“How long was this thing?”
“Three pages, full of tiny writing. She wrote it like a journal and Sister Agnes really enjoyed it. She said she couldn’t wait to get the next one and wanted to know if she could have them back when we were done with them, so I jotted down the towns they’d gone through and gave the letter back to her.”
“Three pages? That thing must have been heavy. They found a falcon to fly it here?”
“Apparently long letters aren’t all that unusual.” Chris shrugged. “We just don’t get them.”
“Thank goodness.” Kevin sipped his scog. “I take it they haven’t found any trace of our guys then.”
Chris shook his head. “But don’t give up. They’re just getting started, and it’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“And Camden is one big haystack. So, where have they been?”
Chris stood up and motioned towards the map. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
After Kevin joined him, Chris pointed out a line connecting a dozen or so towns starting at the top of Heron’s Gulf, and zigzagging back and forth from the mountains to the shore until it ended at a spot near where Alexandria, Virginia would be.
Kevin studied the map for several minutes, noticing that they’d missed more towns than they’d hit, but at the same time acknowledging, at least to himself, that they’d done a good job of covering the area. “Do you think this is going to work? I mean what are the odds? They could all be in the same area and never hit the same town. There’s so many of them.”
“I know,” Chris agreed. “I thought the same thing, but let’s give him a chance. He’s done this type of thing before and is supposed to know what he’s doing. He probably has a better chance of finding them than we would.”
“True.” After they were seated again, Kevin asked, “Why did you hang it up here?”
“I didn’t think you wanted to have to explain it to everyone who walks in your office.”
“Good point, and most of them would ask.” Kevin sipped his scog. “Anything else I need to know about?”
Chris shook his head. “Did you think to pick up Callie’s grocery order?”
Kevin pulled it out of his pocket. “I told her we’d try to have it to her by Wednesday.”
Chris glanced over the list. “I should be able to get it together by then.”
“We’ll need to furnish another cave for Ariel by this summer. Can you corner him some evening and find out what he’ll need?”
“Sure, and speaking of pages, Jenni’s scared to death of you and thinks you don’t like her. Ariel asked her to take you a cup of coffee this morning and she nearly had a panic attack.”
“Why? I haven’t done anything to give her that impression, have I?”
Chris looked at the ceiling as if asking for help, then back at Kevin. “You’ve been worse than a bear coming out of hibernation ever since she got here. Her first day was the Monday after Rhianna left. Between no sleep the night of the fire and having to tell Rhianna goodbye, you were in no mood to play nice. We all tried to keep her out of your way, which didn’t help matters. She’s a smart kid. She realized what we were doing, and assumed it was to protect her. Ergo, you’re someone dangerous, someone to avoid. It’s my fault as much as yours for not realizing it until the damage was done, but we’ve got to get her past this or we’re going to lose her. And she’s going to be good.”
“You’re happy with her?”
“Very much so. She’s articulate, much more articulate than Elin was when we got here, and she’s quick. She picks things up, almost too well. After all, she figured out we were trying to protect her. She read the situation right, just hadn’t heard enough gossip to know why you were so irritable.”
“All right. I’ll ask her to do something for me, and use that as an opening to talk to her a bit.” Kevin yawned. “Does she like Nikki?”
“They all do.”
“Good. Then I may send her out to get Nikki a little early tomorrow.” Kevin pointed towards the bed. Nikki was passed out on the floor, dead to the world. She’d plopped down as soon as Kevin removed the energy ball and hadn’t moved since. “Those kids are as bad as the energizer bunny. They just keep on going. And poor Nikki had already put in a full day before we went out there.”
Chris laughed. “It’s their morning. They’re rested and ready to go. Yeah, might not be a bad idea to pick her up a little earlier. Want me to speak to Marshall?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’ll do it.”
Then Chris drained his scog and stood up. “By the way, don’t make any plans for this weekend. You need to be here.”
“Okay. Why?”
“Darrell’s found the spot for his house and the plans are to get it built this weekend. Marcus will be here to help, but it’s Darrell. You’ve got to be there, too. We all do.”
Kevin nodded. “And I’ll take him up to Dayed’s afterwards to get some furniture.” Kevin finished his scog and set his mug back on the tray. “Anything else?”
Chris shook his head as he picked up the tray. “See you in the morning.”
~~~~
Gildan rode into Stanton on a Monday near the middle of March. It wasn’t the largest town he’d been in since Ardmore, but it was close. As he rode through town in search of a livery stable, he saw two inns, three taverns, a couple of dry goods stores, a farmer’s market, and a fish market. That one surprised him. He didn’t realize he was that close to the coast.
The blacksmith shop and livery stable were on the far end of town. After he dismounted, he went inside to find the blacksmith. Instead he found Sedwin.
Gildan did a double take. “Excuse me, are you the blacksmith?” he asked even though he knew he wasn’t.
“No, he’ll be back in a minute.” Sedwin gave the newcomer a close look. If he cut his hair and shaved, he’d look like the man who had been in Fenway’s when they were working on Laryn’s house, the man whose pictures were tucked away in Danyelle’s dresser.
Gildan nodded. “Do you work here?”
Sedwin shook his head. “I’m here to pick up my plow.”
“Guess it’s that time of year, isn’t it?”
Sedwin nodded. “We’ll start turning the ground this week.”
“Do you know of anyone looking for help?”
Sedwin frowned. “You don’t strike me as a farmer.”
Gildan laughed. “I’m whatever I need to be. A few months ago I harvested oranges. Before that I was a logger.” Gildan held his hand out to Sedwin. “My name’s Gildan and I’m a rambler. I was thinking of taking a break from the road for a while and this looks like a nice place to do it, provided I can find someone who’ll exchange bed and meals for a day’s work. Or if someone in town needs help, I’d be willing to put up at the inn if we can work out a deal with the owner.”
Sedwin shook his hand and introduced himself as he considered offering the man a job. Would Danyelle rather keep him close by or watch him from a distance? “I don’t know of anything right now, but several of us work together for planting and harvesting. We’re meeting tonight to work out the details. I’ll mention that you’re looking for work.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. I’m not sure where I’ll be staying yet. Wanted to get my horse settled first. If anyone in your group does need some help, tell them to leave word here, with the blacksmith.”
Sedwin nodded as the back door opened and the blacksmith walked in. He nodded at Gildan and then looked at Sedwin. “Your plow’s loaded on the back of your wagon.”
“Thanks, Micah. How much do I owe you?” Sedwin pulled a small bag out of his pocket.
Micah shook his head. “I want your wife to help me out with something later this week. If she can do it, we’ll call it even.”
Sedwin nodded. “I’ll let her know to expect you.”
Then Micah looked at Gildan. “Is there something I can help you with? Or are you with Sedwin?”
Gildan shook his head. “I was
looking for you. Do you board horses?”
Sedwin slipped out the back door while Gildan and Micah discussed boarding options.
An hour later, Sedwin was back at the farm. The plow was in the barn, his horse was in the pasture, and he was ready for tea.
As he walked into the kitchen, Danyelle poured him some tea and asked, “Want anything with it?”
Sedwin shook his head. “I think that guy you’ve been watching for is in town.”
“Gildan?”
Sedwin nodded. “I thought it was him when I first saw him. I noticed him watching us that night in Fenway’s, but he’s got a full beard now and he hasn’t cut his hair in ages. But it looks like the same guy, and when he introduced himself, he said his name was Gildan.”
“Wish I knew what he wanted. Allisandra said he worked around Ardmore for a month and then moved on.”
Sedwin told her about his conversation with Gildan. “Do you want me to hire him? I’m not sure I like the idea of him being that close, but you’d be able to keep an eye on him and maybe figure out what he’s up to.”
“Let me think about it. When do you have to let him know?”
Sedwin shrugged. “I told him I didn’t know of anything right now but if I found out about any work, I’d leave word with Micah.” Then he mentioned that Micah wanted her to do something for him later in the week. “He said if you were willing to do it, he’d take that in exchange for fixing the plow.”
“He didn’t tell you what he wanted?”
Sedwin shook his head. “But Gildan was there, and you know how closemouthed Micah is. It didn’t take him half an hour to fix my plow though and if he’s willing to take whatever he wants you to do in trade, it can’t be much.”
“All right.” For the next few minutes they quietly drank their tea. Then Danyelle said, “I’ll write Myron and let him know Gildan’s arrived. But as to working around here, I don’t think so. I don’t like the idea of him getting to know the children.”
Sedwin exhaled a sigh of relief. “Good. I don’t want him around here either.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
“I thought you might want to keep him close so you could figure out what’s going on. Me? I’d rather help him find the road out of town, but since I can’t do that, think I’ll see if someone on the other side of town could use some help.”
~~~~
A week later, Marcus knocked on Kevin’s door. “Have you got a minute?”
“Come on in.” Kevin waved him towards a chair.
“While I was in Bridgeport yesterday, Hayley asked me if I’d mind doing a few things to help some people out this spring. When I told her I’d be glad to, she handed me this list.” Marcus handed a two-page list to Kevin.
Kevin scanned it. Most of the jobs involved Marcus’s skill as a sorcerer, but there were a few requests for his skill with a hammer and saw. Kevin chuckled as he handed the list back to Marcus. “A few things? This looks like a full week’s work if not more.”
Marcus sighed as he folded the list and stuck it in his pocket. “Apparently she’s been volunteering my help all over the place, and folks are taking her up on it. According to Thom, he’s got a list, too.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Try to get it all done, but I’ll have to be up there for a while to do it. I looked at the jobs I’ve got lined up here for the next month and I think I can get them done in three weeks, so I should be caught up by the second Friday of April if the weather cooperates and no emergencies come up.” Marcus shook his head. “Then, if all goes well, I’d like to go up there that Saturday and stay about ten days. If I can put in a full week plus two weekends, I think I can get everything done.”
“Provided that list hasn’t grown by the time you get back up there.”
Marcus cringed. “Don’t even joke about that.”
“Why don’t you let me help with some of the stuff around here? You don’t have to do it all.”
“I might take you up on that if we get a rainy spell or an emergency comes up, but otherwise I think I can handle it. I will need to put any new jobs off until I get back though.”
Kevin shrugged. “Tell them to let me know. I’ll take care of them.”
“I hate for them to bother you,” Marcus said. “Unless it’s an emergency, they can wait until I get back.”
“It’s no bother. Half the time I’m looking for an excuse to get out of here. Seriously. Spread the word if anything comes up while you’re gone, let me know. And I meant it when I said let me know if you need some help, either here or up there. I can’t do the carpentry jobs, but I can handle some of the sorcerer stuff for you.”
“Thank you.” Marcus stood up. “Guess I’d better get moving if I’m going to get it all done. See you later.”
~~~~
Kevin hardly saw Marcus over the next three weeks, but everywhere he went he heard that the sorcerer was working from dawn until dark every day. Some of the people were impressed with his stamina. Others were afraid he was doing too much.
But when Marcus walked into Kevin’s office the Friday afternoon before he was supposed to go to Bridgeport, there was a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye. “I did it,” he said as he flopped down in a chair. “It was rough, but I got it all done!”
Kevin laughed.
“Before I came in here, I went back over my calendar to make sure I hadn’t left anything out. Hard to believe it’s over.”
Kevin shook his head, still grinning. “It’s not over. You’ve still got that massive list from Bridgeport.”
Marcus groaned. “I’ll think about that tomorrow. Tonight I want to enjoy the feeling of being done.”
“What are you going to do to celebrate?”
“That’s why I came by. I need to wash up and pack, but if you’ve got time, I’d like to go to Bridgeport this evening and spend some time with Hayley. Maybe go for a walk or a buggy ride, just the two of us. I know I’ll be there next week, but I’ll be too busy during the day to spend time with her and too tired at night. Could you or Chris take me up there around dinnertime?”
Kevin nodded. “I’ve got someplace to go this evening and it wouldn’t be any problem at all to drop you off on my way. Can you be ready by five?”
“Meet you here?” Marcus asked as he stood up.
“That’ll be fine. See you then.”
~~~~
After Kevin dropped Marcus off in Bridgeport, he and Nikki went to the island and joined the residents in the dining room. After everyone went outside, Kevin asked Warren if he could speak with him. “I thought I’d talk to Landis about Ariel this morning.”
“Do you know when you’re bringing him?”
“Mid-July. I want him to stay at the castle through the Ministers’ Conference. Petri helped with it last year so he knows what to expect, but he’s a bit apprehensive about doing it on his own. I’ve asked Ariel to be there for advice and moral support.”
“Your other pages will help him, won’t they?”
Kevin shook his head. “Elin’s working out of Joan’s office now, so she’ll have her own stuff to do. Cameryn’s getting married in August, so the conference will be the last thing on her mind, and Isak’s never had a big part in it. He’s always handled all the normal stuff that gets pushed to the side when the castle’s invaded by guests. We also have Jenni now. She was brought in to replace Elin, and we think she’ll do a fine job for us, but she’s only been there a couple of months.”
Warren nodded. “Glad I never had to deal with that type of thing.”
“Me, too. Thank goodness for the pages. If it hadn’t been for Ariel that first year, I don’t know what we’d have done. Neither Karl nor I had ever done anything like that. Wrenn helped, but there were a lot of details he’d never dealt with either, things that one head page passes on to the next.”
“Does Rolan have a head page?”
“I’ve never seen any sign of it. Every time I go to his castle the pages are
lined up in the hall waiting for him to need something. Anyone who needs to see him has to wait in the hall with them until he decides to call for them.”
Warren’s eyebrows arched. “You waited in the hall?”
Kevin grinned. “Yes and no. When I go, I go early enough he’s still in his room. I send the message down that I’m there to see him and if he’s not in his office in fifteen minutes, I’ll join him in his chambers. Funny enough, he shows up fairly quickly.”
Warren burst out laughing. “I imagine he does.”
“But that castle’s not run anything like ours. If anyone’s in charge of guests, handling requests, or anything else, I haven’t seen any sign of it.”
“In other words, if she defeats Rolan and becomes the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, she won’t have an Ariel who’s already organized and knows how to run her office.”
“Right, and she’ll need to be even more prepared than I was. I had other people I could lean on, too. Laryn was there to coach me and answer my questions. Cryslyn, Miranda, and Neiven kept the castle and its staff running smoothly. I didn’t have to worry about food, clothes, or any of the other day-to-day details of life. I don’t know what she’ll find in Trendon.”
“From the bits I’ve heard, if Rolan hasn’t driven off everyone who worked for her father, she may have quite a bit of help, out of gratitude for getting rid of him if nothing else.”
Kevin shrugged. “I hope she does find a loyal staff when and if she takes over, but I don’t think we can count on it. It’s been ten years since Tsareth died.”
Warren nodded. “Have you decided where you want to put Ariel?”
Kevin shook his head. “Hadn’t thought about that yet. Why? Do you have any ideas?”
“Maybe. You know that little cave between mine and Landis’s? The one that only has one room?”
Kevin nodded. “We didn’t use it because it doesn’t have room for a kitchen or sitting room.”
“But Ariel’s used to living in one room, so it might be perfect for him at first. He can pick out another cave later, after he gets to know some of the people on the island.”
The Rambling Spy Page 48