchairs that flanked the fireplace. Looking through the open door into Will’s bedroom, formerly his own, Halt could see that the bed was unmade.
Will noticed the direction of his gaze and moved to close the bedroom door.
“Haven’t got round to cleaning up today,” he mumbled.
Halt raised an eyebrow. “Or yesterday, apparently.” At least, he thought, his former apprentice had the grace to look a little embarrassed.
“Sit down,” Will said, turning towards the small kitchen alcove. “I’ll make some coffee.”
Halt and Gilan exchanged a glance as they sat in the armchairs by the fire. Gilan shook his head sadly. Obviously, Halt thought, their minds were running along similar lines.
Will adjusted the draught on the pot belly stove in the kitchen then opened the firebox door and tossed in a few small sticks to get the flames going properly. He shook the kettle. There was a vague splashing sound.
“I’ll get some water,” he said and headed for the door. The pump was in the yard outside. Again his friends exchanged a look. Normal routine would be to fetch fresh water first thing in the morning.
“He just doesn’t seem to care about anything,” Gilan said once Will was outside.
Halt nodded, his brows coming together in a frown. “Then it’s up to us to shake him out of it.”
The door opened and Will returned with the full kettle. He set it on the hotplate, then busied himself getting cups, coffee and the coffee pot ready.
“I know why you’re here,” he said.
Halt shrugged. “Maybe you don’t,” he replied.
“You’re going to tell me to snap out of it and pull myself together,” Will said. “Well, I’m sorry the place is a mess. I’m sorry I’m a mess.” Now that he mentioned the fact, Halt noticed that his clothes were crumpled and stained and his hair and beard were long and uncut. “But I don’t care about all that. All I care about is seeing Jory Ruhl on the end of a noose.”
“I can understand that,” Gilan said. “But the Corps needs you.”
“The Corps may just have to do without me until I’m ready,” Will said petulantly. “I have more important matters to attend to.”
Ten
There was a moment of silence in the cabin, then Halt rose slowly to his feet, his eyes blazing with anger. He pointed a finger at his former apprentice. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. But it was no less intense for all that.
“How dare you say that!” he spat. “How dare you turn your back on the Corps the moment you have some personal grief in your life? I didn’t spend years training you and caring about you, and watching you grow into a man I was proud of, to see you crumble like this! You took an oath when you joined the Corps. I know it meant something to you then. Does it mean nothing to you now?”
Will made an awkward gesture. “No. I… I just…”
“Will, I’m sorry Alyss is gone. I really am. I loved her, you know. We all did.”
“Not as much as I did,” Will said bitterly.
Halt nodded. “No. The hurt is deeper for you. And it will be harder to bear. But you can bear it. You must bear it. You have to move on.”
Will faced him angrily. “D’you expect me to just forget about her?”
“No! I expect you to remember her always. And to cherish and honour that memory. But honouring her memory doesn’t mean eating yourself up with this obsession for revenge until there’s no room for anything else in your life. It’s destroying you, Will.”
“Just let me find Ruhl,” Will said, a pleading note in his voice. “Let me find him and bring him to trial and then I’ll be glad to get back to being a Ranger again.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Gilan said angrily. “You’re a Ranger and you have your duties to attend to as a Ranger. We all do. You can’t put them aside to suit yourself, then take them up again when you feel like it.
“You are one of the rare people who can make a difference to this world. You’re a leader. You’re a hero to thousands of ordinary people. They look up to you and respect you. You give them hope and something to believe in. How dare you reject that responsibility? How dare you throw their respect for you back in their faces?”