Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Will and Lute had parked themselves in the tunnel in front of the outer door, blocking access. Gort stood directly behind them, brandishing his axe.
“What is going on?” I asked.
Gort bowed. “My lady, these guards are requesting to speak to you.”
It was time to channel a noble. I made a step aside motion with my hand. I’d seen Everard do it often enough. The Magnars parted and I saw three men in chainmail and City Guard tabards.
The leader held out a scroll. “Knight Captain Jehan invites you to join him for a conversation.”
I stared at him.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then added, “My lady.”
I nodded at Will. He took the scroll and presented it to me.
“A conversation where?” Gort growled.
“At the Southern Guard Station,” I said. “No reason given.”
The Magnars squared their shoulders in unison. The lead guard took a small step back. His two colleagues put their hands on their weapons.
As far as I knew, the guards had no authority to remove me from the house without a written order. Rellas took the concept of “my home, my castle” very seriously. We could shut the door in their faces. However, that would only postpone this confrontation. There was a decent chance that they would come back with more guards or try to snatch me up when I was out in the city.
No, it was better to do this now, on my terms.
“I will require at least an hour to get ready. You may wait here, or you may return at that time.”
“We’ll wait.” The lead guard took what my father would call the “at ease” position. They wouldn’t be moving from their spot.
“You have a carriage, I assume? Or were you going to march me through the streets?”
The lead guard blinked.
I sighed. “Willem, procure a carriage for me while they’re waiting. Let us not advertise the Guard’s lack of courtesy.”
The lead guard turned slightly red.
I gave Will a pointed look. Go to the Shears and get a carriage.
Will bowed his head, stepped out into the street, and shut the door behind him. I headed into the courtyard.
“This is ill-advised,” Gort said.
I kept my voice low. “There is absolutely no reason for city guards to be here. Someone is behind this, and we need to know who.”
“What if they detain you?”
“On what charge?”
“On whatever charge they come up with while they have you there.”
“Then we’ll wait for the Shears to get me out. I’m sure my cousin left detailed instructions. Don’t do anything. Wait for me. I will be back.”
Knight Captain Jehan had a dilemma on his hands. I wasn’t sure what he had expected, but I clearly wasn’t it. I wore a gown in a beautiful green—Clover had made it for me to replace the one the Butcher had ruined. My hair was braided and styled to the latest fashion with silver cord and appropriate ornaments. My makeup was flawless, and I was looking at him as if he were a mosquito buzzing around me. Clover stood behind my chair, her hands demurely folded, her eyes downcast.
Knight Captains acted in the same capacity as police lieutenants in most large cities back home. Kair Toren had four main City Guard stations, each headed by a station commander, who had anywhere from four to six Knight Captains under his authority. The Knight Captains supervised the sergeants, who in turn supervised the guards. In terms of position, Jehan was upper middle management, and he hadn’t gotten that far by being dense. Intimidating a commoner was one thing, although under Rellasian law, even a commoner could appeal. Detaining a noblewoman without a solid cause was an entirely different matter, and if handled incorrectly, could cost him his career.
I had been ushered into his office three minutes ago, and he had yet to say a single word.
The Knight Captain gave me a heavy look. He was in his mid-to late thirties, maybe even early forties, a tall man with a severe expression and some silver in his hair. He wore a black and teal tabard over dark chainmail. A teal half cloak hugged his throat and draped down his back with a metal pauldron on one shoulder. A complicated belt of dark leather wrapped his waist, offering a variety of pockets filled with various things a City Guard Knight Captain might find handy.
His office was a large square space in the middle of the Southern Guard Station. He sat behind a heavy wooden desk, with stacks of paper and scrolls on both sides. Behind him the Kair Toren flag stretched across the wall, teal, edged with black, with a stylized Skyline of Eagle Roost in gold. The Justice Chamber was attired in royal colors, mostly purple, but as municipal police force, the City Guard had its own color scheme.
One of us had to start this conversation or I would be here all day.