“
Two hours I’ve been searching for you boys. Having fun?” The captain was irked, but that didn’t forestall Galen.
“Yes, sir,” he declared, with an impudent grin.
Cannan almost rolled his eyes, then he dropped his volume. “The manor house, half an hour. Understood?”
Steldor and Galen nodded, then Cannan’s eyes fell on me.
“Shaselle, you should go back to the faire,” he decreed, a warning underlying his tone.
I knew I should obey, and I certainly knew Cannan wasn’t likely to give me permission to remain with Steldor and Galen. Still, something was up, and I wanted to be a part of it. I stayed put, peering sheepishly up at him.
“Shaselle,” he prompted.
“I’d like to come,” I murmured, fearful of his reaction. “I’ll stay out of the way and won’t cause any trouble.”
The captain crossed his arms. “No, there is too much at risk.”
“Uncle, please! I may be able to help. Perhaps messages need to be delivered. You might all be under surveillance, but no one would be watching me.”
“She already knows where we’re meeting,” Steldor pointed out, an argument that had not yet come to me.
“So there’s not much point in trying to keep her away,” Galen finished, looking at me with understanding in his eyes. He had heard my confession about Saadi and probably wanted to show that he still trusted me.
Cannan glared at his son by blood and his son by familiarity and responsibility. To my astonishment, he relented.
“She can come, but one of you takes her when we split up. I don’t want her getting lost.”
I bounced on the balls of my feet, exhilarated by the captain’s decision, then froze when his stern eyes fell on me. He did not see this as cause for celebration.
“Half an hour,” he grumbled in reminder, walking away.
I went with Steldor, and we surreptitiously departed the festival grounds, heading up the hillside and stopping a few times to talk with folks. I worried we would be late, but my cousin was not bothered.
“Trust me, stealth is much more important here than punctuality,” he told me with a smirk.
When the crowd began to thin, my heartbeat calmed, for we were making better progress. We passed through the Market District only to be slowed once more when we reached the thoroughfare.
“We are late by now,” I harassed.
“My father will either assume we’re dead or that I’m up to my usual tricks. If I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be.”
His eyes glinted wickedly, suggesting he enjoyed needling his father, perhaps even to the same extent he enjoyed his popularity.
I shrugged, keeping my silence the rest of the trek to Cannan’s manor house, where Steldor had grown up. He rapped four times on the door and we were ushered inside by Galen, who locked the door before heading through the kitchen and down a flight of stairs into a cellar. Only a single torch was lit in the small, clammy space, making it difficult to distinguish the faces of the men who had gathered.
“Delayed?” Cannan asked with a touch of sarcasm.
“Come now, Father. I had baggage,” Steldor shot back, and I shoved him, not appreciating his gibe.
”
”