Page 29 of Arrows and Gems
“No. She wouldn’t put us in danger,” the forester insisted. His face looked like his sister’s when preparing to burst into flames. “If Margit was working for the General, Marielle would have found a way to let us know.”
“Maybe she did,” Cap said slowly. “After all, how much did she tell us about herfriend?”
Jean-haut’s eyebrows lowered. “Not much. A first name. A promise not to say more.”
“Sounds like a warning to me,” Rouge commented with a shrug. “What are you going to do about her?”
Cap ran his fingers over the fletching of his arrows. He couldn’t believe Marielle would lie, but nor could he risk the lives of his friends. “We learn who she really is,” he finally stated. “Get to know her, see if we can catch her in a lie or else find the truth. Rouge,” he ordered, “let her have today and tomorrow to rest and heal. After that, put her to work.”
~
She was glaring at him again.
Turning his head to put his hood between them, Cap continued toward the edge of camp. He didn’t have time to deal with Margit right now.
Farrell neighed a gentle greeting as he passed. Cap gave him a quick pat and continued into the trees.
He needed to find a winter home for the horses. Marielle might take them, but six new horses in her stables might draw unwanted attention. If she wasn’t already compromised.
He needed to plan something to keep the General on his toes. But stopping guards and random travelers was risky when they could only escape on foot. And that was without a potential spy in the camp.
The heavens knew how she would make reports with a broken ankle, but her presence still made him wary.
He needed to—
An arrow buried itself in the tree just past his head. Whirling, Cap scrambled to bring his own bow up as he scoured his surroundings.
A tree branch shifted in his peripheral vision. As soon as he looked, it moved faster, stretching toward his arm. He dropped and rolled away, then popped back up with a dagger in his hand, scanning the treetops for the magic’s source.
Another branch twitched. Cap took a hasty step back—
And froze when he felt something thin and solid prick his back.
“I win this round,” Jean-haut said with smug satisfaction. “Something – or someone – on your mind?”
Fighting the urge to growl, Cap re-sheathed his dagger. “I sometimes think you have a death wish. One of these days, I’m going to loose my arrow before I realize it’s you.”
“Don’t change the subject,” his friend returned with a laugh. “If you had been paying attention, you would have heardme coming. Admit it: you were distracted.”
“Perhaps a little,” Cap allowed with a huff. Now the danger was past, his worries clamored for his attention again. Shaking his head, he angled himself toward the camp. “I had hoped a walk would clear my head, but you’re right – I shouldn’t wander alone while lost in thought.”
Jean-haut snickered. “And instead of asking me to join you, you return to camp? You aren’t seeking the company of our lovelydistraction, are you?”
An image of Margit at the bottom of the cliff, one arm stretched out to the side and her chestnut hair falling over her face, danced before his mind’s eye. He suppressed a shudder at the memory of the terrified scream that had brought him racing back. He’d been too worried about the approaching storm, too trusting in the sense of safety at Marielle’s house, to watch for tails. When he discovered Marielle’s friend in a crumpled heap in the snow—
He shoved the unhelpful memories to the side. “I’ve had my fill of lovely faces.” Snorting, Cap turned his back on the camp and gestured for his friend to follow. “She would need a lovely personality to earn my regard. And to not be a spy.”
“Do you still think she is one?” Jean-haut glanced over his shoulder. “She has a Ralnoran accent, and Rouge says Margit has given every indication of being a useless noblewoman over the last few days.”
“Caretaking skills aren’t necessary for a spy,” Cap observed. “Or she could be a skilled actor. Easier to pretend a lack of skill than to pretend one you don’t have. Besides, she seems confident of her skill with a bow, and she followed us for almost two days.”
“That’s true.” They walked in silence for a minute before the forester continued. “So you think Rouge could be wrong, but you want to know for sure. You’re aware of the solution,aren’t you?”
Cap stared straight ahead, pretending he couldn’t hear his friend.
Jean-haut smirked up at him. “You’ll have to spend time with her yourself.”
How important was it?
