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“Of course. But where is our mother? And where have you been and why were you gone so long?”

“Those are all questions that I’m going to have to answer later, Kara. For now, you’ll have to trust me.”Advertisement

At that, she looked at me doubtfully, but finally nodded gravely.

When Epiny returned, she was not pleased to discover how much Kara knew. “That’s a big burden to put on very small shoulders,” she scolded me.

“You’re the one who keeps telling me not to lie to people,” I replied, and she sighed in exasperation.

There was no time for us to have doubts about it. Epiny loaded the children into the cart and took them off to her friend’s house. By the time she returned, on foot, Solina had awakened. Epiny took the baby from me and bowed her head over her child. “It struck me as I was leaving them there that I might never see them again. I wanted to say good-bye, but could not, for fear of alarming them or making Agna wonder what was going on. It was so hard to leave them there. Kara was so calm about all of it, but Sem demanded to know why they had to stay there for the night. Dia was busy looking at Agna’s two goats. I don’t think she even noticed I’d gone.”

I took my cousin in my arms and held her and her child close for a moment. “It won’t be the last time you’ll see them, I promise. I’ll get Amzil out of her cell, and she and the children and I will get cleanly away. And when we can, I’ll send word to you. And someday you’ll see all of us again.”

There was a knock at the door and I let her go. It was the neighbor’s housemaid, Rasalle, with Lieutenant Gerry’s carefully bundled clothing. Our time to hesitate was over. All was as ready as we could make it. I retreated to Spink’s room to dress for my charade.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

FACE-TO-FACE

I can’t just stay here while he goes,” Epiny protested to Spink. Her husband had just come in the door, and she had practically run to him to try to sway him from my cruel order.

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“What are you talking about?”

I stepped around the corner into the hall, tugging at my collar. Had clothing always been this uncomfortable? Spink’s second pair of boots were, despite his small size, a bit too large on me. The old workaday sword belt that held my mediocre weapon looked out of place with my fine new clothes, but I refused to set out completely unarmed. I’d have given a great deal to have Sergeant Duril’s little “pepper pot” gun. Epiny had Spink’s back to the door and was looking at him with rebuke. I rescued him.

“Epiny, it’s not up to Spink. It’s my decision. You’re not going.” To Spink I said, “I’ve told her that she must stay here while I call on the Captain. One way or another, I’ll have that key. One way or another, I’ll have Amzil tonight. The children and the cart are already waiting for us on the edge of town. If I must do violence, I don’t want either of you involved.” I rounded on Epiny and spoke as severely as I could to her. “If you go, you’ll only rouse suspicion. I know it’s hard. But what you must do right now is stay here and wait.”

She turned to Spink. “Couldn’t we go to the prison and be there, in case he needs our help?”

“And take Solina and put her in danger? Or risk alerting the guards that we are up to something? No, dear. Hard as it is, you will both have to stay here and keep the candles lit and preserve the illusion that you are enjoying a quiet supper together.”

“I can’t do it!” Epiny wailed, even as Spink looked at me aghast and said, “Surely you don’t mean for me to stay here like a tethered dog while you face all the danger?”

“I do mean it. And, Epiny, you will. For Solina’s sake. And, quite bluntly, for the sake of Spink’s career. It cannot look like he had anything to do with this. It’s bad enough that it will be known that your cousin was involved. But I think you can make me out to be extremely eccentric or the black sheep of the family. Or simply say you have no idea why I did it.”

“But what if you need help?” Spink asked me.

“Look. I’ve thought it through carefully. If I fail, if I cannot free Amzil, and we are, well, captured. Or killed. Or captured and then killed. Well, you must be here and intact. So that the children have something familiar to come back to. All you have to do is talk to Kara and you will know that was Amzil’s plan; evidently she always feared this would catch up with her. And now it has.”

My voice faltered on those final words. “But, Nevare, see here—” Spink began. pqdm.com