Cassia nodded, but she was hardly thinking about her injuries. She was glad the man had brought her to… wherever she was, instead of leaving her to die. But the last thing she wanted was all the fuss, if nothing was seriously wrong with her anyways. Come to think of it, healers meant fees, ones she could hardly pay just then. And what if the man who’d saved her expected a reward? Why else would he hang about, if not to make sure she didn’t slip away?
“The sheriff has questions, and…”
“Sheriff?” Cassia squeaked, snapping out of her ruminations. She eyed the doorway and wondered if she ought to run.
Evelya stood between Cassia and the open door. And the window would be too difficult to get through. No, there was no way out, not in her current state. Besides, she couldn’t run. Not really. It wouldn’t be right.
But a sheriff was bad news. Yes, Rylan had made his choice, but she still cared about him too much to watch him get locked away.
“Yes, sweetness,” Evelya said. She frowned at Cassia, and drew a deep breath. “Someone roughed you up pretty bad, and around here we don’t let that sort of thing slide. But if you aren’tready to talk about it, I can put him off a bit longer. You want to get another hour’s sleep first?”
“That’s fine,” Cassia said, her voice trembling. “Better to get it over with, I suppose. But I’m sorry, you’re mistaken. Nobody ‘roughed me up.’ I just fell. That’s all.”
Evelya gave her a quiet, long look, her eyes scrutinizing Cassia’s stubborn, bruised face.
“Must’ve been some fall,” Evelya said. The flat disbelief in her voice was mixed with pity again. “I’ll go get the sheriff.”
They think I’m some beaten woman,Cassia fretted, digging her fists into the thin blanket on her cot.Some nasty ex-lover hit me or something and I’m too in love to say it. Well, whatever. Let them think what they want.
She was only alone for a minute before the healer came back with company. The sheriff was a stern, mustached man who looped his thumbs into his belt when he talked to her, and who called her “mistress.” Cassia stared back flat-mouthed and stuck to her story: she’d come west looking for a new life, gone to see some land in the mountains, and fallen when the ground crumbled underfoot. She’d hit herself on the rocks. She didn’t remember anything else and she had nothing else to tell him.
Had she seen a group of men? Had she seen any loose cattle? Had she gone out into the mountains to meet with anyone? No, no, and no.
“You aren’t doing yourself any favors by protecting some scoundrel, mistress,” the sheriff warned her when he left.
Cassia sat mutely on the bed and refused to let herself cry. She felt like a donkey's rear end refusing to talk like this, but what choice did she have? It wasn’t a scoundrel she was protecting. If she could turn over Zey without bringing a whole mess of trouble on her brother, she would. Saints, she’d drag Zey inherself, if given half a chance, and Cassia wasn’t in the habit of dragging people. Or even talking sternly to them.
Then Evelya was back in the room, coaxing the plant to let go of Cassia. The shiny brown root unwound reluctantly. Evelya cheerfully assured her that the small swollen pin-pricks from its piercing tendrils would fade in a day or two. Cassia had a mild head bruise, Evelya said, and was to avoid thinking too hard or hitting her head for a bit.
“The thing is, I don’t have my personals,” Cassia said, swinging her feet onto the stone floor. “The healer’s fee–”
“Don’t you worry about that, sweetness.”
Cassia stood. She had on a loose, plain cotton gown; sleeveless and too thin to be anything but an invalid’s robe. Given how she usually dressed, it felt more like a sack than a real garment. Her legs wobbled after two days in bed with a nutrient vine but no real food. She felt sticky all over.
“But how much do I owe?” If Evelya was expecting her to be back in a day with the payment, it just wasn’t possible. Still, she’d used services, and she had no money, and now she owed a debt. She would find a way to settle it.
“Master Riveker already settled your tab,” Evelya told her calmly, as the healer watered the plant from a metal canister. The water came out pink, evidence it was supplemented to return nutrients to the plants.
Cassia gaped at her.
“What, allof it?Why?”
The name Riveker was familiar. Wasn’t that the man who’d been in here when she woke, the one who’d found her and carried her down the mountain? And he’d paid for two days of healing? For her, a woman he didn't know?
Cassia’s stomach turned unpleasantly. She wanted no debt to a man.
“All of it. The Rivekers are a good bunch, mostly,” Evelya confirmed as she rotated one of the other plants to catch the light. With them both standing, the short healer only came up to Cassia’s chin. “I found you a set of clothes; on that table. And I asked around. There’s a woman’s shelter in Havelyn, four hour’s ride from here. I can…”
“No thank you,” Cassia said quickly. “To the shelter, I mean. I’d better take the clothes.”
Evelya planted her hands on her hips, turning away from the plants.
“Sweetness… we know you’re not from here. You showed up with nothing but a ruined dress that’s a mile too fancy for these parts. As far as I can see, you’ve got no money, no escort, and no way to get out of here. The shelter will help you get on your feet. And I’m not sure you oughta go back wherever you came from, even if you did just ‘fall down.’”
SheknewEvelya wasn’t wrong, but something in Cassia rebelled anyways. She didn't belong in a shelter. She’d have to lie, if she did, and pretend she was a lover’s victim, and take help away from the women who really deserved it. Cassia hadn’t come by her trouble the honest way.
She didn’t belong in a shelter. Hell, she was a highly sought-afterprofessional. Any number of houses back east would outbid each other to get her on their staff.
