"I have a mystery to solve. Did you see the lad who followed us on board?"
"I did."
"Let us be about discovering his identity. I've no mind to find out who he is as he plunges a knife into mv back."
"I know him," Glines said. "He's Fletcher of Harding. Why he is following us is worthy of our time, though."
"Then let us be about it. "
It took little time to find young Fletcher and even less to intimidate his entire tale from him. Apparently he was an eavesdropper extraordinaire who had decided to follow Glines from a siege his father had been paying for.
"Siege?" Adhémar echoed, looking at Glines.
"Water rights," Glines said with a faint smile.
Of course. Water, sheep, and bickering farmers. Was there anything else on Melksham? Adhémar had wondered, over the years, why Neroche had never gone so far during any of her king's reigns to claim the island and its rich farmland.
Now, he understood.
"And what did you plan to do once you reached Istaur?" Glines asked the boy sternly.
"Follow you," Fletcher said, his teeth chattering. "I heard that Lord Nicholas of Lismòr had sent you on a quest." He attempted to puff out his chest. "I happened to be looking for a quest myself and thought I would see if yours suited me. "
Glines snorted. "Fletcher, my lad, your quest will be to survive the journey to Istaur, then return home again before your father discovers you've gone and disinherits you. Go have a seat over there. I'll help you book your return passage once we dock at Istaur."
The lad looked primed to argue, but Glines shot him a look that had him backing down immediately. He gave in and went to sit down against a wall in the common room below.
Adhémar followed Glines back onto the upper deck. "The boy did not agree."
"We'll give him no choice," Glines said. "He would be a burden on the journey and Morgan will have no patience for it."
"What journey is she making, do you suppose?" Adhémar asked. "Not that I care, of course."
Glines gave him a look Adhémar couldn't quite decipher, then shrugged. "We'll know soon enough, I suppose. North is a very large place." He nodded politely, then turned and walked across the deck.
Adhémar frowned and wondered if that blow Morgan had dealt to the side of his head had rendered him witless as well as unconscious. Why he should care about the destination of one feisty shieldmaiden was beyond him. Shieldmaidens did not interest him, either for themselves or their skill. His mother had been a powerful mage, but she tended to cut herself even whilst venturing into the kitchen with a blade. Swords were man's work and he had no interest in a woman wielding them.
But he was not beyond rendering aid where necessary, so he crossed the deck as well to see how things were progressing with the incapacitated ones.
Paien was still snoring peacefully. Morgan was heaving, even in her sleep. Adhémar looked at Camid.
"More brew," he said with a sigh.
Camid studied him for a moment or two. "You know," he said finally, "she cannot bear magic."
"I'm quite certain these are just plain herbs," Adhémar said. "If there is any magic involved, I certainly can't feel it." And that was the truth.
"We'll try mine this time," Camid said, then rose and patted a little pouch at his belt. He went in search of more hot water, then returned with something in a cup that smelled simply vile.
He managed to get it in Morgan's mouth by force. Adhémar was slightly satisfied to see that in the end it didn't do any more good than Miach's brew had. The only improvement was that Camid was wearing it, not him.
"We'll try mine again," Adhémar said, sending Camid off for another cup of hot water. He tossed in a few extra things and managed to get Morgan to drink most of it.
She tell immediately into a deep, if not restless, sleep.
He waited and watched with Camid, but the invalids seemed to be resting comfortably. Adhémar considered supper, then declined. There was no sense in tempting fate.
He went to stand against the railing, facing away from the sun sinking behind them into the west. He blew out his breath and examined the unhappy results of his journey so far.
