Page 67 of Arrows and Gems
Jean-haut started laughing. Cap gave a tiny shake of his head.
Grinning, Helena said with relish, “When he started to make his move, I dumped it over their heads. He came up sputtering, and it was beautiful.”
“You must have been a joy to have as a younger sister,” Cap commented dryly.
“Was your sister any better?” Helena asked with a smirk. Would he tell her if he had one?
“I’m smarter than that,” Jean-haut replied instead. “Our middle sister is too sweet, but Rouge would follow your example if given the chance. That’s why I don’t meet my ladylove with my sisters around.”
“Just your friends?” Helena quipped without thinking.
Cap and the forester both turned to stare at her. “What?” she protested. “Do you deny slipping off with Marielle when you were there?”
Cap’s right hand reached for the arrows under his cloak. “How long were you watching us?”
“Not very.” Helena shrugged and blew a stray hair out of her face. She felt a little guilty when she remembered her reasons, but they were no longer valid. And she couldn’t regret being right where she was. “I overheard you discussing how we met, then ran back to the house for some supplies. When I returned, Cap was alone.”
Clearing his throat, Jean-haut threw a glance at his friend. “I’m glad you aren’t really a spy, Margit.”
“Who says I’m not?” she returned with a straight face. Itwas hard to maintain when they exchanged alarmed looks. “I’m not spying for the General, but I could be for Ralnor.”
The tension in Cap’s shoulders melted away. “Unlikely. King Steffan has better things to do than track Amitié’s bandit problems.”
She bit her tongue before she could quip,He’s too busy hunting for runaway daughters. Instead, she glibly suggested, “What if Un—Prince Felix requested his assistance? General Valentin isn’t getting the job done, and so Marielle has been stuck here for the last year.”
Cap snorted. “If that was the case, Marielle would have warned us. Besides, she hasn’t been eager to travel.”
Because she’d been helping them, no doubt. But Helena kept that part to herself; she no longer believed that they had carelessly put her cousin at risk.
“Speaking of traveling, Cap, should I be looking for a spot for a single night?” Jean-haut interjected. “Or a longer stay this time?”
The question of how Jean-haut found campsites burned her tongue, but Helena kept it in. From what she’d gathered, they were past Cap’s usual range. Yet without riding ahead to scout, Jean-haut always led them to a suitable clearing.
How?
Tucker’s laugh burst out behind them while Cap fingered the fletching on his arrows. Helena peeked over her shoulder, a fond smile crossing her face as she watched the teenager joke with his friends. He’d been wide-eyed and withdrawn when Cap brought her back to camp a week ago, and he hadn’t lost his terrified look until they had put a good three days between themselves and the camp they’d fled.
Seeing him happy again was a relief.
“At least two nights,” Cap finally said. He glanced back at the group trailing behind them. “We need a rest day, and wehaven’t seen any guards or had any magic winds.”
“Magic winds?” Helena echoed, sitting up in the saddle.
Jean-haut gave him a wry smile. “But we didn’t have a wind last time. I don’t think we can trust its absence.”
“Yes, we did,” Helena stated firmly. “The day before Laurent saw the scout.”
The skin between Cap’s eyebrows crinkled. “I didn’t notice anything.”
“You were at the stream collecting the dishes for me.” She met his hazel eyes. “That’s the reason we left the camp to which you first brought me, isn’t it? The scalp-tingling wind that came through while the two of you were in the woods.”
Releasing a low whistle, Jean-haut looked at Cap and said, “I think we’d better tell the others, Cap. It must take a narrow path – that’s why Rouge didn’t feel it the first time.”
Cap frowned, but Helena could see the acceptance written on his face. “More eyes watching for the enemy’s approach?”
“Or more scalps watching, as the case may be,” she joked. A frown was a long way from the laugh she wanted from him.
He didn’t even acknowledge her comment. “I had hoped not to worry them with it.”
