Honor among thieves

Chapter Fifty

Barbarian pickets controlled the road between Helstrow and Redweir, but at night they were few and far between. Croy led his rabble over the road under a thin crescent of moon and hurried them through the fens toward Easthull, home of the last living member of the king’s privy council.

No lights showed on the manor-the windows had all been covered in sackcloth, and the fires inside kept damped to minimize the smoke they made. The track that split off from the main road and headed to the Baron’s house had been carefully covered with autumn leaves so it could not be found unless you knew what to look for. On their way to conquer Redweir, Morget and his troops had passed right by all of Greenmarsh without stopping. The Baron didn’t want to give them a reason to come calling on their way back. Even Croy didn’t see the manor house of Easthull until he was a hundred yards from its low wall. He ignored the gate, chained shut with rusted locks to look like it hadn’t been opened in years. Instead he helped his men hop over the wall like they were climbing a stile. Once on the other side, he signaled them to stop in place and make no sound.

A serjeant with a loaded crossbow came out of the dark and studied Croy’s face carefully before nodding them in.

They went through the stables, where the last six trained warhorses in Skrae-as far as Croy knew-watched them with suspicious eyes. Once into the great hall, he breathed a sigh of relief and told his men to rack their weapons by the door and find something to eat. There was plenty of bread, and great cauldrons of pottage and bacon water. Simple stuff, but nourishing. His best tactic for recruiting was the promise of a full belly, and so far he’d been able to deliver. Time, always the greatest enemy in war, had smiled on him in a small way. The law of Skrae held that the king could not conscript his subjects in autumn until the harvest was in. It was a close thing, but the fields of Greenmarsh had been emptied of their bounty before the barbarians invaded. Now the Baron had full granaries that would see them through a winter campaign.

His men would not starve to death. It was something.

Croy shrugged off his heavy mantle and left it to dry on a peg by the hearth. Taking up a slice of bread smeared with butter and honey, he headed into the private chambers off the great hall and announced himself to the Baron’s herald.

“Milord is still awake, and would receive you,” the herald told him, “when you are fed and rested, of course.”

“I’m ready now,” Croy said, finishing his humble meal. Rested he was not, but then he hadn’t slept more than a few hours a night since fleeing Helstrow. He was getting used to fatigue. He headed through the door to the Baron’s closet, where the king lay on a camp bed, still unconscious. Ulfram’s daughter Bethane knelt by his side, praying for his recovery. She was a good girl, as far as Croy was concerned, though her sheltered youth had left her ill-prepared for the role she now played.

“Is there any change?” Croy asked as softly as he could.

Bethane shook her head. Rising to her feet, she gave him a warm smile and opened her arms. He embraced her fondly.

He had never met her until a week ago, when he first discovered that Easthull remained untaken. She had been hidden there before the invasion and was crouching in a back kitchen, surrounded by old men and women armed with rolling pins. They thought Croy and his recruits were reavers come to raid and pillage them, and Bethane wept and wailed when he came and knelt before her, thinking he was simply mocking her before he cut her down. Even when he’d proven his bona fides to the Baron, still Bethane had feared him-he smelled of death, no matter how he smiled. Yet time had passed since then, and the fortunes of war make fondness grow even in hearts that cannot afford to be gentle.

“Was there any more fighting?” Bethane asked. “How many men do you bring tonight? Did you get close enough to see how Helstrow fares? Is there any news of my mother?”

Croy smiled and stroked the girl’s hair. A month ago Bethane’s greatest concern in life had been with what color ribbons the ladies of the court should use to tie their sleeves. She was learning very quickly. He answered her questions as best he could, leaving out no details. She would be queen some day, and perhaps soon, if her father’s condition did not improve. She deserved to hear everything. “I recruited another crew of bandits. Rougher than the usual sort I bring in, but they’ll serve. After that we set an ambuscade for some of Morg’s farther-reaching scouts. I took two of them, though one of my men lost an arm and probably won’t survive. Helstrow seems unchanged. The fires there have all been put out, at least. Your mother… remains unaccounted for.”

When Helstrow was first threatened, Ulfram’s wife had headed to Greenmarsh by a different route than the princess. The intention was to make sure at least one of them got through. There had been no word from the queen since. Perhaps she heard that the king was dead and went into hiding.

It was something to hope for, anyway.

The inner door of the closet opened and Baron Easthull entered carrying a taper. He beckoned for Croy to step into his withdrawing chamber. Croy knelt quickly before Bethane and kissed her hand, but she bade him to go and join the Baron. He knew she would not follow-she rarely left her father’s side these days.

The withdrawing chamber was a small room filled with simple furniture, a place where in better days guests would come after dining to sit and talk over a bottle of brandy. Now its wide tables were littered with maps and written reports, a great hoard of words for the Baron to pore over while Croy went out every night looking for more men. From this room the only legitimate authority in Skrae was organized. It bore no comparison to the privy chamber in Helstrow, but it served.

“It’s good of you to comfort the princess,” the Baron said. He was a thin man with very bushy eyebrows, and he dressed always in linen. To Croy’s knowledge, he had never swung a sword in his life, though he always wore one at his belt. Yet when Croy had shown up in his dooryard, haggard and bramble-torn and lugging a wounded king, the Baron took him in, and for that Croy owed him much gratitude. “She talks of nothing but your exploits, you know.”

“It helps keep her mind off her father’s condition,” Croy suggested.

“Hmm. Interesting. I’ve seen how you are at court, Croy. You’re a true gallant, aren’t you? I’ve seen you walk past a coterie of fair ladies, all of them endeavoring to catch your eye, and never a single one does.” The Baron giggled. “If you were a less virtuous man, you’d have a passel of bastards by now, and no one in the kingdom would look askance at it. You might do well, in this case,” the Baron went on, choosing his words carefully, “to be warmer. My physick tells me the king will not awaken. That his body is wasting away. Before you know it, you could be the royal consort, and all it would cost you is a few encouraging words. Maybe a gentle caress now and again.”

Croy blushed and looked away. “She’s a girl of fourteen!”

The Baron giggled again. “Her mother married Ulfram when she was twelve and he was thirty. Oh, don’t look so scandalized. Such marriages are common at court, and they’re not nearly as venal as you might think. They say Ulfram didn’t lay a hand on the current queen until her breasts had swollen and her hips were round enough.”

“This is immaterial. I… have a lady of my own, though she’s far away,” Croy insisted. “I would never betray her affections.”

“Yes, yes, fine. I wish I had a son at hand, that’s all, or perhaps that I wasn’t already married myself. Someone needs to woo Bethane. She can’t possibly rule the kingdom herself-and it wouldn’t hurt our cause if we had a strong king ready to put in place.”

In gentler days Croy might have thought such talk smacked of treason. But he knew the Baron was simply being realistic. High principles were in shorter supply now than even proper arms and armor.

The Baron brought a fist down hard on his table and made the cutlery jump. “But we came together tonight to talk of manly things, not the affairs of princesses. We are here to discuss swords and blood and war.”

“Indeed,” Croy said, glad for the change in subject.