They walked back to the room slowly, keeping their hands on their weapons. The room hadn’t been disturbed, as far as Emily could tell, but they had to check everything anyway. It was quite possible that someone had managed to get in without disturbing the charm. Jade hadn’t risked using a powerful spell, knowing that might cause comment too. Who knew what might alert the king’s watchers.
Cat took a lantern from the outside wall, shone it into the room as he opened the door, then used the flame to light the lanterns inside the room. Emily checked the beds automatically, before walking over to the window to peer into the darkness. The night sky was glowing with stars, twinkling high overhead, but the land beyond was lost in shadow. There were no lights, as far as she could see. The inky darkness had consumed everything. A chill ran down her spine, even though she was used to the lack of electric light by now. Most people in the Nameless World never risked going outside after dark.
“Jade’s still downstairs, pretending to drink and swapping lies with the others,” Cat told her, softly. She was all too aware of him coming up behind her. “Did you hear anything useful?”
“Just rumors,” Emily said. The women might not have had much in the way of power, but that didn’t make them stupid. Women and servants had eyes and ears, something that many of the great and good forgot. “I don’t know how much credence to place in them.”
“Every rumor has a kernel of truth.” Cat stood beside her, just close enough for her to feel him without being too close. “But sorting out the truth from the lies is a task for a lifetime.”
Emily nodded, stiffly. Rumors changed, growing and warping in the telling until they were no longer recognizable. The stories people told about her…no wonder no one recognized her, when everyone knew that Lady Emily was three meters tall, breathed fire and squashed necromancers as easily as a man might step on a slug. She supposed it wasn’t all bad–she could walk outside and not be recognized by a passing stranger–but it was still annoying.
“They’ve realized that Alassa is in jail,” she said, softly. “And they’re spreading lies about her.”
“We heard some of those too,” Cat said. “I had to keep Jade from smashing a particularly obnoxious idiot in the nose.”
He snorted. “Did you hear the one about Simon Harkness being fathered by the king?”
“No.” Emily shook her head. “But it doesn’t seem very likely.”
She tried to remember if she’d ever met Simon Harkness. She’d met his adopted mother, shortly before the first coup, but she didn’t think she’d met the son. Simon Harkness would probably have been mooted as a potential husband for her, if not Alassa. Who knew? Perhaps his mother had been one of the hopefuls who’d written to Void to ask for Emily’s hand in marriage…
…But if someone was claiming he’d been fathered by King Randor, were they trying to give him a claim to the throne? Or perhaps to keep him from having a claim to the throne?
“He’s about the same age as us, I think,” she said. “I think…”
She broke off. King Randor already had a child Emily’s age, Alassa. The king could certainly have sired Simon Harkness…but he’d been so desperate for a male heir that he would have taken the child as soon as the paternity became clear, even if the boy was a bastard. No, it made no sense. But to someone who didn’t realize how unlikely it was that the king would have left the child alone, it might almost be believable. Lady Barb had taught her that people had a tendency to believe what they wanted to believe.
“No,” she said. “He can’t be the king’s bastard son.”
“He certainly won’t submit to a paternity test,” Cat agreed. “But it might give him a claim to the throne if Randor and Alassa are dead.”
And probably Alexis too, Emily thought. Alicia’s child–a baby–was unlikely to survive if his paternity became clear. He’ll be dead before he has his second birthday.
She took a long breath, tasting the cool night air, then turned to look at Cat. His profile was cast in shadow, illuminated only by the lantern he’d hung from the ceiling, yet…his face looked to have been carved from stone. She felt…she felt a complicated mixture of emotions, including some she was unwilling to name. Cat had asked her out on a date–and he’d kissed her–and she found him attractive, but…part of her wondered if it would be a good idea to date him. Or even do anything with him. He wasn’t Caleb, who’d been gentle and caring and as inexperienced as she was. Cat was…
Different, she thought. It was hard to imagine Cat being willing to back down, if he thought he’d been placed in an untenable position. Or being unwilling to fight. She had no doubt of his bravery or his competence. But he’s also more demanding than Caleb ever was.
Cat turned. She found herself looking into his eyes. “Emily?”
Emily stared back at him for a long moment. It would be easy to lean forward and kiss him. It had been a long time since she’d initiated a kiss, let alone gone further. Her body was intent, all of a sudden, on reminding her just how long it had been since she’d slept with anyone. It was strange, so strange, to realize that she’d come to enjoy sex…
“I was just woolgathering,” she said, softly. “Did you hear anything else that might be useful?”
“Very little,” Cat said. If he knew where her thoughts had been, he gave no sign. “We ran into a recruiting officer and had to swear blind that work awaited us in Alexis, for better or worse. Everyone seems to be hiring mercenaries these days.”
Emily tensed. “Is he going to cause trouble?”
“Not unless his master really wants to piss off the mercenary guilds.” Cat pushed away from the window and strode back to the bed. “They’d be furious if someone started bullying sellswords just because they refused to fight for them. It wouldn’t be long before no one would fight for them.”
“I suppose.” Emily turned to follow him with her eyes. “Still, he could make trouble.”
“Perhaps.” Cat looked up and winked at her. “But how much damage are two sellswords going to cause? We’re not an entire mercenary company, you know.”
Emily had to smile. There were mercenary companies that were practically small armies in their own right. They deployed hundreds–even thousands–of men, to the point where she’d heard they were regarded as potential kingmakers and thus dangerous. Most mercenary bands were smaller, but nonetheless effective. Cat was right. Making trouble for two men wasn’t worth the risk of pissing off every mercenary in the world.
Cat stripped off his leathers and then his shirt, heedless of her presence. Emily looked away hastily, although not before she caught a glimpse of powerful muscles and a protective tattoo just above his heart. It looked like the rune she’d had carved onto her chest, though there were quite a few additions. Cat wouldn’t just be protected against subtle magic. He’d be protected against quite a few other charms too.
“You can look back now,” Cat said. “I’m decent.”
Emily reddened. She hadn’t meant to peek. She’d done better when they’d shared a tent during the war, although they’d had a number of others sharing the tent too…and, really, they’d been too tired to do anything more than collapse into their blankets every night. She forced herself to look back at him, noting the nightshirt he’d pulled over his head. It could have passed for a shirt if he ran out of other clothes to wear.
“Jade can take the first watch, on the grounds he’s not here to fight over the job,” Cat said, as he climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over his legs. “You sleep through the night.”
“I’ll take the third watch,” Emily said. The men could drive the wagon while she slept in the back. It wasn’t very fair, but someone would probably notice a woman driving a wagon and ask questions they didn’t want to have to answer. Besides, horses hated her. “You wake me up when you’ve finished your watch.”