Assassin 3 - Royal Assassin (69 page)

Some, my lady, and Lacey turned to the basket
they had brought and began to sort through it.

Burrich turned to me. Are those pots from my
room?

At my nod, he nodded in return. I thought so.
That fat little brown one. Bring it here.

He took it from my hands and lifted the stopper
from its mouth. This. I had some of this, when I set out from
Buckkeep, but it was lost with the pack animals, during the first
ambush.

What is it? Patience asked. She came,
devil's-club root in hand, to gaze curiously.

Chickweed and plantain leaves. Simmered in oil,
then worked with beeswax into a salve.

That should work well, she conceded. After the
root poultice.

I braced myself for his argument, but he only
nodded. He suddenly looked very tired. He leaned back and pulled
the blanket more closely about himself. His eyes sagged
shut.

There was a knock at my door. I went to answer
it, and found Kettricken standing there, with Rosemary at her
elbow. One of my ladies told me there was a rumor Burrich had
returned, she began. Then she looked past me into the room. It's
true, then. And he's hurt? What of my lord, oh, what of Verity? She
went suddenly paler than I thought she could be.

He's fine, I reassured her. Come in. I cursed
myself for my thoughtlessness. I should have sent word to her
immediately of Burrich's return and of the tidings he carried. I
should have known that otherwise she would not be told. As she
entered, Patience and Lacey looked up from the devil's-club root
they were steaming to welcome her with quick curtsies and murmurs
of greeting.

What's happened to him? Kettricken demanded. And
so I told her; reporting all that Burrich had told King Shrewd, for
I thought she had as much right to word of her husband as Shrewd
had to word of his son. She blanched again at mention of the attack
on Verity, but kept silent until my telling was done. Thank all our
gods that he draws closer to my Mountains. There he will be safe,
from men at least. That said, she drew closer to where Patience and
Lacey were preparing the root. It had been steamed soft enough to
crush into a pliable mass, and they were letting it cool before
applying it to the infection.

Mountain ash berry makes an excellent wash for
such an injury, she suggested aloud.

Patience looked up at her shyly. I have heard of
that. But this warmed root will do much to draw the infection from
the wound. Another good wash for proud flesh such as this is
raspberry leaf and slippery elm. Or as a poultice.

We have no raspberry leaf, Lacey reminded
Patience. The damp got into it somehow and it molded.

I have raspberry leaf if you are in need of it,
Kettricken said softly. I had prepared it for a morning tea. It was
a remedy my aunt taught me. She looked down and smiled
oddly.

Oh? Lacey asked in sudden interest.

Oh my dear, Patience suddenly exclaimed. She
reached to take Kettricken's hand with a sudden, strange
familiarity. Are you sure?

I am. At first I thought it was just ... But
then I began to have the other signs. Some mornings, even the smell
of the sea can make me so miserable. And all I want to do is
sleep.

But you should, Lacey exclaimed with a laugh. As
for the queasiness, it passes, after the first few
months.

I stood very still, foreign, excluded,
forgotten. All three women suddenly laughed together. No wonder you
were so anxious to have word of him. Did he know, before he
left?

I did not even suspect it then. I so long to
tell him, to watch his face.

You're with child, I said stupidly. They all
turned to look at me, and then burst out laughing anew.

It's a secret, still, Kettricken cautioned me. I
want no rumors before the King has been told. I want to be the one
to tell him.

Of course not, I assured her. I did not tell her
that the Fool already knew, and had known for days. Verity's child,
I thought to myself. A sudden strange shivering raced over me. The
branching of the path that the Fool had seen, the sudden
multiplying of possibilities. One factor emerged above all others:
the sudden removal of Regal, pushed one more step away from the
throne. One more small life standing between him and the power he
craved. How little he would care for that.

Of course not, I repeated more heartily. This
news is best kept an absolute secret. For once it was out, I had no
doubt that Kettricken would be in as much danger as her
husband.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Threats

THAT WINTER SAW Bearns devoured slowly, as a
cliff is eaten by storm tides. At first, Duke Brawndy sent tidings
to Kettricken on a regular basis. Word came to her by liveried
messengers coming on horseback directly from the Duke. At first the
tidings they brought were optimistic. Her opals rebuilt Ferry. The
folk there sent her not only their thanks, but a small chest of the
very tiny pearls so prized by them. Odd. What had been too
treasured to be sacrificed even to rebuild their own village was
freely offered in thanks to a Queen who had surrendered her jewels
that they might have shelter. I doubt that the significance of
their sacrifice would have meant as much to any other. Kettricken
wept over the tiny chest.

Later messengers brought grimmer tidings.
Between storms, the Red-Ships struck again and again. The
messengers reported to Kettricken that Duke Brawndy wondered why
the coterie member had left the Red Tower. When Kettricken boldly
questioned Serene as to whether this was so, she said it had become
too dangerous to keep Will there, for his Skill was too precious to
be risked to the Red-Ships. The irony was lost on few folk. With
each arriving messenger, the news worsened. The Outislanders had
established footholds on Hook and Besham islands. Duke Brawndy
assembled fishing vessels and warriors and boldly attacked on his
own, but found the Red-Ships too well entrenched there. Ships and
warriors perished, and Bearns reported gravely that there were no
funds for another expedition. At that juncture, Verity's emeralds
were turned over to Kettricken. She sent them off without a qualm.
If they did any good, we did not hear of it. We were not even
certain they were ever received. Messages from Bearns became more
erratic, and it was soon obvious that there had been tidings sent
that we had not received. Communication with Brawndy broke down
entirely. After two of her own messengers had been sent forth from
Buckkeep, never to return, Kettricken vowed she would risk no more
lives. By then, the Raiders from Hook and Besham had begun to harry
farther down the coast, avoiding the immediate vicinity of
Buckkeep, but making feints and challenges to both the north and
south of us. To all these raids, Regal remained staunchly
indifferent. He claimed he was conserving resources until
V
erity could return with the
Elderlings to drive the Raiders away once and for all. But the
merriment and entertainments at Buckkeep became ever more lavish
and frequent, and his gifts to his Inland dukes and nobles ever
more generous.

By midafternoon, Burrich was back in his own
chambers. I had wanted to keep him where I could watch over him,
but he had scoffed at the idea. Lacey herself had seen to getting
his chamber ready, and Burrich had grumbled enough about that. All
she had done was to build up the fire, see water brought fresh, the
bedding aired and shaken, and the floors swept and fresh rushes
strewn. One of Molly's candles burned in the center of his table,
putting a fresh piney scent into the musty room. But Burrich had
growled that it scarcely felt like his own room. I had left him
there, well propped up in bed and with a bottle of brandy close to
hand.

I had understood the bottle only too well. As I
had helped him through the stables and up to his loft, we had
passed one empty stall after another. Not only horses were missing;
prime hunting dogs were gone. I had no heart to go look in the
mews; I was sure I would find them likewise plundered. Hands had
walked beside us, silent but stricken. His efforts were
plain.

The stables themselves were immaculate, the
remaining horses groomed until they shone. Even the empty stalls
were scrubbed and whitewashed. But an empty cupboard, no matter how
clean, is no comfort to a starving man. I understood that the
stables were Burrich's treasure and home. He had come back to find
both looted.

After I left Burrich, I took a walk down to the
barns and pens. Here the best of the breeding stock were wintered
over. I found them as depleted as the stables. Prize bulls were
gone. Of the curly-backed black sheep that used to fill one pen,
there were only six ewes and one runty ram left. I was not as aware
of what other stock had once been there, but too many pens and
stalls were empty at a time of year when all were usually
full.

From the barns, I wandered through the storage
houses and outbuildings. Outside of one; some men were loading
sacks of grain into a wagon. Two other wagons, already loaded,
stood nearby. I stood a bit, watching them, and then offered to
help as the wagon's load grew higher and the sacks harder to load.
They accepted my help readily, and we talked as we worked. I waved
them a cheery good-bye when the work was done, and walked slowly
back to the Keep, wondering why a full warehouse of grain was being
loaded onto a barge and sent upriver to Turlake.

I decided I would check on Burrich before going
back to my own chambers. I climbed the steps to his chambers and
was unsettled to find the door ajar. Fearing some sort of
treachery, I pushed in, startling Molly, who was setting out dishes
on a small table beside Burrich's chair. The sight of her there
rattled me, and I stared at her. When I turned to Burrich, I found
him watching me.

I thought you were alone, I said
lamely.

Burrich regarded me owlishly. He had made
inroads on his bottle of brandy. I thought I would be, he said
gravely. As ever, he held his spirits well, but Molly was not
deceived. Her lips were set in a thin line. She continued with her
duties, ignoring me. Instead she spoke to Burrich.

I shall not disturb you long. Lady Patience sent
me to see that you had hot food, for you ate little this morning. I
shall be leaving as soon as I have set out his meal.

And taking my thanks with you, Burrich added.
His eyes went from me to Molly, sensing the awkwardness, and also
her displeasure with him. He attempted an apology. I have had a
harsh journey, mistress, and my injury gives me some pain. I hope I
have not given offense.

It is not my place to take offense at anything
you wish to do, sir, she replied. She finished setting out the food
she had brought. Is there anything else I can do for you to make
you comfortable? she asked. There was courtesy in her voice, no
more than that. She did not look at me at all.

You could accept my thanks. Not just for the
food, but also for the candles that freshened my chamber. I
understand they are your handiwork.

I saw her thaw slightly. Lady Patience asked me
to bring them here. I was happy to oblige her.

I see. The next words he spoke cost him more.
Then please extend my thanks to her. And to Lacey as well, I am
sure.

I shall. There is nothing more that you need,
then? I have errands in Buckkeep Town for Lady Patience. She told
me that if there was anything you required from town, I should
fetch it for you.

Nothing. But it was kind of her to think of it.
Thank you.

You are welcome, sir. And Molly, empty basket on
her arm, marched out past me as if I were not even
there.

Burrich and I were left regarding one another. I
glanced after Molly, then tried to put her out of my mind. It's not
just the stables, I told him, and briefly reported what I had seen
in the barns and warehouses.

I could have told you a bit of that, he said
gruffly. He looked at the food Molly had brought, then poured
himself more brandy. As we came down the Buck River road there were
rumors and tidings. Some said Regal sold the beasts and grain off
to fund the defense of the coasts. Others that he sent the breeding
stock inland to safer pastures in Tilth. He drank his brandy down.
The best of the horses are gone. I saw that at a glance when I came
back. In ten years, I might breed stock up again to the quality of
what we had. But, I doubt it. He poured again. There's my life's
work gone, Fitz. A man likes to think he'll leave his touch on the
world somewhere. The horses I had brought together here, the
bloodlines I was establishing
–
gone
now, scattered throughout the Six Duchies.
Oh, not that they won't improve anything they're bred to. But I'll
never see what would have come if I'd been allowed to continue.
Steady will be studding rangy Tilth mares, no doubt. And when Ember
drops her next foal, whoever rubs it off will think it just another
horse. For six generations, I've been waiting for just that foal.
They'll take the finest coursing horse that's ever been foaled and
hook it to a plow.

There was nothing to say about that. I feared it
was all true. Eat something, I suggested. How's your leg
now?

He lifted the blanket to inspect it casually.
Still there, anyway. I suppose I should be grateful for that. And
better than it was this morning. The devil's-club did draw out the
infection. Chicken-brained as she is, the woman still knows her
herbs.

I did not need to ask to whom he referred. Are
you going to eat? I prodded.

He set down his cup and took up a spoon. He
tasted the soup Molly had set out, grudgingly nodded his approval.
So, he observed between bites, that was the girl. Molly.

I nodded.

Seemed a bit cool with you today.

A bit, I said dryly.

Burrich grinned. You're as testy as she was. I
imagine Patience did not speak well of me to her.

She doesn't like drunks, I told him bluntly. Her
father drank himself to death. But before he finished the job, he
managed to make her life unpleasant for years. Beating her when she
was smaller. Railing and berating her when she got too big to
beat.

Oh. Burrich carefully refilled his cup. I'm
sorry to hear that.

She was sorry to live it.

He looked at me levelly. I did not do it, Fitz.
Nor was I rude to her when she was here. I'm not even drunk. Not
yet. So stuff your disapproval, and tell me what's been going on at
Buckkeep while I was away.

So I stood and reported to Burrich, just as if
he had a right to demand it. In a way, I suppose he did. He ate as
I spoke. When I was finished, he poured himself more brandy and
leaned back in his chair, holding it. He swirled the brandy in the
cup, looked down at it, then up at me. And Kettricken is with
child, but neither the King nor Regal know of it yet.

I thought you were asleep.

I was. I half thought I'd dreamed that
conversation. Well. He downed the brandy. He sat up, swept the
blanket off his leg. As I watched he deliberately bent his knee
until the pulling flesh began to gap the wound open. I winced at
the sight of it, but Burrich only looked thoughtful. He poured more
brandy, drank it off. The bottle was half-gone. So. I'm going to
have to splint the leg straight, if I'm going to keep that closed.
He glanced up at me. You know what I'll need. Will you fetch it for
me?

I think you should stay off it for a day or so.
Give it a chance to rest. You don't need a splint if you're in
bed.

He gave me a long look. Who guards Kettricken's
door?

I don't think ... I assume she has women who
sleep in the outer chamber of her apartments.

You know he'll try to kill her and the unborn
child, as soon as he finds out.

It's a secret still. If you start guarding her
door, all will know.

By my count, five of us know. That's no secret,
Fitz.

Six, I admitted ruefully. The Fool surmised it
some days ago.

Oh! I had the satisfaction of seeing Burrich
look shocked. Well, at least that's one tongue that won't go
wagging. Still, as you see, it won't be secret long. Rumors will
fly before the day's out, mark my words. I guard her door this
night.

Must it be you? Can't you rest, and I
will-

A man can die of failure, Fitz. Do you know
that? Once, I told you, the fight isn't over until you've won. This
-and he gestured at his leg in disgust this will not be my excuse
for giving up. Shame enough for me that my prince went on without
me. I shall not fail him here. Besides
–
he
 
gave a
bark of sour laughter
-
there's
 
not enough in the stables
now to keep both Hands and me busy. And the heart for it has gone
out of me. Now. Will you go get the splint works?