The Lady and the Prince
Chapter 25

Sylvie Conway, maid to Lady Elizabeth Mary Stratton, was on a mission of importance and proud that she had been entrusted with it. Riding in the big coach was rather nice too, although the herald riding with her was something of an annoyance.

The man apparently thought himself a handsome devil and any woman should be thrilled with his attentions. When they rode together in the servant’s carriage, Mr. Winkershime and Hal had been there too, and Norbert had mostly kept to himself. But now that they were alone in the Warwick’s coach, the loud-voiced man paid her far more attention than she wanted.

At first it had been a little flattering, but he didn’t seem to understand that it was just flirting and didn’t mean anything. When Sylvie realized that, she did everything she could think of to discourage the herald, but to no avail. All day long he gave her flowery compliments and tried to put his hands on her until she made him sit on the opposite seat. Even then, he continued with suggestive comments, and the way he looked at her was unpleasant.

It finally occurred to her that she was actually now in charge of the remains of the Progress. The morning of the second day after a short overnight stop, she moved Norbert back to the servant’s carriage, but then was stumped for someone to sit in for the prince as she was for Lady Elizabeth. Hal was too young and the wagon drivers were too roughly dressed. So finally she brought the assistant coach driver, Parker, down to sit with her and moved one of the footmen who rode on the back of the coach, up to sit with the driver. Having only one footman on the coach was hardly anything anyone would notice who wasn’t a member of the nobility.

She wasn’t sure why she picked Parker other than she had seen Winkershime speak to him in a friendly manner a time or two, and he had always been polite. He was a plain-looking man, not anyone you would usually notice, but his clothes were good enough to pass after he exchanged his red and gold coachman’s jacket for civilian gray. Inside the coach he continued to be polite and they made light pleasant conversation.

The Progress itself was moving unusually fast. They had swung inland across Aggradon and would be cutting through a corner of Haas and then through Completon almost straight south to Warwick lands and Londinum. The roads themselves were reasonably well cared for, but the extra speed meant extra swaying and bouncing. The one remaining wagon with them was lightly loaded and had no difficulty keeping up since it carried just the things for their remaining six guards, drivers, and servants. Sylvie herself had two small trunks, and that made up nearly a third of the load. Everything belonging to Prince Nicholas, Lady Elizabeth, and Mr. Winkershime had been left behind as well as one of the wagons.

Sylvie had been concerned they wouldn’t have enough guards to protect them, but once they swung inland her fears eased. They saw no signs of war other than the scarcity of young men. There were mostly women and older children in the fields with just a scattering of men starting the harvest. There were fewer horses too, and in one field she saw people waiting for a lone wagon to return to pick up the next load of reaped grain.

The Progress started early each morning and kept moving until late, taking only short breaks at lunch and midafternoon. Sylvie noticed Parker seemed to be deciding when to start and stop. That seemed odd, so she asked him about it.

“Mr. Parker, why are you directing our speed? I would have thought Mr. Hamblin as the driver would be doing that or the guard sergeant.”

“Oh, Mr. Winkershime decided that. Mr. Hamblin is responsible for the coach and horses. You must understand that is quite a lot of work which is why I assist him as well as being right there if he needs a break with the reins. So Mr. Winkershime assigned the schedule keeping to me since my usual duties are lighter.”

Sylvie nodded, but it seemed to her that the schedule duty should have been given to Mr. Hamblin, who could have decided which responsibilities to assign to his assistant, but she didn’t say anything. She had learned never to interfere with someone else’s work and to expect no one to interfere with hers. Not that she had any work right now until they reached the palace.

“The footman, Jarvis, said he could drive, which is why I set him up on the box. He’s all right, isn’t he?”

“Oh, yes, he’s apprenticed to drive. He wouldn’t be allowed if any of the royal family were in the coach, but since it’s just us, no one will mind.”

Sylvie nodded again, not overly reassured, but surely on a nice road even an apprentice could manage. It was the first time she had decided what someone else would do, and she wasn’t entirely confident in herself in that role. Still, when they reached the palace, she would have to be very sure of herself to succeed in her task of destroying the beds of the royal family to get rid of the runes. She both dreaded and looked forward to the challenge.

She and Hal would be taking a big risk. They could lose their places and be punished severely for what they were going to attempt if anyone in the royal family took it the wrong way. But she knew how important it was, and she was as brave as anyone, wasn’t she? It’s just she’d never had to prove it before.

Day after day they rumbled through the countryside, either stopping at inns or just camping. They avoided the residences of the nobility. No one was expecting the Progress now, and they were just servants on an errand. If people believed that Prince Nicholas and Lady Elizabeth were in the coach, well good, but Sylvie wasn’t going to lie about her identity to anyone.

The day they expected to arrive in Londinum, Sylvie had Hal ride in the coach instead of Parker. She wanted to make sure the boy understood what to do once they arrived.

“First of all, you’re to do what I say. I know it’s not the normal thing for a page to obey a maid, but this is special. Prince Nicholas wants us to do this together.”

“I remember,” Hal said a little defensively; his good memory had gotten him his job after all.

“Do you also remember you’re not to touch the runes, just look under the beds?”

“Of course.”

“So what does a rune that you’re not to touch look like?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Hal said slowly.

“Exactly. It could just be a scratch or a drawn line. So you’re not to touch the underside of the beds at all, are you clear on that?”

“Maybe I should wear gloves.”

“It’s not just your hands, it’s your nose and knees and toes and everything. And I don’t know that gloves would help. Maybe they would, you have them, don’t you?”

“Of course, sometimes I have to wear gloves so I don’t smudge when I deliver.”

“Good enough. We can look under Prince Nicholas’s bed. He won’t be there for sure, and Prince Richard’s too since he and Princess Giselle should have left long ago. We’ll see what we can see and then figure out what to do next, agreed?”

“Yes, I suppose, but I still think it would be easier just to light them all on fire and run.”

“Don’t be daft. You’d just burn up the sheets and bedding and get yourself tossed in the dungeon or sent to a madhouse to boot. You just do what I say and nothing else, Hal. Promise me.”

Hal reluctantly agreed.

There was some confusion when they arrived at the palace. No one expected a maid and a page to be riding in the coach. Parker had gone back to the driving seat, so he and the footman Jarvis were in their proper places, at least.

Sylvie just told the palace servants she was doing what her mistress bade her to do and asked for her trunks to be brought to her room. The herald complained loudly that he was supposed to be in the coach too, but the uppity maid had kicked him out. Everyone ignored him.

Hal wanted to start looking under beds right away, but Sylvie told him to put his things away and have lunch first. Right now too many people were looking at them, and folks would be noticing they were back for a bit. He needed to say hello to his friends and report to the page master to see if he could be allowed the rest of the day off. Then he should come to her room.

Sylvie did the same, having her lunch and unpacking. She had everything properly sorted and stowed when she heard a light knock at her door. It was Hal, and Parker was with him.

Sylvie admitted Hal, but to Parker she said, “What do you want then?”

“I want to help. If you’re going to haul bed frames outside, you’re going to need some muscle, and I’m available. I understand how important it is.”

“Do you? Been eavesdropping, have you?”

Parker grinned and said, “Of course. We coachmen hear everything, we just pretend not to when it’s none of our business.” Sylvie noticed he was much better-looking when he smiled, his eyes crinkling up and a lot of white teeth showing.

“Well, it’s your neck, and we can use the help. We’re going to check Prince Nicholas’s bed first, so come along.”

They had no difficulty getting into the prince’s suite. They trooped into the bedroom, and Hal made a show of putting on his white gloves, while Sylvie flipped up the bedding hanging down on the side. Hal lay down and scooted under but said, “I can’t see much, it’s too dark.”

Parker found a candle and cut it down to just a stub so it wouldn’t char the underside of the bed that was only about a foot off the floor. He lit it and slid it carefully under to Hal. They waited while Hal looked where he was, and then he started wiggling around to check other areas of the bed.

Sylvie jumped when Hal thumped the bed. “Hal, are you all right? Did you replace something?”

“No, I just bumped my knee. I guess I have to go slower. But there’s nothing under here anyway, and I’ve checked it from head to foot and side to side.”

Hal pushed out the candle, and Parker retrieved it and blew it out. Hal wiggled out quickly, not concerned about touching the bed anymore.

Sylvie said, “Well, I suppose that’s a relief of sorts, but I’ll be happier when we replace something so we know what we’re looking for.”

They went to the large suite that was Richard’s and Giselle’s. Most of their personal things had been removed, and it was just empty rooms now. The three went into the bedroom and repeated the process. Hal still had on his gloves, Sylvie moved the bedding out of the way, and Parker lit the candle stub.

The page slid under, and Parker pushed the candle to him, but he didn’t stay under long. He gave an inarticulate cry and pushed himself out. “There’s a big spider under there!”

Sylvie put her hands on her hips and said, “A big fellow like you and you’re afraid of a little bitty spider?”

“No, miss, it’s not that kind. It’s on the underside of the bed, and it covers most of it. Here take the candle, I want to see something.”

Hal poked his head under then slid out again. “Yeah, it’s glowing, just a little; wasn’t sure with the candlelight.”

Parker lay down next to the bed and looked under and said, “Oh my god, he’s right, look at that thing. There are lines for a web of sorts too, but they’re not neat like a real spider would make.”

Sylvie couldn’t resist, even with her big skirts. She moved Parker out of the way and lay down, holding her skirts and petticoats down with her hands. “Oh my,” she said and then got back up. “We won’t have any trouble convincing anyone these have to be burned once they see that.”

Parker said, “Let’s get the bedding and mattress stripped off. I can turn the bed on its side, so the markings are visible. Then we can show it to…who?”

“Princess Anne and Princess Eugenie,” Sylvie said decisively, moving an armload of pillows to a chair. Hal scraped off blankets and left them in a pile, and all three got the mattress off and leaned it up against the wall. Parker reached for the bed frame.

“Wait,” said Sylvie. “Maybe we shouldn’t move the bed just yet.”

“Why not?” asked the driver.

“These runes are tricky things, you understand? We don’t know how they work exactly. What if turning it up makes it go invisible or explode or something?” Sylvie said worriedly.

He stopped, and they all just stared at the bare wooden frame. Hal piped up, “What are we going to do then?”

Parker said dubiously, “You used to work for Princess Anne. Maybe she could look at it as it is?”

Scornfully, Hal responded, “Princesses don’t crawl around on the floor.”

Sylvie said, “Princess Anne might, and maybe Princess Eugenie too. Or we can turn it up when they’re here, and they can see it a bit if something happens. Parker, you stay here and make sure nobody bothers the bed. I’ll fetch Princess Anne. Hal, you get Princess Eugenie. Just say she’s needed right away and to follow you. Then stay ahead of her and don’t say another word. Most definitely don’t try to explain all this. Got it?”

Hal nodded and ran off. Sylvie headed for Anne’s suite. She knocked, and one of Anne’s three maids answered it. Sylvie wasn’t quite sure how to say she wanted to speak to a princess, so she just blurted out, “I need to see Princess Anne right away, it’s very important.”

The maid knew her but shook her head and said, “You don’t work here anymore.”

“Doesn’t matter. Lady Elizabeth and Prince Nicholas sent me, and I have to see her.”

“Now you’re just lying, Sylvie. You know they’re on their Progress.”

“And so was I, they sent me back to do this.”

Even though they’d been speaking quietly, Anne had heard the urgency in Sylvie’s voice and came to investigate. “What’s going on? Sylvie, what’s happened? You were on Progress, did something happen to Nick or Elizabeth?”

“No, Your Highness, it’s not that. They sent me back for something else that’s very important, something you need to see.”

“What is it?”

“It’s in Prince Richard’s suite. Please come and I’ll show you.”

“You can’t just tell me?”

Sylvie hesitated. She felt a little like she was trying to order around a princess, which just wasn’t right. But she knew Princess Anne, had served her for years, and if she couldn’t convince the one royal who knew her, how could she possibly succeed? “No, you’d never believe me. Please come, Your Highness. I swear you won’t be sorry,” Sylvie insisted.

Anne looked at her former maid closely. Whatever it was, Sylvie really did believe she needed to see it. The princess said “All right, but this better be important.” Sylvie nodded vigorously.

Anne followed her former maid and was almost run into by Hal scurrying ahead of a rapidly walking Princess Eugenie, who asked, “Anne, what is going on?”

“I have no idea. Sylvie says there’s something I need to see.”

“Both Your Highnesses, please?” Sylvie beseeched.

Eugenie and Anne looked at each other a moment, and then Anne said, “Sylvie has a good head on her shoulders. If she says we need to see something then we should take a look.”

The four went to join Parker. He was waiting for them, and when everyone was in position off to the side a bit just in case the rune reacted to the bed being lifted, Parker and Sylvie each took one corner of the frame and raised one side, tilting the underside up.

The rune came into view. The soft glow stopped, but the lines were there clearly etched into the wood.

“What is that?” Eugenie breathed. Anne added, “How did that get there? Who did this?”

Sylvie and Parker lowered the bed frame back down. Sylvie replied, “I don’t know who did it or how it got there, but Prince Nicholas told me it’s a sterility rune, and we have to burn all the beds that have it.”

“Which have you checked?” Eugenie asked urgently.

“Just this one and Prince Nicholas’s, and his didn’t have it.”

“Then we’ll look at mine next,” said Eugenie firmly, and Anne added, “And then mine and the king’s. Do we need to look at all the beds in the palace?”

Sylvie said, “The prince just said Warwick beds, Your Highness,” as they moved through the halls to Crown Prince Edward’s suite. He and Princess Eugenie had five large rooms. When the group got to the bedroom though, they halted.

The bed was a huge old four-poster with a curtain frame on a raised platform. A small family could have lived in less space.

Hal stepped forward and said, “I can squeeze under there. Candle?”

Parker lit the stub as Hal carefully slid himself under. The bed bottom was lower, and he had to turn his head to be sure not to touch it with his nose. But he didn’t have to go under far.

“It’s there, all right, an even bigger one than the last. How’d anyone get under to put it there?”

No one knew, but Eugenie was smiling. When Anne looked at her quizzically, she said, “Don’t you see? It’s not my fault, it’s not Edward’s fault. Without black sorcery we can have children.” Anne smiled back and said, “Of course you can. My bed next.”

But Anne’s bed was clean. “We’ll need to look at the king’s,” Sylvie said hesitantly.

Eugenie nodded. “Of course. Sylvie, you stay by my bed. You, what’s your name, coachman? Go back and watch the other bed. Anne and I will handle the king’s bed with the help of this brave little fellow.” She, Anne, and Hal went to the king’s chamber, while Parker retreated to Richard’s.

They couldn’t just walk in though; there were guards on the door as usual. Anne told one, “We need to see the king.” The guard hesitated, and Eugenie said, “Right now,” in a voice that made the guard jump to obey. Anne muttered, “I really must learn to do that,” and Eugenie replied, “Marry a crown prince, and you will.”

The guard returned and bowed to them. “The king will see you in a moment, Your Highnesses. He bids you wait in the antechamber.”

The three went in to a small room with nothing but a desk and a lot of chairs. They sat and waited for a few minutes, and then the inner door opened and the king’s secretary poked his head out and said, “Please come in, Your Highnesses.”

Hal hesitated, unsure whether he was to go in too, but Anne put a hand on his shoulder and steered him forward with her. They went into the king’s sitting room and gave small curtsies, while Hal bowed deeply.

The king finished signing a document and looked up. He looked tired and older than when Hal had seen him last. “What is it? Everything is so urgent now. I haven’t a minute’s peace anymore, and now my own family is in on it.”

Eugenie spoke for them. “Your Majesty, we regret disturbing you, but we have uncovered evidence of sorcery in the palace.”

“Sorcery? Surely not. What put such a wild idea into your heads?”

Anne spoke. “On his Progress, Nick discovered a plot against us involving magic. You remember the message we got by bird? He also sent word back with some of the servants that runes to prevent the Warwicks from producing children have been placed under our beds. We have examined four beds and found the image of a large spider etched into the bottom of two of them: Edward’s and Richard’s. We believe these are the runes he has warned us of and believe your bed may also be so marked.”

“A rune on the bottom of my bed to prevent…I suppose that would explain a great deal. But if this is true, that means there is a traitor who has access to not just the palace but also our private rooms. Why is that page here?”

Eugenie was going to answer for him, but Hal bravely spoke for himself. “Your Majesty, I’m small enough to fit under the beds to look.”

“I see. Well then, go look.” The king dismissed them toward the closed door of his bedroom. All three curtsied and bowed and went into the room. The bed was similar to that of the crown prince, and Anne helped with lighting the candle stub and sliding it to Hal.

Hal went farther in but then slithered out. “It’s there,” he announced, “but smaller, only about half the size of the bed. It looks older too; the edges of the lines are softer.”

They went back to the sitting room and informed the king. He muttered, “The nefarious bastards.” Then he said loudly, “I’ll take it from here. Guard! Send me the page master and your captain.” He turned back to his daughter and daughter-in-law. “I’ll have every bed in the palace checked. How are we to destroy the runes? Does anyone know?”

Eugenie responded, “By burning the beds according to Nick. There’s power in the runes, and they’re not to be touched, and everyone must stand well back when they’re burned—at least, so I’ve been told.”

The king frowned at her a little. “By servants? Why didn’t Nicky and his fiancée come home themselves? Where are they?”

Everyone looked at Hal, who blushed a little to have so much royal attention centered on him. “His Highness and Lady Elizabeth were staying with Baron Stratton, Your Majesty.”

“Why? Why stay way off in Aggradon instead of coming home?”

“I…I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

The king sighed. “Of course you don’t, you’re just a page. Maybe it’s just as well, they may be safer there.” The guard captain and the page master were standing respectfully waiting, and the king turned to them and began issuing orders. Anne and Eugenie curtsied and Hal bowed, and they retreated from the king’s presence.

The palace was searched, and three other beds were found to have the rune as well: Arthur’s and two smaller beds that were recognized as beds used by Edward and Richard before they married. The larger beds had to be disassembled, but all six were removed by guards who were gloved and very careful not to touch the carved spiders.

In the courtyard the beds were set on a pyre of kindling and small wood and set afire. The spider carvings hissed and sparked as they burned, but there were no explosions to everyone’s relief. While the old beds burned, others were shifted around in the palace to replace them with the best readily available.

That evening Sylvie had dinner with the other maids and Hal with the pages, but near the end of the meal, one of the servers from the main hall came and fetched them by the king’s command. They followed into the large dining hall and were led up on the platform where the royal family ate, and they bowed and curtsied. Sylvie was sad to see so many empty chairs. The king and queen were there as well as Crown Prince Edward and Princesses Eugenie and Anne, but the chairs for Richard and Giselle, Arthur, and Nick and Elizabeth were empty. Richard’s might forever remain so, but she fervently hoped all five would soon be filled again.

The king let them wait until he finished his dessert. Then he took a long drink of wine before addressing them.

“Maid Sylvie Conway and Page Hal, you have done great service to Anglia and to myself and my family. You deserve a reward,” he said loudly. “To you, Miss Conway, I grant one gold piece per month for the rest of your natural life. I hope in spite of this you continue to serve Lady Elizabeth, but that is your choice.”

Sylvie curtsied deeply, visions of the clothing she could buy dancing in her head. She responded, “I am deeply honored, Your Majesty, and I will be most pleased to continue to serve m’lady.”

The king turned to Hal. “You have shown a great deal of courage, lad, facing unknown magic at close range. That courage should be put to better use. I offer you the opportunity to train as a squire. Would you like that?”

Hal’s eyes got huge. It was a dangerous profession, but one with unique opportunity. A good squire could someday become a knight, the lowest rank of nobility. Hal bowed and said, “Oh, Your Majesty, yes, please.”

“Then it’s settled,” the king announced and stood up. Everyone else did as well, and he left with the queen followed by the other royals. Anne winked at Sylvie as she left, and Sylvie grinned back a little impertinently. Now she knew where the idea to just give her money came from. Anne knew her well enough to know what the maid loved best.

The next morning, Sylvie set about replaceing out what was going on with the war. Rumors were rife among the servants and often contradictory. The only things that were agreed upon were that the Francks had landed and taken Sothalia. That much was known because refugees had reached Londinum. But none of Duke Hubert’s family had arrived, and the stories varied from they had all been killed or captured to they had fled by boat to Ibarra. Privately, Sylvie didn’t believe the last one. Since the Francks had come by ship, she doubted any Anglians had safely escaped that way. But she said nothing; after all, hoping for the best hurt no one at this point.

Prince Arthur was leading the army with Weapons Master Connidian at his side. The rumors agreed that the entire Anglian army hadn’t had time to gather before the attack, but some said the Anglians were crushing the Francks between two forces, while others said the Francks were picking off the separated Anglian units one by one.

Sylvie gave up on it; no one she knew seemed to really know the truth. So the maid did what she could do. She went through the remains of Elizabeth’s wardrobe and began ordering clothing to fill in the gaps. It would be just like Lady Elizabeth to show up at the palace without her trunks, and Sylvie was not going to be caught without the proper outfits for her future princess.

Nick, Elizabeth, and Ralph rode slowly, avoiding the main road and just watching for signs of an encampment. The prince paid very little attention to anything but his magic, and they were accompanied by swirls of leaves and odd little gusts of wind as they progressed across fields and down small tracks. Nick waved his arms around, and Elizabeth kept a firm hold of his horse’s reins so it wouldn’t startle and bolt.

It didn’t take more than a few hours to replace the Franckish army. It was camped on top of a large hill and visible from quite a distance. The camp itself was huge, and all the biggest tents were in the center; there was no way for them to get close to Frais or any of the Franckish leaders. They couldn’t even get anywhere near the hill; the Francks had sentries and patrols out all around it.

Ralph led them on a wide arc around the camp. They stopped for lunch well out of sight, he and Elizabeth taking care of the horses and putting out food while Nick wandered around still engrossed in figuring out how to make air move quickly and en masse in the direction he desired.

Eventually Elizabeth went up to him and held a slice of ham in front of his face. “It’s time to eat, Nick. Take a break.”

The sudden appearance of the ham broke his concentration, and the prince dropped his hands and followed her to their temporary camp. They all ate well, and then Nick said, “Give me a little while, okay? It’s hard to concentrate while I’m riding, and I think I almost have it. It’s about temperature and pressure and making the air want to move instead of pushing it, I think.”

“You can make the air want to move?” Ralph asked dubiously. “We shouldn’t stay here very long. We’re still too close to the Francks.”

“Just an hour,” Nick muttered, already waving his arms around again. Elizabeth and Ralph agreed with a look, and they left him alone for a while. He stood off at the edge of a small clearing facing a group of trees that were beginning to turn red, brown, and gold.

The prince dropped his arms and put his hands on his hips while he thought. He wanted to make the leaves rustle in a wind of his own devising. There was energy in the air just like there was energy trapped in everything, it just was hard to grasp. If he used his own energy to move some of the energy already in the air from here to over there, then he got a gust of wind. If he moved as much as he possibly could from one side of the trees to the other…

There was a roar, and wind slammed into the trees, bending them far over and pulling off a whirl of leaves. Nick stopped what he was doing, but the wind still blew, although less violently. It gradually calmed, and he found Ralph and had come over to see what he’d done.

“That looked promising,” Ralph commented.

Elizabeth snorted. “Yes, if he plans to blow the Francks back across the water.”

“I know, I know,” said Nick. “I have to get better control, but at least I can move a large volume of air far enough to keep us out of that green smoke stuff if Frais tries that again.”

Ralph said, “We’d best move on. Someone may come to investigate that, and we need to replace a campsite for tonight. I’d like to locate the Anglian army, not to join it but to keep track of where it is.”

They cleaned up their camp and rode on. They found the Anglian army by following some Anglian soldiers. As they approached a farmhouse, they heard a lot of squawking and yelling. From a distance they saw five soldiers chasing down chickens while the farmer yelled at them as his wife tried to hit the men with her broom in a vain attempt to save her poultry. But the soldiers each got hold of one of the hens, ignored the flailing broom, and trotted off with their prizes while the farmer continued to shout and curse.

Ralph led Nick and Elizabeth in a roundabout way to avoid the farmhouse and cut the trail of the soldiers. Elizabeth would have liked to have paid the farmers for their hens, but Ralph told her they couldn’t possibly compensate everyone for their losses due to the war, and he didn’t want to lose the trail. Once they spotted the five scavengers again, they rode slowly so as to not overtake them. When the men passed Anglian sentries, Nick and Elizabeth hung back while Ralph rode forward and conversed with the guards.

He came back and reported that this was the main body of the Anglian forces and that Prince Arthur led them. They circled again outside the range of the sentries to replace a campsite between the army and Londinum.

“Are you sure this is the direction they’ll go?” Elizabeth asked worriedly. “What if they head south or back east for some reason?”

Nick responded, “I can’t imagine any strategic reason for the Francks to go anywhere except on to Londinum from here, unless they decide to retreat. If they do, then there’s no need to engage them anyway.”

They found a small hill with a creek on the far side and camped just over the top so their campfire wouldn’t be seen, but it would be simple to take the few steps up the hill to where the Anglian fires were visible.

As they sat around their fire, Nick asked, “Ralph, how long do you think the Francks will wait?”

“For that matter, why are they waiting?” Elizabeth added. “It seems the longer they do, the more likely the Anglian army from Landsford will arrive to reinforce Arthur.”

Ralph stirred the fire a bit. “I’m not sure of the answer to either question. Remember, the Francks spread out their landing, so there are likely still large numbers of them that haven’t caught up with their army, particularly foot soldiers. We came down the coast more quickly than marching soldiers, Francks or Anglians, and I don’t know whether Landsford has marched or not. Hopefully someone sent him a bird and he’s coming.”

“Maybe he’s engaged the Francks that are behind us too,” Nick said. “Or maybe not. Maybe Landsford will head directly to Londinum rather than come down the coast.”

“One other possibility is that Frais doesn’t know Strelliere is dead,” Ralph added.

Nick picked up the thought. “I surprised him. He expected to be the only sorcerer on the battlefield and have it all his own way. Maybe he’s looking for magical reinforcements either from Strelliere or even all the way from Franck.”

Appalled, Elizabeth said, “More Franckish sorcerers would be…well, bad.”

Nick sighed. “Very bad. Frais and I are almost equal in strength, and he knows stuff that I don’t. I hope they’re just waiting for Strelliere. What I don’t get is why Arthur is just sitting there watching them. I know he doesn’t have enough combatants to attack, but shouldn’t he be fortifying something or guarding bridges across a river or something like that?”

“Maybe he is,” Ralph said thoughtfully. “I didn’t see any Glenriver pennants on the battlefield. Duke Winslow may still be marching from the west, or he may have orders to be the final line of defense at one of the large rivers defending the bridges as you said.”

Elizabeth said, “This is just ridiculous. No one knows where anyone else is or what is really going on.”

Ralph smiled a little at her frustration. “As I said, the fog of war, and I don’t mean that green stuff Frais threw at us. For tonight, I think one of us should keep an eye out at the top of the hill without creating a visible silhouette, of course. Anyone care to volunteer for first watch?”