“You have a carriage, I assume? Or were you going to march me through the streets?”
The lead guard blinked.
I sighed. “Willem, procure a carriage for me while they’re waiting. Let us not advertise the Guard’s lack of courtesy.”
The lead guard turned slightly red.
I gave Will a pointed look.Go to the Shears and get a carriage.
Will bowed his head, stepped out into the street, and shut the door behind him. I headed into the courtyard.
“This is ill-advised,” Gort said.
I kept my voice low. “There is absolutely no reason for city guards to be here. Someone is behind this, and we need to know who.”
“What if they detain you?”
“On what charge?”
“On whatever charge they come up with while they have you there.”
“Then we’ll wait for the Shears to get me out. I’m sure my cousin left detailed instructions. Don’t do anything. Wait for me. I will be back.”
Knight Captain Jehan had a dilemma on his hands. I wasn’t sure what he had expected, but I clearly wasn’t it. I wore a gown in a beautiful green—Clover had made it for me to replace the one the Butcher had ruined. My hair was braided and styled to the latest fashion with silver cord and appropriate ornaments. My makeup was flawless, and I was looking at him as if he were a mosquito buzzing around me. Clover stood behind my chair, her hands demurely folded, her eyes downcast.
Knight Captains acted in the same capacity as police lieutenants in most large cities back home. Kair Toren had four main City Guard stations, each headed by a station commander, who had anywhere from four to six Knight Captains under his authority. The Knight Captains supervised the sergeants, who in turn supervised the guards. In terms of position, Jehan was upper middle management, and he hadn’t gotten that far by being dense. Intimidating a commoner was one thing, although under Rellasian law, even a commoner could appeal. Detaining a noblewoman without a solid cause was an entirely different matter, and if handled incorrectly, could cost him his career.
I had been ushered into his office three minutes ago, and he had yet to say a single word.
The Knight Captain gave me a heavy look. He was in his mid-to late thirties, maybe even early forties, a tall man with a severe expression and some silver in his hair. He wore a black and teal tabard over dark chainmail. A teal half cloak hugged his throat and draped down his back with a metal pauldron on one shoulder. A complicated belt of dark leather wrapped his waist, offering a variety of pockets filled with various things a City Guard Knight Captain might find handy.
His office was a large square space in the middle of the Southern Guard Station. He sat behind a heavy wooden desk, with stacks of paper and scrolls on both sides. Behind him the Kair Toren flag stretched across the wall, teal, edged with black, with a stylized Skyline of Eagle Roost in gold. The Justice Chamber was attired in royal colors, mostly purple, but as municipal police force, the City Guard had its own color scheme.
One of us had to start this conversation or I would be here all day.
“Knight Captain Jehan, I presume?” I asked.
“Correct. Whom do I have the privilege of addressing?”
“You sent your people to my house. Surely you know who I am?”
“That is what we are here to determine.”
I had brought the full set of my papers and the metal crest of the Demarr family complete with my name on it. Solentine had helpfully left all of it for me. If I showed it, Jehan would have a hard time keeping me here. There was always a chance that he might detain me under some pretext of verifying my identity, but it would be a huge gamble for him.
Somebody was using him to figure out who I was. My money was on either Hreban or Silveren, and I wanted to know who was pulling Jehan’s strings.
Knight Captain Jehan was treating me to the medieval version of the “you’re in big trouble” cop stare.
“So you do not know who I am.” I crossed my arms. “Is this how you find out? When you’re not sure who lives in a house, you just have them dragged down here? It seems like an odd use of the Guard’s time and resources.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Or perhaps I am a special case? I can’t help but note that the Guard station closest to my residence is in the north. Instead, I had to travel for the better part of an hour and cross two bridges to be brought here. Why?”
He glowered at me. “Here, I ask the questions.”
“Please start then. Whatever we can do to speed this thing along.”
