This had only increased the general sense ofdisgruntlement the villagers felt and had sent the hostilityshooting through the roof. She’d dealt with difficult expeditionsall winter long. No one wanted to listen, even when it concernedtheir safety. Two men had been injured after ignoring her warnings.That had only made things worse, and now the people of Birdon Leafthought she was incompetent as well as lazy.
“What about Edgecomb?” Dane asked softly.
“People are saying it’s gone,” Burke, one ofthe more easy going members in the group, interrupted, his eyesalight at the prospect of sharing juicy gossip. “Burned to theground. No survivors.”
Fallon’s face flashed before Shea. Shewondered if he had something to do with that. He seemed perfectlycapable of punishing those who crossed him, and his men had lookeddisciplined and trained.
“Nobody knows how it happened?” Daneasked.
Burke shook his head.
“They do,” Witt interrupted. “Just nottelling us. Too scared.”
“Whole village is scared,” Sid said into hisplate.
Nobody disagreed. They’d all seen it.
“We need to leave,” Shea finally said. It hadbeen weighing on her mind all day. Something in the townspeople’sbehavior wasn’t right, and her instincts were screaming it was timeto go.
Dane and Witt considered her statementcarefully, though Burke openly scoffed and Paul rolled his eyes.Those two could afford to be disdainful. Dane and Witt knew better.Edgecomb had been a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget.
“We can’t leave,” Paul argued. “We haven’tcompleted negotiations yet. If we go back, the elders will have ourheads.”
Shea wanted to groan. Typical Highlanderresponse. Ignore the danger in favor of possible profit. Just onceshe’d like to lead people who had an instinct for survival.
Paul turned to Dane. “If you fail here, youwon’t get another chance like this. The elders will never trust youagain. Do you really want to be stuck in the village while Jamesgets to experience Lowland luxuries?”
Dane’s jaw hardened. Everybody knew whoeverestablished reliable trade routes with the Lowlands would havetheir fortune made. The expedition participants, with the exceptionof Shea, all got a cut of the profits.
Shea’s lips tightened. They were going toignore her advice. Again.
She forked up some vegetables and stuffedthem in her mouth to avoid saying something unwise.
“It’s true that it would look bad to returnwithout finalizing the agreement,” Dane said slowly. His eyesflashed to Shea who was chewing busily. “What makes you think weshould leave?”
Shea paused in the midst of cutting thechicken and raised her eyes to find everybody staring at her. Sheswallowed the food already in her mouth and brought her cup up totake a cool drink of mead, using the time to turn the reasons overin her head.
“Almost nobody was on the streets on my wayhome,” she said, finally able to figure out what had been botheringher on the walk home. “It was nearly dinner time but even so, howmany times have those streets been totally empty? The one person Isaw made it a point to avoid looking at me.”
She paused to meet the men’s eyes to see thatthey were listening. Or some of them were anyway.
“The elders have been stalling since we gothere. It doesn’t take ten days for a simple trade agreement. All wehad to do was trade the tali for the wheat. They’re waiting forsomething. Something big and we’re not going to want to be aroundwhen that something arrives.”
Dane’s head tilted as he considered herwords. Her observations had merit. They’d all felt the tension inthe town over the last few days.
“We’ll stay the night,” he decided. Sheapressed her lips together as Paul smiled smugly. It wasn’t herplace to argue further. They asked for her opinion. She’d given it.On the trail her decisions carried weight, but in town it was theexpedition leader’s show. “First thing tomorrow we’ll talk to theelders again, and if they continue to stall, we’ll leave.”
Shea felt a weight lift off hershoulders.
“But Dane-” Paul’s argument ended when Danelifted a hand.
“I’m the expedition leader. Me.” His face wasdeadly serious.
Shea couldn’t help but feel a bit of respectfor the normally easy going Dane. Since their return from Edgecomb,he’d changed. He was less likely to spend his time flirting andactually listened before opening his mouth.
“While in town, my decisions go. If you’renot happy with the way I lead, you can take it up with the elderswhen we return. Until then, keep your mouth shut and do your job.”To the others, he said, “Pack everything you can tonight. I don’twant any delays when it’s time to leave.”
There were a few grumbles, but they faded asDane stared each man down. No one challenged him.
