CHAPTER 9
Cap
Wiping his knife on the aspen leaves piled nearby, Cap shivered and pulled his cloak back over his shoulders.
Autumn was halfway over, and the weak sunlight did little to warm him through the cloud cover.
But the shoulders of his cloak would be filthy enough by the time he reached camp; he hadn’t wanted to dirty the front while he was field dressing the deer.
Once he had stowed the knife, he hoisted the animal onto his shoulders and tied it in place, leaving his hands free for his bow. If he had to use it, a solid tug on the rope would drop his burden.
The trees thinned, and he stepped into the ring of tents around their camp. It was nothing fancy, just ropes strung between trees, sheets of canvas, and a fire pit in the center. But it was easy to move. With the lives they lived, that was important.
Bad enough if General Valentin managed to catch Cap. He wouldn’t let any of his friends hang with him – not if he could help it.
“Oh!” Rouge startled, lunging to the side and clapping a hand over her chest when the deer landed next to her. She glared up at him. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, Cap. What if I’d stabbed you?”
He shook his head as he knelt to unwind the rope from the carcass, then nodded toward the short table Jean-haut had grown with his magic.
“You were too focused on the bread, and you aren’t wearing your sword or your dagger.
” Lowering his chin, he gave her a pointed look.
“You’re supposed to wear one at all times. ”
“Tucker is supposed to be on watch.” She sat back on her heels and searched the treetops. “If I could trust him, I wouldn’t need a weapon.”
“I am watching!” the teenager protested, his disembodied voice drifting down from above. “But why should I warn you about Cap?”
“You should still have your sword, Rouge,” Cap admonished. “Tucker’s warning wouldn’t do much good if you were outnumbered and unarmed.” Setting his hands on his hips, he tilted his head up. “You still should have warned her, Tucker. Other people might wander the mountain in a hooded cloak.”
“Maybe. But none of them walk as grumpy as you do.”
Blinking, Cap stared up into the trees. “I’m sorry—did you say that I walk grumpily?”
From the corner of his eye, he could see Rouge staring at him with a strange expression before she looked away. “Like the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” she quietly agreed.
Uncomfortable with the conversation, Cap cleared his throat and asked, “Where are the others?”
Rouge turned back to the bread she had been kneading. “Jean-haut isn’t back from the capital yet. Adrien took off with his violin to try and charm information from travelers at the pass. Alanna went with him, so I imagine they’re succeeding.”
A wistful sigh floated down from the treetops. “Alanna. I could listen to her voice all day.”
Rouge hid a smile at the interruption and continued. “Laurent was bored, so he decided to take the others hunting as well.” She gave a small shrug. “I stayed behind with Tucker to prepare supper and keep an eye on things.”
Nodding his acknowledgment, Cap fastened the rope around the deer’s hind legs and hoisted it off the ground.
The meat would be more tender and have a better flavor if he let it hang for a day or two, but they didn’t have that luxury; it would be a shame to lose the deer because Cap waited to process his kill and General Valentin got lucky.
His friends began to trickle back into camp. One of the boys returned with a brace of rabbits from their traps, then Laurent and his group returned with empty hands and long faces. They brightened at Cap’s deer hanging from the trees.
“Cap, you’re a lifesaver,” Laurent groaned with a wide smile. “I wasn’t looking forward to another meal of nothing but bread and dried fruit.”
Rouge spared a moment to glare up at him. “If you’re so averse to my bread, then I won’t give you any the next time we’re out of meat.”
“Aw, Rouge, you know what I meant,” Laurent said in a soothing tone, stepping closer and kneeling beside her. “Your bread is the best, but every now and then, I like some meat. Man cannot live by bread alone, you know?”
Shaking his head, Cap made one final slice and let the hide drop to the ground. “If you’re so eager for meat, then you can take over Rouge’s bread so she can start preparations to preserve this.”
Laurent made a face as Rouge smirked at him, but he headed for their water bucket to wash his hands.
Adrien and Alanna were the next to return. Cap glanced up at the darkening sky, allowing himself a moment of concern for Jean-haut. At two days’ ride, they were the closest they ever were to Laurier. But his friend had left almost a week ago; Cap had expected him back this morning.
“What news?” he greeted Adrien and Alanna as they swung off their horses. At forty-seven, Adrien was the oldest member of their group, but that didn’t stop him from providing vital support when Cap took him along, whether they were scouting or conducting activities that were legally questionable.
Alanna settled her skirts over the trousers she wore underneath.
“Papa tried to speak to a noblewoman, but she was concerned about rumors of a bandit and wouldn’t stop her carriage.
” She patted her horse’s neck before leading the animal toward its picket line.
“Can you believe that she thought we might be compatriots of his?”
A low chuckle escaped before Cap brought himself under control. “A wild notion indeed.” He turned back to Adrien, idly noting the branches shaking as Tucker followed Alanna through the trees. “No luck then?”
The older man smiled. “The fancy folk wouldn’t speak to us, but a few of the common ones did. I’m afraid we didn’t hear much useful to you, though. Just one thing, and it doesn’t pertain to your cause.” His eyes shifted away from Cap, the crinkles by his eyes smoothing out.
“And what was that?” Cap prompted when the minstrel seemed unlikely to proceed.
Adrien peeked over at him, one side of his mouth curving up in a half smile. “They said that Princess Daphne is to wed.”
“Daphne?” Cap repeated, startled. He hadn’t expected that. “She’s betrothed? To whom?”
He’d heard about her trip to Castellia. Had she come home attached to one of their princes?
“Lord Raoul. Rumor has it the queen is disappointed; she hoped for a prince, not a baron’s son.” The other side of Adrien’s mouth curled up with amusement, even though he watched Cap with knowing eyes.
Looking away, Cap took a deep breath as he adjusted to the news. He hadn’t thought Daphne would accept Raoul so soon, if ever.
“Are you all right?” Adrien asked carefully.
“I’m fine, Adrien. I’m not made of glass.”
“I know,” the older man said gently. “But you’re also not made of iron. You’re allowed to feel.”
He felt plenty. But that didn’t mean he had to let it show.
“Thank you for the information, Adrien.” Dipping his head in a nod, he turned away. “If you could please help Rouge with the deer, I have a letter to write. And when Jean-haut arrives, inform him that he has another journey in his future.”
~
The sun was barely above the horizon when Cap and Jean-haut left camp on foot the next morning.
Due to several narrow ledges and one place where they had to climb, horses weren’t an option.
They could ride if they went around, but the long way took twice as long and exposed them to too many travelers.
Stifling a yawn with one hand, Jean-haut peered blearily at the passing trees. “I’m just as eager to see her as you are, Cap, but couldn’t we have waited another hour? We won’t get there till tomorrow either way.”
The crunch of their boots on the layer of dry leaves was loud in the morning stillness. If they had been hunting or hunted, they would have taken more care with their footsteps. But today, speed was more important than stealth.
“Your information worries me,” Cap admitted, slipping a hand into his pocket to check for the letter. “One of the General’s aides, connected to this plot...I don’t like it.”
“Do you believe me now that General Valentin is behind all of this?” Jean-haut asked.
His voice lacked its usual edge of frustration on this topic, but since it was as heavy with sleep as a cat in a sunbeam, Cap didn’t think his friend’s attitude had changed.
“The General arranged Daphne’s trip to Castellia; the aide must have been working under his orders.
That means everything she went through was his fault. ”
Cap stayed silent. He didn’t want to believe it, but...it was getting harder to convince himself of General Valentin’s innocence.
“That’s why we’re making this trip.” Climbing over a fallen log, he continued, “Your surveillance is limited to what you pick up wandering the streets or talking to castle servants that you know are trustworthy. By nature, a lot of it is hearsay.” He focused ahead as they kept hiking.
“I’m hoping she’ll have more reliable information. ”
“That, and you want her to mail that letter for you.” Cap could hear the grin in his friend’s voice. “Is it for Daphne? Or are you threatening Raoul?”
Cap shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
After walking for several hours, they reached a large treeless stretch.
Cap fought the urge to look around nervously.
Few people had a reason to be in this area, but their narrow escape a month ago had rattled him more than he cared to admit.
He’d been more wary of every piece of information since.
If the General could plant the fake intelligence that led Cap and Jean-haut into a trap, and if he might be responsible for the king’s murder.
..who was to say he didn’t know about this trail and the likelihood of Cap using it?
A brisk wind swirled around them, teasing the hoods of their cloaks and whisking away the light sweat on Cap’s forehead.
It was noticeably colder than when they started their trek.
The light dimmed as a heavy cloud drifted in front of the sun.
Cap looked up quickly, but though the cloud was thick, it was small.
A few minutes later, the sun shone brightly again.
“I know you’re eager for news,” Jean-haut murmured, “and you know that I want to see her. But if we don’t want to be caught out on the mountainside or stranded at her house, we’d be wise to increase our pace.” He glanced up at the sky again. “And not linger while we’re there.”