Not by the soldiers—they knew she was restricted to the camp and so kept an eye on her, but that wasn’t it. She often caught Alex watching her, at least when he was around. He was always busy, working directly with the Norsari in their combat training and leading almost every overnight mission. She often didn’t know when Alex left, but she always knew when he returned because the first thing he did was look for her. He rarely spoke to her, just seemed to want to assure himself that she hadn’t snuck away in his absence. But it wasn’t his eyes she felt, either. She couldn’t explain it.
Sage pressed the wax seal across the binding string and set the packet aside. The courier would leave at dawn, so she’d wait until late evening to add it to the dispatch. Though the actual reports would be added separately, she still didn’t like giving Alex long to read the safe letters. She’d written a great deal about him this time. Her words were as much to him as to Clare.
Spirit above, she missed her friend.
“Mistress Sage,” came a voice from outside her tent. It was Prince Nicholas, sounding annoyed at being an errand boy.
She went to the opening and stuck her head out. “What is it, Highness?”
“Captain Quinn requests your presence at the command tent.” The prince turned and sauntered off before Sage could ask why. Someone really needed to tell him he had to learn how to follow orders before he could start giving them.
Sage took a moment to straighten her long tunic. The green one was her favorite, though the dark brown one hid dirt and stains better. On her belt she always carried her two daggers now; she felt off balance with only one. She stepped outside and made her way to the center of the camp. It was nearing time for the evening meal, and the delicious scent of venison stew met her at every turn.
Outside the command tent stood a group of soldiers and horses wearing royal livery. Not just messengers, either, from the look of it. Someone important. She quickened her pace and strode inside without asking permission—her presence had been requested, after all.
It took a moment for her eyes to readjust to the shade of the tent, but she recognized Ambassador Gramwell right away. He smiled broadly. “Here’s who we’ve been waiting for!”
Sage was confused until he stepped aside to reveal who was with him.
Clare.
33
IT TOOK SEVERAL seconds for Sage to comprehend her friend was truly here, and wearing clothes in a style similar to her own. She’d never seen Clare in anything other than a long dress fit for royalty—even her nightgowns were embellished and trimmed with lace. For a moment Sage felt sick, thinking her friend had cut off her own hair, but it hung in a thick braid down her back, interwoven with ribbons that matched her knee-length red tunic and thick hose.
Clare jumped forward, looking just as happy as Sage felt to see her. They embraced and began talking over each other with how-have-you-beens and when-did-you-get-heres until someone cleared his throat.
“If you ladies would excuse us,” Alex said. “We have military matters to discuss.”
“Of course, Captain.” Clare grabbed Sage’s arm and dragged her out of the tent before she could object. “We have some catching up to do.”
Once they were outside, Clare asked Sage to take her to the river, and they walked down the slope together. Sage headed for an area near the edge, by the trees, but Clare steered her to a spot in the middle of the bank.
“There,” her friend said. “No one can sneak up on us while we talk.” She sat on a wide, flat rock and began unlacing her riding boots. “My feet are dying for a soak.”
Picking a place where they couldn’t be overheard and now exposing her bare legs to over two hundred men? Clare was getting more astonishing by the second. “I never thought to see you in such a short skirt,” said Sage, pointing to the gold embroidered hem lying across Clare’s thigh. “Though yours is much fancier than mine.”
“Riding in a long skirt every day for three weeks is tiresome,” said Clare. “And we likely have two more weeks to go until Vinova.”
Sage inhaled sharply. “You’re going all the way to the outpost?”
“Papa is.” Clare dipped her toes in the frigid mountain water and sighed a little. “I convinced him to take me along.”
“How did you manage that?”
Her friend smiled impishly. “By making myself valuable. Mama sent a letter asking me to make sure Papa remembered the details he usually left to her. So I took care of those and many others until I was indispensable.”
Sage shook her head in awe as she removed her own boots and sat. “And you rode all this way?”
“Well, not quite,” Clare admitted. “At first I could ride only for a half day at a time, but I was able to sit in a carriage when I got too sore.” She leaned forward to whisper. “As often as not, I even rode astride, rather than sidesaddle.”
Sage toned down her smile for her friend’s sake. “Good for you.” She put her own feet in the water. “So Vinova, then.”
“Yes, of course.” Clare sat up straighter. “You were right about everything we suspected before you left. The Norsari are here not only to train, but as a deterrent against the Casmuni coming across the border again and to fight them if necessary. Papa is here to open talks, assuming the Casmuni want to talk, once their invasion is discouraged or defeated.”
“He told you all this?” Sage asked in surprise.
Clare shrugged. “Just that we intend to reach out to Casmun, but I’ve been reading his correspondence.” She lifted a dainty white foot out of the water and inspected a blistering spot on her little toe. “I think you’ve had a bad influence on me.” Clare lowered her foot again. “I haven’t seen any of the latest report yet. We passed three couriers on the way—the last one yesterday—and they gave us what was meant for Papa and me. I didn’t keep most of what you sent, just forwarded it to Her Majesty. I figured you could tell me everything yourself.”
“There’s very little to report,” said Sage with a sigh. “The Norsari constantly go out and come back, but no one has ever seen anything suspicious, even in the times they crossed the river. I think Alex is feeling a lot of pressure to find something. From the looks of it, he doesn’t sleep much.”
“You haven’t seen anything?”
“I haven’t left the camp since we arrived.”
Clare’s mouth dropped open. “I thought you only said that in your letters to throw the captain off. Do you mean to tell me you’ve learned nothing on your own? Why did you bother coming?”
“Keep your voice down,” Sage said. “It’s not that simple. I’d probably sneak out of camp if I had any idea where to go. Besides”—she glanced around—“I don’t think it was the Casmuni.”
“You said that in your third report, but I’m not sure I understood why.”
“You’re still working on all the trade agreements, right?” Clare nodded. “Remember the one that talks about caravans crossing the desert?”
Clare pursed her lips as she searched her memory. “They could only travel in the spring. Otherwise caravans were to go through Vinova.”
“Exactly,” Sage said. “All the springs dry up. The disturbance that has everyone worked up was in late summer.”
“Yes, but there’s a difference between a trade caravan and an army, Sage.”
Sage sat back a little, her confidence fading. “True, but no one has ever seen Casmuni after the summer solstice.”
“But they have seen them. They’ve been coming to the Kaz River for years now.”
Sage frowned. “Just the past two.”
“And if it’s May now, they’re due, aren’t they?”
“Yes.” Sage nodded. “They are.”
34
ONCE CLARE AND Sage were gone, Alex invited Ambassador Gramwell to sit while he moved to a chair on the opposite side of the table. “I was expecting you, sir, but Lady Clare was a surprise,” he said.
“Ambassadors are always married men for good reason.” Lord Gramwell poured himself a cup of water from a pitcher. “Women open doors that would otherwise be shut in our faces. I was already feeling the loss of Lady Gramwell, who is too ill to travel all the way to Vinova, and Clare took care of matters I wouldn’t have even thought of. In the end it made sense to bring her.” The ambassador raised his cup before taking a drink. “Never underestimate the value of having a smart woman by your side, Captain.”