Page 83 of The Warrior Priest
“Whoever you vote for. If it matters, I endorse Rufus.”
“Me?” Rufus said.
“You’re everything the order needs in a leader. Devout, dedicated, honorable, steady.”
“You make me sound dull.”
Vizah clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Sometimes dull is good.”
Andreas clapped his other shoulder. “You’re serious, not dull.”
“I never had the right temperament,” Rhys went on. “But you do, Rufus. You’ll make an excellent leader.”
I tried to listen in to the conversations within the group of warrior priests, but they overlapped and blended together, making it difficult to pick out the individual threads. They distracted me, however, and I didn’t notice Rhys approach until he touched my elbow.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m just walking around.” I shrugged but that made the pain in my shoulder flare. “Ow.”
He rubbed my arm just below my shoulder. He had an odd look in his eye as he watched me. For once, I couldn’t decipher it. “Is there something you want to say to me?”
I nodded. “I want to come with you when you confront my uncle.”
The sheriff had overheard me and joined us. “I think that’s fair, but we should leave immediately. I don’t want him getting wind of this and leaving the city.”
“You believe us?” I asked. “You’ll arrest him?”
“Not without evidence, but I want to hear what he has to say.”
“I thought you and he were friends.”
“Acquaintances.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve, uh, suspected he was corrupt for some time but there’s been no proof. If he took public money for himself, he covered his tracks well.”
Rhys crossed his arms and arched his brows. “That’s convenient for those complicit in his schemes.”
The sheriff stiffened. “Show me evidence that he committed a crime, and Iwillarrest him.”
Rhys indicated the horses. “After you, Sheriff.” As I went to follow, he took my hand. “Jac? Is something wrong?”
“I’m not looking forward to this.”
“I won’t leave your side.”
I gave him a flat smile. “Thank you, Rhys.”
Uncle Roderic’spower had diminished while I was in Upway. His dwindling authority meant he couldn’t siphon off funds intended for the city, and it was clear in the lack of staff he now kept. The sheriff had instructed them to join us in the same salon where I’d listened to my uncle speaking to Giselle in the adjoining study. They now lined up according to rank, with the lowest maid at the very end. I didn’t recognize her or some of the others, but I did recognize the older ones, including the housekeeper who’d been my jailor when I first arrived at the house years ago.
My uncle’s power wasn’t the only thing that had diminished. He looked frail in the vast room without his guards surrounding him. The shock of seeing me alive drained his face of color and he leaned heavily on a walking stick.
“Dearest niece,” he said, smiling that slick smile of his. “I am so glad you’ve returned home. Your room is just?—”
“Enough,” I growled. “No one here believes you care for anyone other than yourself.”
He folded both hands on the head of the walking stick. “See how she is, Sheriff? Disobedient to her menfolk, disrespectful of her elders.”
“She claims you hired an assassin to kill her and frame Master Rhys for it,” the sheriff said.
“Absurd.” Uncle Roderic’s hand fluttered near his doublet pocket. “Why would I want to kill my own niece? She’s my only family.”
