Assassin 3 - Royal Assassin (58 page)

Verity wanted these put away while he was gone.
Damp can harm them, and this room is seldom heated when he is not
here, I explained as I finished rolling the map.

She nodded. It seems so empty and cold in here
without him. Not just the cold hearth. There is no scent of him,
none of his clutter ....

Then you tidied in here? I tried to ask it
casually.

No! She laughed. My tidying only destroys what
little order he keeps here. No, I will leave it as he left it,
until he returns. I want him to come home to his own things in
their places. Her face grew grave. But this room is the least of
it.

I sent a page to find you this morning, but you
were out. Have you heard the news about Ferry?

Only the gossip, I replied.

Then you have heard as much as I. I was not
summoned, she said coldly. Then she turned to me, and there was
pain in her eyes. I heard the most of it from Lady Modesty, who
heard Regal's serving man talking to her maid. The guardsmen went
to Regal, to tell him of the messenger's arrival. Surely, they
should have sent to me? Do not they think of me as a Queen at
all?

My lady queen, I reminded her gently. By all
rights, the message should have been taken directly to King Shrewd.
I suspect it was, and Regal's men, who mind the King's door, sent
for him instead of you.

Her head came up. There is a thing that must be
remedied, then. Two can play at that silly game.

I wonder if other messages have similarly gone
astray, I speculated aloud.

Her blue eyes turned gray with chill. What do
you mean?

The message birds, the signal fires. A Skill
message, from Will in Red Tower to Serene. Surely at least one of
these things should have brought us word that Ferry was attacked.
One might go astray, but all three?

Her face paled, her mind made the leap. The Duke
of Bearns will believe his call for aid went unheeded. She lifted a
hand to cover her mouth. She whispered through it, This is
treachery to defame Verity! Her eyes grew very round and she hissed
at me suddenly, It shall not be tolerated!

She turned and rushed for the door, anger in her
every motion. I was barely able to leap in front of her. I put my
back to it, held it closed. Lady, my lady queen, I beg you, wait!
Wait and consider!

Consider what? How best to reveal the depth of
his perfidy?

We are not in the best position of power in
this. Please, wait. Think with me. You think, as I do, that Regal
must have known something of this and kept silent. But we have no
proof. None at all. And perhaps we are wrong. We must go a step at
time, lest we bring dissension when we want it least. The first
person to speak to must be King Shrewd. To see if he has been aware
of this at all, to see if he has sanctioned Regal to speak on his
behalf.

He would not! she declared angrily.

He is often not himself, I reminded her. But he,
not you, must be the one to rebuke Regal publicly, if it is to be
public. If you speak out against him, and the King later supports
him, the nobles will see the Farseers as a house divided. Already,
there has been too much doubt and discord sown amongst them. This
is not a time to set Inland Duchies against Coastal ones, with
Verity not here.

She halted. I could see that she still quivered
with anger, but at least she was hearing me. She took a breath. I
sensed her calming herself.

This was why he left you here, Fitz. To see
these things for me.

What? It was my turn to be jolted.

I thought you had known. You must have wondered
why he did not ask you to accompany him. It was because I asked him
who I should trust, as an adviser. He said to rely on
you.

Had he forgotten Chade's existence? I wondered,
and then realized that Kettricken knew nothing of Chade. He must
have known I would function as a go-between. Inside myself, I felt
Verity's agreement. Chade. In the shadows as always.

Think with me again, she bade me. What will
happen next?

She was right. This was not an isolated
instance.

We will have visitors. The Duke of Bearns and
his lesser nobles. Duke Brawndy is not a man to send emissaries on
a mission like that. He will come himself and he will demand
answers. And all the Coastal Dukes will be listening to what is
said to him. His coast is the most exposed of all, save that of
Buck itself.

Then we must have answers worth hearing,
Kettricken declared. She closed her eyes. She set her hands to her
forehead for a moment, then pressed her own cheeks. I realized how
great a control she was keeping. Dignity, she was telling herself,
calm and rationality. She took a breath and looked at me again. I
go to see King Shrewd, she announced. I shall ask him about
everything. This whole situation. I shall ask him what he intends
to do. He is the King. His position must be affirmed to
him.

I think that is a wise decision, I told
her.

I must go alone. If you go with me, if you are
always at my side, it will make me appear weak. It may give rise to
rumors of a schism in the reign. You understand this?

I do. Though I longed to hear for myself what
Shrewd might say to her.

She gestured at the maps and items I had sorted
onto a table. You have a safe place for those?

Chade's chambers. I do.

Good. She gestured with a hand, and I realized I
was still blocking her from the door. I stepped aside. As she swept
past me her mountainsweet scent engulfed me for a moment. My knees
went weak, and I cursed the fate that sent emeralds to rebuild
houses when they should have girdled that graceful throat. But I
knew, too, with a fierce pride, that if I set them in her hands
this moment, she would insist they be spent for Ferry. I slipped
them into a pocket. Perhaps she would be able to rouse King
Shrewd's wrath, and he would rattle the coin loose from Regal's
pocket. Perhaps, when I returned, these emeralds could still clasp
that warm skin.

If Kettricken had looked back, she would have
seen the Fitz blushing with her husband's thoughts.

I went down to the stables. It had always been a
soothing place for me, and with Burrich gone I felt a certain
obligation to look in on it from time to time. Not that Hands had
shown any signs of needing my help. But this time as I approached
the stable doors, there was a knot of men outside them, and voices
raised in anger. A young stable boy hung on to the headstall of an
immense draft horse. An older boy was tugging at a lead attached to
the horse's halter, attempting to take the horse from the boy, as a
man in Tilth colors looked on. The usually placid animal was
becoming distressed at the tugging. In a moment someone was going
to get hurt.

I stepped boldly into the midst of it, plucking
the lead from the startled boy's hand even as I quested soothingly
toward the horse. He did not know me as well as he once had, but he
calmed at the touch. What goes on here? I asked the stable
boy.

They came and took Cliff out of his stall.
Without even asking. He's my horse to take care of each day. But
they didn't even tell me what they were doing.

I have orders- began the man who had been
standing by.

I am speaking to someone, I informed him, and
turned back to the boy. Has Hands left orders with you about this
horse?

Only the usual ones. The boy had been close to
tears when I first came on the struggle. Now that he had a
potential ally, his voice was firming. He stood up straighter and
met my eyes.

Then it's simple. We take the horse back to his
stall until we have other orders from Hands. No horse moves from
the Buckkeep stable without the knowledge of the acting
stablemaster. The boy had never let go his grip on Cliff's
headstall. Now I placed the lead rope in his hands.

Exactly what I thought, sir, he told me
chippily. He turned on his heel. Thank you, sir. Come on, Cliffie.
The boy marched off with the big horse lumbering placidly after
him.

I have orders to take that animal. Duke Ram of
Tilth wishes him sent up the river immediately. The man in Tilth
colors was breathing through his nose at me.

He does, does he? And has he cleared that with
our stablemaster? I was sure he had not.

What goes on here? This was Hands come running,
very pink about the ears and cheeks. On another man it might have
looked funny. I knew it meant he was angry.

The Tilth man drew himself up straight. This
man, and one of your stable hands, interfered when we came to get
our stock from the stables! he declared haughtily.

Cliff isn't Tilth stock. He was foaled right
here at Buckkeep. Six years ago. I was present at the time, I
pointed out.

The man gave me a condescending look. I was not
speaking to you. I was speaking to him. He jerked a thumb at
Hands.

I have a name, sir, Hands pointed out coldly.
Hands. I'm acting as stablemaster while Burrich is gone with
king-in-waiting Verity. He has a name, too. FitzChivalry. He
assists me from time to time. He belongs in my stable. As does my
stable boy, and my horse. As to you, if you have a name, I haven't
been told it. I know of no reason why you should be in my
stable.

Burrich had taught Hands well. We exchanged a
glance. In accord, we turned our backs and began to go back into
the stables.

I am Lance, a stable man for Duke Ram. That
horse was sold to my duke. And not just him. Two spotted mares, and
a gelding as well. I have the papers here.

As we turned back slowly the Tilth man proffered
a scroll. My heart lurched at the sight of a blob of red wax with
the buck sign mashed into it. It looked real. Hands took it slowly.
He gave me a sideways glance, and I moved to stand beside him. He
had some letters, but reading was usually a lengthy business for
him. Burrich had been working on it with him, but letters did not
come easily to him. I looked over his shoulder as he unrolled the
scroll and began to study it.

It's quite clear, said the Tilth man. He reached
for the scroll. Shall I read it to you?

Don't bother, I told him as Hands rerolled the
scroll. What's written there is as plain as what's not. Prince
Regal has signed it. But Cliff is not his horse. He, and the mares
and gelding, are Buckkeep horses. Only the King may sell
them.

King-in-Waiting Verity is away. Prince Regal
acts in his stead now.

I put a restraining hand on Hands's shoulder.
King-in-Waiting Verity is indeed away. But King Shrewd is not. Nor
is Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken. One of those must sign to sell a
horse from Buckkeep stable.

Lance snatched his scroll back, examined the
signature for himself. Well, Prince Regal's mark should be good
enough for you, with Verity away. After all, everyone knows the old
King is not in his right mind most of the time. And Kettricken is,
well ... not of the family. Really. So, with Verity gone, Regal
is-

Prince. I spoke the word crisply. To say less of
him would be treason. As it would be to say he were king. Or queen.
When he is not.

I let the implied threat settle into his mind. I
would not directly accuse him of treason, for then he would have to
die for it. Not even a pompous ass like Lance deserved to die just
for parroting what his master had no doubt spoken aloud. I watched
his eyes grow wide.

I meant nothing ....

And no harm is done, I filled in. As long as you
remember one cannot buy a horse from a man who doesn't own it. And
these are Buckkeep horses, owned by the King.

Of course, Lance dithered. Perhaps this is the
wrong paper. I am sure there is a mistake of some kind. I will go
back to my master.

A wise choice. Hands spoke softly beside me,
taking authority back.

Well, come along, then, Lance snapped at his boy
and gave the lad a shove. The boy glowered at us as he trailed off
after his master. I scarcely blamed him. Lance was the sort who
must vent his ill temper somewhere. .

Will they be back, do you think? Hands asked me
quietly.

Either that, or Regal must give Ram his coin
back.

We silently considered the likelihood of
that.

So. What must I do when they come
back?

If it's only Regal's mark, nothing. If the King
or Queen-in-Waiting's mark is upon it, then you must give him the
horses.

One of those mares is pregnant! Hands protested.
Burrich has big plans for the foal. What will he say to me if he
comes back and those horses are gone?

We have always had to remember that these horses
belong to the King. He will not fault you for obeying a proper
command.

I don't like this. He looked up at me with
anxious eyes.

I don't think this would be happening if Burrich
were still here.

I think it would, Hands. Don't take any blame to
yourself
.
I doubt that
this is the worst that we'll see before the winter is over. But,
send me word if they do come back.