“What waits in his rooms?” Cass asked.
He’d heard the explanation before, but Miri repeated it dutifully. “A low stone tub surrounded by the king’s favorite incense and oils.” It would be as simple as poisoning Casper. She would just place the poison in the oil and leave then let time and habit run their course. But it would be more dangerous as well, because it was not a remote stable. It was the king’s own rooms, and she would need to get in while he slept.
“And how will you escape?”
Miri’s gaze snapped to Cass’s, and it was only then that she realized she’d been distracted by her thoughts for too long. He was constantly having to draw her back. She wondered if she’d spent too much time alone. “I’ll walk from his rooms as one of the ladies. The guards will pay me no mind, not at the hour before dawn when the ladies make their journey to the chapel.”
“If you are not able?”
Miri frowned. “It will work.” The plan for Edwin was one of her least favorites because there were no backup escape routes. The keep was secure and only had two ways out: down a tall flight of stairs or through a tower window to crash to the stone below. She would not be able to return through the passageways from which she had come, because climbing into a tower was one thing. Climbing out from a height was something else.
Cass watched the emotions play over Miri’s face, and she let out a long sigh. “It will work,” she said again. Miri had set to rights one piece of the map of her realm, and the second would come in a month’s time. Edwin made three, less than half the kingdoms when summer was already more than half gone. “It has to.”
Chapter 21
Miri and the others came through the borders of Ironwood all at once. There was no other way for it to be done. Thick forests surrounded the town, and only a few routes were used heavily enough to keep the roads and trails from becoming swallowed by growth. Massive stone structures rose in a sprawling assemblage, their tiled roofs baking in the late-day sun. The group had made it well before nightfall through the muggy heat beneath the trees, and Miri had never been so eager for a bath.
“There we are,” Hugh said, gesturing toward the west side of the town. Cass’s gaze moved to him, and Hugh chuckled. “Oh no. Don’t you go telling me you’ve other plans. You’ll come to our home and sup with us, at least for tonight. Let us thank you for the company in the only way we can.”
Cass opened his mouth to reply, but Ginger made a gesture that cut him off. “No,” she snapped. “We’ll not hear otherwise. I’m terrible at farewells, and I’ll need a moment before I can manage to send off the likes of you.”
Hugh gave her a look.
“For the maiden’s sake.” Her eyes rolled toward the heavens. “It’s not an insult. Don’t make me explain it again.” Ginger shook her head and kicked up her horse, smacking Wolf on the rear as she rode past. “Come on, Bean. Let’s get you into clean clothes and bake something sweet now that we’re finally off the trail.”
Cass drew a resigned breath and pressed his heels into Milo’s flanks to ride beside Miri. They traversed the cobbled streets through a town that was better fed than some of the others, for Ironwood was self-sustained with access to ample water and wildlife, the ease of shipping goods down the Maidensgrace, and a king who relished splendor and rewarding his people when they showed their loyalty. Edwin had treasuries aplenty before he’d joined the other lords in their plot. He hadn’t allied with the others for money or power. He was in it for the standing, to be the central figure, the most important in his kingdom. It had worked. Edwin was king.
They rode past cottages and small buildings, heading through the winding streets toward the manors and shops. A man was selling ribs, and a woman near him hawked bread. The soil was rich in Ironwood, and many houses had small gardens for vegetables and herbs. They didn’t have room for pasture, so meat was supplied by rabbit, fowl, and wild game. Miri had been educated in the current workings of the kingdoms by Nan and Thom, but she remembered those kingdoms from when she was a child. Even where they seemed to prosper, Miri could see signs of the toll the kings had taken on the people and the land.
“Here we are,” Ginger called over her shoulder, smiling broadly at an impressive two-story home between a cottage and the yard of a small manor.
Hugh whistled, and a figure moved behind the shutters in the neighboring cottage. A freckled girl with long braids sprang through the doorway a moment later, eagerly meeting the group in the street.
“Hugh!” she said.
He gave the girl a smile. “Aye, it’s us. How are the goings-on?”
She stared up at him solemnly. “I’ve watered the plants and tended the animals. The laundry is fresh, and I’ll have perishables brought over before the sun sets.”
“Good girl,” Hugh said. “What about Izzy?”
The girl scowled and held up a long-fingered hand. “The beast scratched me. I’ve never met a creature who enjoyed so much sin.”
Hugh snorted a laugh, pointedly not acknowledging the disgruntled sound that rumbled out of his wife. “Cannot argue with you there, my girl. Now, how about we settle for your work with an extra copper for the scratch, and you take these horses to the stable for grain and a decent brushing?”
“Deal.” She glanced only briefly at Ginger before she leaned in to whisper, “And next time, let Harry mind the cat.”
At her comment, Hugh laughed full out, stepping down from his horse as he patted the girl on top of her head. “Thank you, Sarah. For your work and the utter joy of your honest soul.”
Miri and Cass dismounted as well and slid their packs over their shoulders after the horses were tied in wait for their turn with Sarah. Ginger led them into the house, stopping in the center of the front room to swoop up a large tabby cat missing half an ear.
“There’s my girl,” Ginger murmured, but the cat only stared at Miri over the woman’s shoulder with a look that promised blood.
Cass gave Miri a grin then took their packs as he followed Hugh through the house. “You’ll sleep here,” Hugh said, leading Cass to what was apparently a spare room off the kitchens.
Ginger set the cat back onto the floor, and the creature let out a low warbling growl. “Now,” Ginger said, “I’ll start the bath water while you get out of those filthy clothes. I’ll send them with Sarah when she’s done with the horses, and she’ll have them fresh bright and early for you.” Ginger’s expression fell. “I’ll be sorry to see you go, Bean. But I’m happy to have been graced by your presence while I could. Maiden’s blessings on you both.”
Miri hadn’t come to like goodbyes any better but let herself relax into the bittersweet feeling of cooking alongside Ginger and eating to the sound of the couple’s banter and Hugh’s hearty laugh as a game of backgammon was overtaken by stories from his youth.
When Hugh and Ginger retired to their upstairs rooms and Miri and Cass finally made their way to the small bedroom, Cass’s fingers brushed against Miri’s in the narrow hallway. Her eyes caught his as she turned through the doorway, and an inescapable urge rose through her. Cass seemed to recognize it, and something in his gaze told Miri he was feeling it too.