Cass raised his eyebrows. “No one’s home. By the time word reached them in Tennegol, it could all be over and the passes sealed.”
Quinn nodded. Anything his father sent through the south pass to Tennegol would probably be stopped by Count D’Amiran at Jovan, but if the Cresceran brides didn’t show up at the Concordium, the alarm would be raised early. While the nation was busy trading brides and dowries, the D’Amirans would make their move, flanking the Western Army from behind. Quinn tried not to think how all their friends—his father—could be wiped out. He could tell everyone else realized it, though. For the first time, Quinn was glad Charlie was with them. His brother was safer, if only barely.
“So what do we do?” asked Gramwell.
“We pretend nothing’s wrong while gathering as much information as possible. Our scouts will also look for subtle ways to disrupt things. Maybe once the ladies are safely through the pass, we can send a team back to burn some of their supplies or something. Ash stays where he is for now, doing what he does best.”
Rob cleared his throat. “What about Starling?”
Quinn pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. Its length was getting annoying. “What about her?”
“Have you realized who she spends her time with, other than Mouse?”
Quinn gritted his teeth. “Rob, if you know something, you’d better tell us right now.” His cousin had a flair for the dramatic, but lives were at stake.
“Lady Clare.” Rob looked to every face, but no one seemed to understand why that mattered. “Clare Holloway’s sister is married to Count Rewel D’Amiran, the duke’s brother. I stood in for my father at the wedding two years ago.”
Quinn looked to Casseck, who raised his eyebrows. The evidence against Starling was circumstantial, but it increased every day. Now they had the possibility of two spies.
A knock on the door announced a servant with a tray of food. Quinn realized how hungry he was; he’d skipped breakfast with the urgent matters of the morning and had only an apple. The map was swept aside and the meeting paused. He’d inhaled half of his first plate and was pouring more water into his cup when he realized someone was missing from the scene.
“Where’s Charlie?”
22
LIEUTENANT CASSECK CHECKED the kitchens after he walked through the stables but found no sign of Charlie other than the properly tended cart horses. The page reveled in attending the officers, so Casseck worried something had happened to him. He decided to head back to the barracks. If Charlie still hadn’t returned, Quinn would raise hell. They all would.
A high wall of hedges bordered the garden, and Casseck glanced through a gap as he cut around it and stopped short. There was Charlie, sitting on a bench in the sun, chattering to Lady Sagerra, who listened intently. Charlie’s legs swung back and forth as he animated his speech with several hand gestures, and she laughed when he came to some conclusion. Casseck ducked back behind the hedge, hoping he hadn’t been seen.
He watched her hand Charlie a bread roll while she took her turn talking. The boy was mesmerized as Sagerra told a story that ended with her pretending to smash her face on something. Charlie cringed.
She certainly knew how to talk to children.
Sagerra leaned forward and appeared to ask a question, and Charlie responded eagerly, like he wanted to please her, which made Casseck nervous. But Charlie didn’t know anything dangerous, and he was a smart kid. He wouldn’t give anything away. Not willingly.
Casseck spun around at the crunch of footsteps on the gravel behind him. One of the brides was heading for the garden, though how she walked in those shoes he couldn’t imagine. Her blond hair was elaborately pinned around her freshly painted porcelain face. And she was very well-endowed. Not that Casseck was much for ogling at cleavage, but it caught the eye, especially in the low-cut pink dress she wore. She met his eyes and smiled, and he bowed as she shifted her parasol to offer him her hand. He raised it to his lips. “Good afternoon, my lady.”
“And you, too, sir,” she said. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced yet.”
He stood straight. “I’m Lieutenant Casseck, Lady Jacqueline.”
Her sky-blue eyes widened. “So you know me already? I’m flattered.”
Quinn had made them memorize the names. This one was easy—she always put herself first. She presented an opportunity to get closer to Sagerra and Charlie, though, so he offered his arm. “Would you care to walk in the garden, my lady?”
“That would be lovely!” There was a hard gleam in her eyes as she took his arm. Within a few steps she was leaning heavily on him, like she was tired or in pain. Casseck held her up, bending away to avoid the parasol she held over herself with her other hand.
Jacqueline laughed as they turned the corner, though she didn’t sound amused. “Oh, there she is,” she said, nodding at Sagerra, whose eyes darted toward them, then refocused on Charlie. It was not a friendly look. “We didn’t see her at lunch, but it doesn’t surprise me to find her out here. You’d think with all those freckles, she’d avoid the sun, but I think she’d sleep outside if she could.”
Jacqueline directed their path away from Sagerra and Charlie, and Casseck reluctantly followed her lead. Though he knew the answer, he asked, “Are you friends with Lady Sagerra, then?”
“Certainly not. I don’t associate with commoners.” Casseck froze in his tracks, and Jacqueline glanced up. “You didn’t know?” She looked distressed. “Oh dear! I thought surely the matchmaker told you, seeing as you men are protecting us. I can’t believe she wouldn’t have explained.”
“Lady Jacqueline, are you saying Sagerra’s not a lady?”
Her lacquered fingernails flashed as she waved her hands before clutching his arm. “You mustn’t tell anyone I told you, sir. I just … thought you knew.”
“So why is she with you?” The woman obviously wanted to tell him.
“That is Mistress Rodelle’s business. They didn’t want anyone to know. I’m not even sure what her real name is.” Jacqueline turned pleading eyes up to his and breathed so hard Casseck worried about the strength of her bodice. “I shouldn’t have said anything! Please promise me you won’t tell anyone!”
“Of course not, my lady.”
23
CHARLIE STOOD AT military attention, looking pleased with himself. “Sir, I had lunch with Lady Sagerra. I’d like to report our conversation.”
Quinn was torn between yelling and laughing at the boy. Casseck struggled to keep a straight face as he leaned on the closed door behind Charlie. Quinn forced himself to focus sternly on his brother. “You didn’t ask permission, though. Lieutenant Casseck had to go searching for you.”
“You said we needed to know more about her. It was a target of opportunity,” Charlie said gravely.