Page 43 of Raven's Rise
“Rafe, there were more than twenty of them! Even if you had eyes in the back of your head and never slept, you couldn’t have fought them all off. Anyway, all the men-at-arms were supposed to be watchful too. Everyone was surprised. Whatever happened was no one’s fault but those who came at us.”
“Still, I should have…”
“If anything, this ismyfault,” Angelet interjected.
“Don’t,” he said. “It was the fault of the thieves on our trail. They were willing to kill for what they thought we had.”
“Rafe,” she asked then, “the chest was truly empty?”
He took a breath. Clearly, that had been on his mind too. “Not empty, but there were stones where there should have been coin. The weight was meant to reassure us, make us think nothing was amiss.”
“But when could that have happened? The chest contained gold when we left Dryton. Otto showed us all! It was locked and chained and guarded every moment since. What happened?”
“I don’t know, Angelet. Believe me, I’ve been thinking of it. I don’t know how or when it was done. Or why, come to that.”
“The why is simple enough. A thief, but one who worked by stealth instead of force.”
“Perhaps,” he agreed. “A clever thief, too, to get into the chest to replace the coin with stones, and get away without any alarm. It defies imagination.”
“Could it have been two people? Or more? What if Dobson wasn’t working alone?”
“I wish I knew.” He swiped his hand across his face.
Angelet knew he was tired, but he’d never admit it to her. Men never liked women to know that they were mortal. Even when her husband had been in the last stage of his illness, when he couldn’t rise from his bed, he insisted he needed no help.
“We could pause for a while,” she suggested tentatively.
“Why?” he asked, suddenly fixing her with a sharp, searching look. “Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m quite all right,” she said. “But I’m not the one who was in a fight this morning.”
Rafe shook his head. “That was barely a fight. It’s been too long since I’ve fought for real. Those show fights at the tourneys aren’t the same.”
“But participants die in those.”
“Sometimes. But trust me, the experience is entirely different in an actual battle. I’m just a little out of sorts. I’m perfectly capable of defending you along the road.”
“I wasn’t implying otherwise.”
“Good. Because I want it known that I am still the best knight in the whole country.”
Despite everything that had happened, she laughed. “Did you mean to say the most arrogant?”
“That too. I excel in many fields.”
“Well, I hope one of them includes orienteering. I’ve no idea how long it is to the next town, or if we’ll have to sleep in the forest again. This time without tents or any comforts.”
“I’ll keep you comfortable if it comes to that,” he said. “But with luck, we’ll reach some sort of lodging by nightfall. The longer we ride, the better chance we’ll be able to pass a whole night before anyone catches up.”
Just after dark, they reached a village called Wynlow. The inn was easy to find, being the largest and loudest place along the road. Rafe told her to keep her hood up and to wait outside near the horses while he arranged everything with the innkeeper.
A short while later, Angelet walked into the private room they rented, and was very aware when Rafe followed her in. He closed the door behind him, but didn’t step toward her.
She made her way to the brazier, soaking up the heat from the embers while Rafe stalked around the whole room, staring suspiciously at everything.
Finally, he joined her, kneeling down to look directly into the flames.
“You’re not going to prod the chimney with your sword?” she asked. “I doubt there’s an assassin lurking there, but it’s possible.”
