A smile invaded her face as she imagined what she would tell Gwen when she got home.
Remember what you said about me falling in love?
CHAPTER 16
Rose was in the castle?” Hadrian asked. He had returned to the driver’s seat, and even Dunwoodie’s coat wasn’t enough to keep out the chill.
“Didn’t expect that.” Royce’s voice came hollow out of the dark interior of the carriage beneath him.
“We in trouble?”
“Don’t think so. Sounds like we just lucked out. He said Exeter was still looking for her. The timing might be perfect.”
“They’ll never make it to the Lower Quarter.” Hadrian watched the girl and the guard walk briskly past the line of carriages heading for the city. He remembered her from the year before. Rose was the one who had brought him soup all the time. She spilled some on him once and they had a good laugh. She used to love his stories and once, just before they left, he danced with her in front of the fire. “We should give them a ride.”
“I’m here for Exeter and I need the carriage. You can go escort them if you want. I don’t need you for this.”
Hadrian dropped down off the driver’s seat and stood next to the coach’s window. The curtain was drawn, but Hadrian could see Royce’s fingers holding part of it open.
He watched the pair walk into the shadows and sighed. “I’ll stay.”
“No. You should go.”
“Royce, you’re hoping to ambush a high noble and you don’t think you might need help with that?”
“This is familiar ground.”
“How so?” Hadrian said.
“There’s a reason the Black Diamond returned our horses. A reason why people still fear men in dark hoods in Colnora. I have a lot of practice in this. I don’t need your help, but that castle guard could use another sword-or three.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in the whole good deed thing?”
“Maybe Arcadius was right. Maybe you’re rubbing off.”
Hadrian wished he could see Royce’s eyes. Not that they ever told him much, but he was certain the thief was hiding something. Normally, convincing Royce to think of someone other than himself was like trying to explain to water that it shouldn’t always flow downhill. He also didn’t like him bringing up that Arcadius might be right. The last time they had seen the old university professor was when he’d practically twisted their arms into teaming up. Twisting Royce’s arm was never a good idea, and to hear him applaud the old man only convinced Hadrian something wasn’t right.
Hadrian took off the driver’s coat and hat and pulled his swords from where he’d hidden them on the driver’s seat. “I might still be back in time.”
“No rush,” Royce said. “Either way this works out, I’ll be busy all night.”
All night.
The words lingered as Hadrian walked away and would return to his mind several times before it ended. He slipped his cloak back on as he walked in shadows, and once he was out of sight of the gate guards, he ran.
He sprinted past the gentry shops, then slowed when he spotted the two. Hadrian kept a good distance. Following them wasn’t hard; he already knew where they were going. The guard glanced around a few times, but not nearly as much as Hadrian thought he should. The year Hadrian had spent with Royce taught him the value of awareness, and the last few hours of sitting on the coach’s bench had showed him just how active the streets were.
The pair cut through the homes and then passed under the Tradesmen’s Arch into the Artisan Quarter. There the world was darker, the homes smaller. Without enough income to pay for streetlamps, illumination came from the rare candlelight leaking out of windows through thin curtains that veiled the private lives of craftsmen, their wives, and children. Overhead, the moon had risen, turning the narrow streets into patterns of black and ghostly white. The tight buildings bounced sound, allowing Hadrian to hear their steps, loud and crisp.
He wondered what had gone on in the castle that night, and what might still be going on. Normally he didn’t indulge in pointless speculation about the nobility any more than he wondered what it was like to be a hawk or a fish. Meeting Albert had changed that. The viscount was … surprisingly human. He used too many big words but breathed air like everyone else. Hadrian worried about him. If there was some treachery going on, he hoped Albert had the sense to stay out of it.
The loud shuffle and clack of fast-moving heels on cobblestone filtered out of a side street. The folks of the Artisan Quarter were hardworking. Few wandered outside after dark, and none in such large groups. Hadrian ducked into the recess of a cobbler shop’s doorway, hitting his head on the boot-shaped signage, just as a patrol came into view. They marched quickly toward Rose and her escort.
“Halt!”
The pair stopped, and the men closed in. Like all the other patrols, this one had only one member in the black and white sheriff uniform. The rest were dressed in simple tunics and wool trousers, but each sported a white feather in his hat.
“What are your names?” the one in the uniform demanded.
“I’m Sergeant Richard Hilfred, of the royal guard.”
“You’re a castle guard?” one of the deputies asked.
The quarter sheriff shook his head and frowned. “The burgundy and gold falcon tunic and the chain mail didn’t give it away, huh?”
The other man shrugged, and another suppressed a laugh.
“And who is this?” the sheriff asked, nodding at Rose.
“That’s none of your concern. I am on the king’s business-leave us be.”
“Can’t do that. We’ve got orders to find a young girl-a whore.” He paused, looking at Rose carefully, shifting around her to get a full view. “For two nights a tiny army has crawled up every alley and looked in every rat hole. But no one’s seen anything close-until now.”
“And yet, I’m telling you I’m on the king’s business.” The escort’s voice didn’t have a hint of fear. If anything, he sounded irritated. “You see the uniform, you know what it means. Now leave us be. I don’t have time for your provincial games tonight.”
“Maybe you’re on king’s orders, maybe not. If you are, then there’ll be no trouble with you coming with us to the castle so we can ask Lord Exeter. If it checks out, we’ll apologize real proper-like and provide an escort to wherever it is you’re going so no other patrols interfere. How’s that sound?”
“I told you I don’t have time for games, boy.”
The sheriff didn’t like that. “I think you’re gonna have to make time, Sergeant Hilfred, because I’m not a boy. I’m a Medford quarter sheriff, this is my quarter, and the two of you are under arrest.”
The moment the sheriff reached out for Rose, Richard wasted no time. He jerked Rose back hard, causing her to cry out and fall to the street behind him. At the same time, he drew his sword. Before anyone else moved, he shoved the blade in and out of the stomach of the largest deputy, who at the time wasn’t even looking his way. Rose started screaming as the big guy crumpled in a little spin to the stone as if he were a dying top.
Richard swung at the uniformed sheriff, but by then all swords were out and the stroke met steel. The clang rang through the empty square as the men faced off. His focus on the sheriff gave the deputy an opening, and he slashed Richard across the back. The blow rocked him, but nothing more.
“He’s wearing chain, you idiot!” the sheriff shouted. “Grab the girl. Take her to Exeter!” The sheriff advanced, swinging and driving Richard to the side with a series of chops aimed at his head.