Chapter 19 #2
“If they are, I’ll personally take them to the palace to be humiliated in front of the whole court, and make sure their titles and lands are stripped from them.” His voice grew deep with anger. His hands gripped the handles of his knives, his knuckles white.
Tal wasn’t used to seeing him anything less than jovial. If Faron had fury, he most certainly would have lost control of it by now. “You can do that?”
He replied with a grim nod.
“And Waylon?”
Faron searched the space around them, and the muscle in his jaw flexed.
“I’m happy to cook him if the situation calls for it.” Tal tried a tentative smile, but the noble merely pursed his lips. Faron didn’t need to talk, he needed action. “Well, no sense in storming over it.” Tal ran across the grounds without a backward glance.
Outside the door to the servant’s quarters, they hid behind a wooden cart and a barrel of water.
They pulled their hoods low and used a cloth to cover their faces.
The guests ate dinner while the clanging of dishes and servants chatter accompanied the smell of roasted pheasant and buttery vegetables drifting out the open window.
Tal sat next to Faron with their backs against the outside wall. Running across the grounds had done nothing for the noble. His knee bounced erratically against her own leg.
Tal placed a hand on the offending limb.
Faron’s attention shot to her hand, and his leg immediately stilled.
Her eyes softened, as if to implore him to calm his nerves. Faron took a slow, deep breath in response. She eyed him, concern blooming over what Waylon’s arrival would mean for Faron. When he caught her staring, he exhaled and looked away.
Chatter about dessert reached their ears, and soon, silence filled the kitchen.
They waited five more minutes before sneaking inside.
The table in the center of the room held piles of newly washed dishes on one end and two platters of leftover desserts and glasses of wine at the other.
Tal reached for one of the miniature blue tarts and stopped halfway to see Faron’s reaction.
That seemed to ease some of the tension in his shoulders.
She winked and pulled her hand away. She passed a carafe of magenta colored wine, a shade she’d never seen before.
Faron regarded the liquid for a moment before continuing.
He flinched at the sudden noise when she quietly whispered, “What is it?”
“Not sure.”
Outside the kitchens, they paused to let one of the valets pass down the hall before heading toward the great room. When they reached a corner, approaching voices sent the pair back into the shadows.
“—must get back an’ clean up ‘afore they begin.”
“I’m nervous. What if someone finds out?”
“That’s not fer ye to worry ‘bout. Did ye take yer mixture?”
Tal couldn’t hear a response, but the first woman gave a throaty giggle.
“Ye’ll be forgettin’ yer nerves in no time.”
Two female servants walked quickly arm in arm past the spot where Tal and Faron hid.
The more they learned, the more confused she became.
A glance at her companion indicated he too couldn’t interpret the overheard conversation.
They stepped through the doors of the great hall only to find it completely empty.
“What now?” Tal turned. They were in the open and without a plan. “Have they left already? We didn’t see them pass.”
“Try the study.” Faron placed a hand on her back to urge her in the right direction, and Tal tensed at the warmth from his touch. Faron either didn’t notice or chose not to comment. His hand remained.
Eerie silence filled the house, which didn’t bode well for Tal’s nerves.
Something about the whole night felt off.
Finally, noise reached them from the study.
The spicy, sweet scent of tobacco reminded Tal of the brothels at the docks.
Fading echoes of laughter filtered through the closed door.
“Why is it getting quieter? Is there an exit on this side of the house?” she whispered outside the door.
Faron’s confusion offered little comfort. “Something’s not right.”
Tal eased the door open and thanked the gods the hinges didn’t groan.
Inside, a single candle cast a dim glow from a desk on the far wall.
Moonlight filtered in through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Tal’s eyes adjusted to the dark.
Small tables and upholstered chairs littered the room, arranged for entertaining.
Movement behind the desk caught Tal’s attention.
A well-dressed man only a few years older than Egan fiddled with the buttons on his jacket and puffed erratically on a pipe.
A moment later, he faced the bookshelf along the back wall and pulled out one of the books.
A metallic click reached her ears. The bookshelf swung forward with an audible groan, and the nobleman slipped behind it before the shelf swung back into place.
Tal’s hand shot back and grabbed Faron’s. The men had left the house through the study, and they just found the secret passage they used to do it. She dropped Faron’s hand and swept into the room. She weaved around the labyrinth of furniture, finding herself in front of the grand windows.
A hand suddenly covered her mouth, and an arm around her waist spun her behind the heavy, floor-length curtain. She reached for one of her daggers until a near-silent “shhh” sounded in her ear. Faron’s expensive leather sleeve felt familiar in her grip.
A feminine melody hummed just a few paces from where they stood. Glass thunked onto one of the wooden tables. Chair legs scraped on the wool rug. One of the servants tidied up the study. Tal completely missed her cleaning in the far corner when she went after the noble.
Faron released her, and Tal spun to face him.
His muscled torso pressed against her in the confined space.
She ripped her hood back and pulled on the cloth covering her face.
Faron did the same. The moonlight filtering through the window reflected in his eyes.
Faron responded to Tal’s wide-eyed look by mouthing, “What were you thinking?”
“I was going after him!” she mouthed back, gesturing in what little space they had between them.
He pointed to the corner of the room and silently replied, “The woman is right there!”
Tal stood on her toes to get closer to his eye level. “Well, I didn’t see her!” She swayed into Faron, and he caught her around the tops of her arms.
“Obviously.” The corners of his lips pulled into wry smile.
Tal narrowed her eyes, but something in her chest clenched to see that expression returned. Nerves had them both breathing heavily in the tight space, and Tal swore she could feel his heartbeat against her chest.
The maid brushed by the curtain, stirring the air around them. Tal expected the exotic spiciness of clove, but noted fresh lavender and rosemary instead. “New soap?” she mouthed and sniffed dramatically.
Faron grimaced. “It’s all I had.”
Tal scrunched her face to hide her smile, but Faron mirrored her expression.
While the maid worked around the room, the two hid in the near-dark, exchanging looks of feigned annoyance.
Faron still held Tal’s arms, so she turned her contemptuous gaze to his hands.
This only encouraged him to begin massaging circles into the leather at her shoulders.
The sensation sent goosebumps running up and down her body, and she hoped the dim lighting concealed the flush that filled her cheeks.
Faron slid one foot to the side of Tal’s leg, pressing her up against the window. He leaned his head down until his breath brushed across her lips.
Tal pressed into the window and let her head fall back.
It hit the window with a distinct thud. They froze.
They waited for the servant to discover their hiding spot.
The silence of the room beyond stretched until Tal couldn’t take it anymore, and she poked her head out from behind the curtain.
Cool air blasted against her face, and she realized how stifling it was in their hiding spot.
A quick glance confirmed the woman had left.
Tal stumbled out of Faron’s grasp and into the cool study air.
She wrenched one of her daggers into her hand and brandished it against the noble.
“You! Knock it off,” she whispered hoarsely. She wanted so badly to smack the smirk off his face… or kiss it. What? She inhaled. Did that thought just cross her mind? Instead, she walked over to the bookshelf by the large wooden desk and eyed the shelves.
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when Faron stepped close behind her. He reached over her shoulder and pulled at the binding of one of the books. The same metallic click echoed through the room, followed by the agonizingly loud groan of the bookshelf. Tal glanced behind her.
Faron’s hand gestured for her to go first. “After you.” Cold surrounded her when she stepped out of his space.
Behind the bookshelf lay a large stone tunnel.
It sloped downward toward the northern side of the property in the direction of the dovecote.
She took out a second dagger. A quick glance confirmed Faron’s swords were also in hand.
They stalked down the tunnel, past the occasional torch illuminating the way.
A deep, quiet voice echoed, stopping them in their tracks.
Tal could barely make out the form of the young noble up ahead.
He paced back and forth, mumbling to himself.
She afforded Faron a single look then took off toward the gentleman, silent as an owl in the night.
She pulled up her hood and face covering mid-step and sheathed one of her daggers, staying to the shadows along the wall.
When the nobleman turned away, she ran the remaining distance and pounced, covering his mouth with her free hand and holding the dagger to his neck with the other.
He yelped against her hand and jerked in her grasp.