Kevin thought for a moment, then got up, opened his door, and asked Chris to join them. After Chris came in, Kevin looked at Karl. “Tell him.”
Karl handed Chris the letter he’d gotten from Montock. “Here.”
Chris read through the letter and then looked at Kevin. “You’re thinking we might be able to use him?”
Kevin shrugged. “You’d know better than I would but I thought you might want to talk to him. You don’t have to tell him we’re considering him, just see what you think.”
Chris nodded. “I’ll get Montock to introduce me to his sister. When do you want me to go?”
“Up to you.”
Chris stood up and held out his hand. “I’ll go see Montock now and find out when he wants to do this.”
Half an hour later, the light shimmered in Kevin’s office and Chris stepped in. “Montock thought it was a good idea for me to talk to him. He said he’d set it up for his sister and Trystan to be at his house Friday afternoon around 3:00. I’ll talk to him then.”
Karl nodded as he stood up. “And then you’ll let me know if I need to try to find him a place.”
“If it looks like he might make a good page, we’ll probably offer him something or other for Cryslyn first,” Chris said.
“Like we did with Anya,” Kevin added.
“Okay,” Karl said. “Let me know if I need to do anything.”
~~~~
Chris didn’t get back from Grainger until time for dinner Friday afternoon. When he knocked on Kevin’s door, Kevin said, “Let’s talk while we eat. I’m hungry.”
After they sat down in the dining room, Kevin asked, “Do we have another page?”
“I think so. We may want to see if Cryslyn has something he can do first, but I have a feeling he’s going to be ours.”
“You didn’t mention we’re looking for someone, did you?”
Chris shook his head and for a few minutes, they both concentrated on their food. Then Chris said, “He’s personable and seems reasonably self-confident without being cocky. He answered the questions I asked without rambling, but he wasn’t abrupt either. I got the impression he’s serious about this.”
Kevin leaned back. “I hate to ask Cryslyn to find something for him to do and then not let him do it. When we wanted to bring Anya in, she spent a lot of time coming up with an inventory template for Anya to use.”
“Maybe we could use the same job for Trystan since it’s already set up.”
Kevin shook his head. “After she went to so much trouble setting it up, she was determined to use it. She assigned that job to one of the housekeepers.”
After a few minutes, Chris said, “We could have him help Elin for a while. I’m sure she could find something for him to do, and after she gets to know him, she’ll be able to tell us whether or not he’d be a good replacement for Isak.”
“If we do that, I want Joan to know he’s temporary from the start. I do not want her to get used to having a second page only to have us take him away. She’s still not over losing Petri.”
“I’ll handle it. After all, it’s in Joan’s best interest for us to find a replacement for Isak. Otherwise, we’ll have to pull Elin in to pick up some of the slack.”
“You might want to point that out,” Kevin said. “Are you going to talk to Elin before he comes?”
“I think so, but I won’t tell her we’re thinking about making him a page. She still speaks before she thinks sometimes.”
“When do you want to bring him in? If he doesn’t work out, we’ll have to find someone else and we’re running out of time.”
“He turns fourteen at the beginning of October. I thought I’d pick him up the next weekend.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m glad you agree since I told him I’d pick him up that Sunday.”
Kevin laughed. “What did you tell him he’d be doing?”
“I wasn’t specific. I told him and his mother that I knew of someone who could use some help, but it might not be what he was looking for, that it wasn’t in a minister’s office, it was with someone here. They both said any kind of office work would be good experience.”
“What did Montock say?”
“I don’t know. He let us use his office, but he didn’t stay with us. I imagine he knows by now though.”
“If he has a problem with it, I imagine you’ll hear from him.”
“What can he object to?” Chris asked. “He asked Karl to find something and we did.”
“Montock knows what happened here with Gwendolyn. He might not want his nephew working here. I half expected Conner to nix the idea of Anya working for us.”
Chris shrugged. “The ministers know you got her back. And they know Gwendolyn’s dead. I doubt either of them is overly concerned about that.” Then he got up. “I’m going to get a piece of cake. I’ll get you one, too.”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m done.”
“I know, but I want two, and if Miranda thinks they’re both for me, she’ll fuss.”
Chapter 54
Cedar Grove
Gildan rode into Cedar Grove on a Saturday morning in the middle of September. The first thing he did was get a room for himself and boarding for his horse for the weekend. He wasn’t sure how long he’d stay in town before heading out to find Dayed’s place, but since he’d camped every night for the past several weeks, he was ready for a bed, a bath, and a few meals he hadn’t had to cook.
After eating lunch at the tavern, he set out to explore the town. It was large enough to have a tailor and cobbler as well as the usual stores but small enough he could walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes.
As he wandered around the dry goods store, a middle-aged woman approached him and said, “You’re new around here, aren’t you?”
Gildan nodded. “Rode in today.”
“Then welcome to Cedar Grove. Will you be staying with us long?”
“I don’t know. Depends on whether or not I can find some work.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
Gildan smiled. “All kinds. Why? Do you know someone who needs some help?”
“I might. Where are you from?”
“All over. I was on the coast a few months back, and a year ago I was in Brendolanth, but I was born in Riordan.”
“No wife waiting for you somewhere?”
Gildan laughed and shook his head. “I’m a rambler. If I stay in one place for any length of time, my feet start itching to get moving again. Most women want a house, furniture, permanent things. That’s not me.” At least not yet he added to himself.
“I see.” The woman smiled. “How do you feel about home cooked meals?”
“Those I like.”
The woman laughed. “Good. Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? I’m making a meat pie. My husband and son like it. You probably would, too.”
“And your daughter?”
The woman shook her head. “I wasn’t blessed with a daughter.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need for apology. I don’t mind. Raising one child’s enough for me. So, do I count on you for dinner? We’d love to have you.”
“I guess so, if you’re sure your husband won’t mind.”
The woman laughed. “Dayed probably won’t even notice. That man always has his head in the clouds, or rather in his workshop. He’d eat his meals out there if I’d let him.”
“Dayed? Your husband?”
She nodded. “And I’m Dara, by the way,” she said, holding out her hand. After they shook hands, she said, “Now, let me tell you how to get to the house.”
~~~~
Gildan left the dry goods store and headed for the inn. He wanted to review his notes on Dayed before he dressed for dinner. He couldn’t believe his luck, to be invited to dinner at the house of one of his targets. With a little more luck, maybe they’d hire him.
It wasn’t until he was dressing that he began to wonder why she’d invited him. Surely
the wife of one of Badec’s brothers didn’t make a habit of inviting random strangers into their home. That would be beyond reckless. And Dara hadn’t struck him as a reckless woman. He doubted she did anything on a whim, which meant she had a reason for inviting him.
That thought send a chill down his spine. Had he done or said something to throw suspicion on himself? Had they figured out what he was doing? Was he walking into a trap?
For the first time since he’d left Brendolanth, Gildan felt uneasy. Was someone trying to get him out of the way so they could search his stuff? He looked at his bag. His journal with the notes he’d written was in there. There was no way he was leaving it in his room tonight. It was going with him.
~~~~
Gildan was right that Dara had her reasons for inviting him to dinner, but her reasons were he was single and he might be a good match for Maisie. As soon as she finished at the dry goods store, Dara went by Maisie’s house.
Maisie lived in a small house about a mile outside of town. It had originally belonged to Maisie’s grandmother. Maisie had taken care of her during the last months of her life, and when she died, Maisie had stayed rather than return to her parents’ house in a nearby town. Since no one else had a claim on the house, it became Maisie’s by default.
Dara knocked once as she opened the door. “Maisie? Where are you?”
“In the kitchen,” Maisie called out. “Tea?”
“Thanks, but I don’t have time. I need to get back,” Dara said as she bustled in. “Are you still looking for a man who’ll take you to a lot of new places?”
Maisie nodded.
“Good. Put on your prettiest dress and be at my house at six. I’ve found just the man for you.”
~~~~
Dayed did a double take when he went in the house for dinner and saw Gildan sitting in his dining room talking to Dara and Maisie. Once introductions were made, Dayed was left more or less on his own as Dara concentrated on facilitating conversation between Gildan and Maisie. After dessert, Dayed folded his napkin, set it beside his plate, and nodded at the other three. “It was nice to meet you, Gildan, and to see you again, Maisie. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to finish up in the shop.” Then he looked at Dara. “Thank you for dinner. I won’t be late.”
Once he was in his workshop, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out the sketch Laryn had made of the man they were supposed to be on the lookout for, the man who called himself Gildan. The man he’d just had dinner with looked just like the man in the sketch.
Dayed pulled a sheet of paper out of his top drawer, wrote a quick note to Myron, folded it, put his seal on it, and sent a falcon off into the night.
~~~~
Monday morning when Kevin got to the office, Petri said, “You had a letter with the House of Nordin seal on it. I put it on your desk.”
“Thanks,” Kevin said as he and Chris went into his office. As soon as he opened the letter he took out his key. “Dayed wants to see me.”
“You’re thinking Gildan?”
Kevin nodded. “Logically Dayed’s next, and the timing’s right.”
“Should be safe at this hour. I doubt Dara has company lined up for breakfast.”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m not going to the house. Back in a minute.”
Dayed was carving scrollwork into the top of an elegant headboard when Kevin stepped out of the energy flow. Dayed threw his hand up in greeting, but kept working.
Kevin walked over to get a closer look. “That’s gorgeous.”
“Think Rhianna would like it?”
A slow smile spread across Kevin’s face. “She’s off this weekend. We’ll drop by Saturday so she can see it, but I know she’ll love it.” Then Kevin added, “But don’t say anything to Dara. We’ll come straight here.”
“Good idea. Figure out what size mattress the two of you want and let me know.”
“Wait a minute,” Kevin said, a bit flustered. “I thought we were talking about a headboard for Rhianna’s bed.”
“You’re planning to be in it with her, aren’t you?”
Warmth spread up Kevin’s cheeks.
“You have asked her to marry you, haven’t you?”
Kevin shook his head. “We haven’t discussed the future.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s in North Amden, and will be for another eighteen months.”
Dayed looked long and hard at Kevin. “Do you want her for your wife?”
Kevin felt the flush spread to his hairline. He really didn’t want to talk about this. “One day, yes.”
“Then why not let her know?”
“Because I don’t want to put any pressure on her. If I ask her now, she’ll feel like she has to come back to Milhaven after this session’s over whether she’s ready to or not. She might want to work with another group of candidates, and if she does, I want her to feel free to do it.”
“You do know that by not saying anything you may give her the idea you don’t want her.” Dayed shook his head. “I’ll make you a bed anyway. You can do whatever you want to with it. Just let me know what size. But if I were you, I’d make it long enough for an elf and wide enough for both of you, and I wouldn’t waste a lot of time letting her know I wanted her in it.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “Is that why you wanted to see me?”
Dayed shook his head. “We had company for dinner Saturday night. Your man Gildan was here, along with one of the women from town. Not sure which one invited him, Dara or Maisie, but it was pretty obvious Maisie was interested in him. Can’t say the feeling was mutual.”
Kevin frowned. “Is Maisie a good friend of Dara’s?”
Dayed shook his head. “No more than any other woman in town.” After a moment, he added, “I’m not sure I’d call any of the women who eat here friends of hers. More like acquaintances, and most of them only come a few times.” Dayed shook his head. “I never know who’ll be sitting at my table when I go in for lunch or dinner. And to be honest, I ignore them.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Is Dara a matchmaker?”
Dayed shrugged. “I’ve wondered that myself. She does spend a lot of time entertaining single people, so it makes sense. But as to whether she gets paid, I have no idea. If she does, she must be hiding the money somewhere. When she wants something from town, she has them send me the bill.”
“You’ve never asked her?”
Dayed shook his head.
“Do you think Gildan will be back?”
Dayed shrugged again. “Sometimes we see the same people, sometimes we don’t. He hinted around that he needed a job, but I didn’t offer him one, and neither did Dara. But I got the feeling Maisie was trying to figure out some way to hire him, so he may be working for her.”
“Does she live nearby?”
“Between here and town, but not close enough he could watch us from her place. He’d have to hide in the woods to do that, and I’ll be keeping an eye out while he’s in the area.”
“Do that.” Kevin took out his key. “And let me know if anything else happens.”
Chapter 55
News from Kitridge
Thursday night when Kevin and Nikki got back from Elsewhere, there was a new flag on the map where Augusta, Georgia would be. Over the summer, the line marking Kitridge’s path had meandered through what would have been North Carolina, South Carolina, and upstate Georgia from the mountains to the shore, but this was the first time since mid-June Chris had marked something with a flag.
Kevin sat down on the couch and reached for his scog. “What’s with the new flag?”
“Kitridge wants to talk.”
Kevin sipped his scog. “Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did he say how he wants to manage that?”
Chris shook his head. “Zara said they’ll be in Travers next Wednesday. Guess he’s leaving it to you to figure out how to do it.”
“It needs to be someone they know.”
“Which limits it to Cryslyn, you, Marcus, or Rigel.”
“Whoever goes could have to stay overnight.”
Kevin nodded. “I’m leaning towards Rigel. He could slip into town, get a room, hang out at the tavern, and then leave without drawing a lot of attention.”
“Do you want to tell him? Or do you want me to?”
“I’ll do it,” Kevin said. “Tomorrow morning.”
~~~~
Chris dropped by the Guard Office on his way back from breakfast Friday morning and asked Cpt. Kort to let Rigel know Kevin wanted to see him sometime during the day whenever he had a few minutes.
Rigel walked into the main office half an hour later. “Myron needs to see me?”
Chris nodded and led Rigel to Kevin’s office.
Once they were all seated, Kevin asked, “Do you remember Kitridge and Zara?”
“The tracker and his wife?” Rigel asked.
Kevin nodded.
“Sure. Why?”
“How would you feel about meeting them in Travers, bringing them here for a quick meeting, and then taking them back?”
Rigel shrugged. “I’m not sure where Travers is, but sure, I’ll do it.”
Kevin grinned. “I thought you would.” Kevin pointed to the map on his wall. “It’s on there, but since you’ll be using the key, it doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that we need to keep this secret. You’ll need to bring them here and take them back without anyone asking any questions.”
“They’ll be staying at the inn, right?”
“I assume so, but there’s no way to ask them.”
“If they’re expecting someone to join them, they probably will, and they’ll probably eat at the tavern. When they were in Myerston, that’s where Marcus and I met them.”
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