“Two of those four in front of me are so old or ill, they will refuse the crown. That makes the King’s only son the next King—if he lives.”
“Sir James explained that to you?”
“Well, yes. Also my father.”
“What are you doing to your hair?”
“The rewards are for the capture or death of a girl who is described as eleven. I’m turning myself into a boy of ten.” She held up the knife and a fist full of hair.
His face paled. “Where in the name of all six water gods did you get that?”
“The knife? I found it.”
He held out a shaking hand and spoke softly. “Give it to me. Carefully.”
She started to turn the blade to herself to hold, as is normal, but he drew back and shouted, “No. Just put it on the table.”
Confused, she hesitated. “What’s wrong?”
Holding up his hands in front of him to show his open palms and try relaxing her, he kept his voice calm and soft. “I believe that black knife is enchanted or whatever you call it when a mage puts a spell on something. I’ve heard of them and their black-iron curses. What those blades cut remains cut. Forever. The cuts never heal. Please place it carefully on the table without touching the blade and back away.”
The knife slipped from her fingers and made a tinkling sound as it struck the stone floor and bounced. She leaped to one side. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course not. How could you? Did you cut yourself anywhere? Even a little?”
She examined her hands. “Just my hair.”
William picked the knife up from the floor and examined it. “Was there a scabbard?”
She lifted her skirt and removed it.
He slid it in place and said, “Where did you find this?”
She went to the drawer and showed him how it opened.
“I see. Very clever of him, and more so of you to find it. Tell me, is there a glow or something similar to the poisoned grapes that you noticed to tell you where the drawer was?”
“No. The table top just seemed too thick.”
He squinted in concentration and asked, “Then you just happened to notice the head of the nail protruded?”
“Yes, so I touched it.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as loud as if a hundred people shouted. Finally, he said, “Young lady, if I had anything of value to hide, I would keep you far away. You have a remarkable ability to find keys hidden in slots in bedposts and secret drawers. What else was in the drawer?”
Hannah thought of the place below the flagstone. She hadn’t mentioned it. The glass bead, book, and the tooth must have special value well beyond what was in the drawer. She said, “There were keys, coins, and a rolled piece of parchment. It’s all on the table, but the coins. I took them.”
William looked and said, “The coins were probably for filling his purse while strolling the market. You will need money, and I wondered how to get some for you, but that’s taken care of. If we had time to search for more locks in the room, we would probably find homes for the keys. But, what is this?” He untied the ribbon and rolled the small piece of parchment out. Blood red ink spelled out three lines of words, while the crude image of a flying bird decorated the bottom.”
“Read it,” Hannah prompted.
“The words are unfamiliar. Reading it aloud may cause any sort of problem from a rainstorm or fire to a dragon appearing in our midst. I suggest you leave it here where you won’t lose it or get it wet, but it belongs to you so do as you like. Now, again, what were you doing with the knife when I came in?”
“Cutting my hair. Everyone on the roads is looking for a girl, probably heading for the Palace. I can pretend to be a boy and go the other way.”
“Just put your hair under a hat, you don’t have to cut it.”
“If they ask me to remove my hat they know I’m the girl they are after because I tried to hide it.”
William closed his eyes and said, “Sir James, forgive me.” He went to a workbench and found a pair of scissors.
Her eyes fell to the drawer where the coins were. “There is something else you must do. Sir James promised to pay a family near the Earl’s Castle for two horses he took from them, and for the buildings on their farm that were burned by those chasing us.”
William sighed and asked, “Including the contents, I suppose? It sounds like him. I can dispatch someone to locate and pay them in a few days.”
“You can use the coins from the drawer,” Hannah offered.
William said, “Money will not be a problem for that trite expense. Do you remember the name of the family?”
“No, but the father fought with Sir James at the battle of Bloom Hill, and his wife was there, too. They have three boys.”
“A burned farm located near the castle with a warrior who supported the Knight will not be hard to find. You will need to carry money with you. Speaking of which, the sun is setting, what are your ideas of escaping, other than the haircut I’m going to give to you?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hannah discussed her general plans for leaving while William cut her hair into a stern bowl-cut, similar to how most younger boys wore their hair. The results were sure to be far better than if she had continued with the knife-that-made-cuts-that-never-heal, not to mention the choppiness of the job from inexperience and not seeing the sides and back of her head as she cut. She asked, “Did you bring any food this time?”
He paused, inspecting his work and wiping away strands of long blonde hair that had fallen onto her face. “Food?”
“I have not eaten.”
“At all? Today?”
She nodded and risked him chopping a place in her hair as she turned to face him, but he’d already pulled the scissors away while moving to her front, a pained expression on his face. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I guess.”
She shook her head. “Too much has happened today. It’s not your fault at all. I’ve been hungry before.”
“No, not that. I thought I made it plain. There’s food here in the kitchen right over there. I assumed you would help yourself.”
Hannah’s head spun as she focused on the corner of the room he’d called a kitchen earlier, but she hadn’t seen anything to eat, not even a stove or oven. Overall, a poor excuse for a kitchen, but if there was food . . ..
William saw her confusion and said, “In the cupboards.”
“Those little doors?”
“Six gods, girl. Have you never even seen a cupboard?”
“I’ve seen drawers and cabinets for storing things. Never for food.”
He held her head still with the fingers of his left hand, his other hand snipping the hair quickly and with the confidence of one who had performed the same job many times. “We’re almost done here. Can you hold on a little longer?”
He quickly finished and escorted her to the tiny storage bins in the kitchen cupboards. Most were dry-goods, grains such as oat, wheat, and barley. But there was also a variety of nuts, and even a loaf of stale bread, the outside so hard she tapped on the crust with her fingernail before deciding to eat it. Hard bread soaked in milk would be a treat for a fire-starter if she had milk. A bowl held carrots, turnips, and radishes that had shriveled since they were placed there. However, the carrots and turnips were semi-fresh. Hannah took three of the carrots and a handful of salted crackers she found in another bowl. There were other bowls, mostly empty.
“Eat,” William prompted, standing aside. “Tell me your plans.”
Instead of answering, Hannah bit the end off of a carrot and chewed while she thought how to answer. William was her only ‘friend’, yet she had only met him this day. Her instincts told her to trust him if for no reason other than Sir James had trusted him. But she had met Sir James only a handful of days earlier, and her judgment may be flawed on several counts. With people trying to kill her, she needed to be cautious