The man shook his head “It would take a while still, sir, t’ get that effect. But maybe that’d be enough—flames would spread like a flowing river, jest not like this.” He waved the bottle in the air.
The discussion turned to that possibility, but Sage found herself stuck on the memory of a fire-breather she’d seen as a child. The man would spit a fine cloud of alcohol into the air and touch it off with a torch. One time he created a ring of mist, stepped back, and lit it as it hung in the air in front of him. She smiled.
“I have an idea,” she said.
“You always do.” Quinn was looking at her, and the room fell silent. “Tell us.”
“Well,” she said, conscious that everyone was watching her. The captain nodded encouragingly. “I was thinking of bellows.”
“Bellows?” he echoed, forehead creasing. “Like to build up a fire?”
Sage twisted her hands. “Yes, well, a few summers ago, it was really hot, and my cousins and I took bellows and put water in them and sprayed one another. If—if there’s only a little water inside, it comes out not as a stream, but a mist.…”
Quinn’s eyes widened. “A flammable mist.” She nodded, and grins spread on every face.
“That’s brilliant,” said the taller enlisted man. He gaped at her. “Who are you?”
“Private Stiller, this is Sage Fowler,” said Quinn—Alex—with a smile that sent warmth through her veins. “Our secret weapon.”
65
D’AMIRAN SHADED HIS eyes against the sun and took a few minutes to observe the girl before approaching. She looked so innocent, sitting on the bench under a budding tree in the garden, a heavy book open on her lap. Not overly pretty, though, and rather skinny. What was it Quinn saw in this commoner? He shrugged to himself. Perhaps she simply gave him what young men wanted; as a false bride, she didn’t have to preserve her virtue.
Geddes was of the opinion that Quinn’s attachment was not superficial, though. All the better that the boy-captain was gone for this conversation. D’Amiran had granted Quinn’s request to take a team to the river to collect fresh water that morning—accompanied by his own guards, of course. The fool expressed concern about the low level of the cistern and whined about how his hunting dogs felt cooped up, but it served the duke to have him out of the way for a few hours.
When his shadow fell over her, she looked up and started to her feet, but he motioned for her to stay seated. “May I join you, my lady?” he asked.
“You honor me, Your Grace,” she said, her pale eyes wide in awe.
“I was merely curious what you were reading,” D’Amiran said, easing himself down onto the warm stone seat and leaning in. “It’s not often I see a lady so absorbed in such a large volume.”
“It’s from your magnificent library, Your Grace,” she said shyly. The girl shifted her knees toward him so he couldn’t scoot closer. She probably had that dagger Geddes had seen Quinn give her tucked up her skirt. “I hope you’re not upset I removed it. It’s so much nicer out here for reading.”
“Not for long, though.” D’Amiran pointed to the gathering clouds over the eastern peaks. “We’ll have our rains at last, and the pass will clear. In a few days you can continue your travels.”
She gave a dreamy sigh. “I shall miss this place, I think. Coming from the open fields of Crescera, I always imagined mountains would be dark and forbidding, but they’re not. Tegann nestles within their arms like a lover, and I’ve never felt so safe.”
The little fowler was good. D’Amiran felt charmed in spite of himself. He turned his attention to a page approaching from the keep.
“Your Grace,” the boy said with a bow. His face was pale and he didn’t stand up quite straight, like his stomach hurt. “You wanted to be informed when Captain Quinn was returning from the river.”
Next to D’Amiran, the girl’s head went up. The duke smiled to himself as he addressed the boy. “Very good. Tell Captain Geddes to meet me on the south wall.”
When the page was gone, D’Amiran turned back to the girl. “I’ve enjoyed our chat, however brief it was, but you must excuse me, my lady. I have matters to attend to.”
She put out her hand to touch his arm. “May I ask why our escort went to the river?”
“It seems your captain doesn’t trust I can provide enough water for everyone here,” he said. “Or perhaps he just doesn’t like the taste.”
“From your cistern? Oh, I saw that wonderful system, Your Grace. The captain is no doubt overreacting. How silly.”
Her expression was a mixture of fear and resentment, which puzzled him, but perhaps she was afraid someone would discover her connection to Quinn. D’Amiran bowed and kissed her hand before departing for the outer ward and the south wall. Captain Geddes waited in a spot where they could watch the approach to the rear gate.
Quinn hadn’t objected to not being allowed to carry weapons, but it looked like a few of the hunting dogs they’d taken had caught some rabbits. None of the dogs looked eager to return to the confines of the fortress, as they danced around the escort soldiers, burning off energy. For a few minutes the duke and his captain watched the wagons make their way up the slope.
“Did Your Grace speak with the girl?” Geddes asked.
D’Amiran nodded. “Not to my taste, but I see some of the appeal. She’s positively enchanting when she wants to be.” The duke smiled. “I imagine the little slut plans to seduce him so he’ll do the honorable thing and marry her, but I don’t think she has yet. It would ruin his career and create a huge scandal, which would’ve been amusing to watch. My question is, would it be more soul crushing to take her from him before or after he gets a taste? Each has its own poetry, don’t you think?”
Geddes tugged his ravaged ear. “I don’t think you should wait any longer, Your Grace.”
“Yes, I agree.” D’Amiran sighed. “With this sickness, though, we’ll have a hard time marching anytime soon.” He brooded for a moment. “I thought it was a sign the Spirit blessed my cause when the rains were late. I felt sure of it when we learned the prince was coming right to us, but now I’m plagued with problems. Robert escaped, this wretched illness delays my allies, and my idiot brother keeps coming up with excuses not to march yet.”
“All will be in place tomorrow, Your Grace,” the captain soothed. “A few delays were inevitable.”
“Eliminating the escort could be messy. Their vigilance is irksome, and we can’t challenge them head-on without risking some of the lives I need.” The duke inclined his head toward the party now entering the gate below. “We probably should’ve taken them just now, while so many were at the river, but that moment has passed. Can we take them during one of the musters?”