Page 82 of Raven's Rise
“I know the place well. Just tell me.”
Goswin told him the location of the room, but he looked unconvinced about the wisdom of Rafe’s decision. “If it was unwise for you to go there in the first place, what’s changed now?”
Now Angelet is there,he thought. Rafe only shook his head. “Don’t worry about me, boy. You go back in, and follow the routine you’ve started. Tonight, go to sleep in the dormitory with the other boys.”
“How do you know about the dormitory?”
“I used to sleep in it myself, when I was a boy,” Rafe said.
Goswin looked a little surprised, perhaps at the idea that Rafe had ever been a boy. “If you get caught…”
“You’ll be out of the way,” Rafe told him. “Now go.”
Goswin ran back to the manor. Rafe waited until darkness fell, then used his knowledge of the manor’s defenses to slip in a small back gate that was rarely used, and never guarded in times of peace. At least not when he used to live there.
Rafe found that not much had changed. The little back gate remained unguarded, and he could move easily around the compound of the manor, avoiding the people who were still out and about—not many, since work was hard to do once the light faded from the sky. He heard voices in the stable as the boys tended to the animals before they headed off to bed. A few men-at-arms crossed the courtyard toward the main gate for night watch, but they didn't even look around, so Rafe was safe in the shadows.
When it was quiet, he slipped into the manor house itself. Here, more people came and went, but he knew the way and how to avoid being seen.
When he stood in front of the door Goswin claimed was Angelet’s, he paused. What if the boy was wrong? Or what if she was moved? There was no sound at all.
He eased the door open just enough to get through. “Angelet?”
“Who is it?” Angelet asked from the bed, past the curtains that would enclose the bed during cold nights.
“Lower your voice,” Rafe said quietly as he closed the door.
“Rafe?” Her eyes widened, taking him in. “What are you doing here?” She flung off the covers, preparing to slide out of the bed. Then a look of pain crossed her features. “Oh, no.”
“Don’t dare get up.” He had her in his arms a moment later.
She clung to him, and he heaved a breath of relief. Until she actually touched him, Rafe hadn’t quite believed she was going to be well.
“Rafe, I thought you couldn’t be here!” Angelet pulled herself out of the embrace and put her hands on his shoulders, gazing at him in wonder. “How did you get in?”
“Goswin told me where you were.” He looked her over, keeping his touch light when he passed over her bandaged chest. The memory of seeing her wounded cut through him once again, triggering a visceral response, as if he needed to go into battle. He deliberately took a long breath to relax. He said, “How are you? Recovering?”
“Lady Cecily is a very good healer,” Angelet responded, still surveying him in the dim light of the candle by her bed.
“That’s why I brought you here.”
“How do you know these people? Why all this secrecy?”
“It’s a long story, Angelet, and you’ve got enough on your mind.”
“Rafe, you’re on my mind. I didn’t know where you were, and I worried that something happened to you. You’re sleeping outside,” she added, running her fingers through his hair.
“I’m used to that.”
“While I’m cared for like royalty. It’s not fair.”
“You deserve the care. I don’t.”
Angelet’s brow wrinkled. “Why do you say that? Tell me what’s—” She broke off at a sound in the corridor. “Someone is coming, Rafe. You have to go. Or stay out of sight.”
He could hide. The room was large, and nearly all in shadow. But suddenly Rafe was sick of hiding. And the idea of walking away from Angelet a moment after he’d just rejoined her made him furious.
“No.” He remained exactly where he was, and kept her hand in his. “I’m done sneaking off into the night.”
