Sheldon nodded, dislodging a clump of congealed hair that dangled in his face. She could see the sweat on his brow glistening in the rising sun.

“Proust told you I’d be on this ferry this morning?”

“Yes. He said you were on your way to Dibben Monastery and would be trying to sneak out because the emperor forbade you to leave. He explained that in your haste and need for secrecy, you would neglect to invite me as you had promised. It’s understandable. You didn’t even risk getting horses, so why would you take the time to search for me? And how would you find me on such short notice if you did?”

“How indeed?” Farilane said, feeling disturbed in the way she imagined animals were before a quake. “But tell me, Sheldon, how did Proust know I was sneaking out?”

Sheldon looked at her, puzzled and dumbfounded. “God told him, of course.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Of course.”

Kile was studying both of them. She felt the heat of his questions in that brilliant gaze. It is quite possible that Kile is an agent of the emperor, who Virgil was forced to implant into my confidence to monitor my actions. And I accused Proust of being obsessed with conspiracy theories!

When Kile opened his mouth, she braced for his words.

“You promised he could come?” Kile asked, nodding at Sheldon with a weakly suppressed grimace.

“Proust was the one who pointed me toward Dibben,” she replied. “His only request was that Sheldon here be allowed to tag along.”

Kile studied the carpenter. “Tell me, have you ever heard of the term bath?”

Sheldon once more looked puzzled.

Kile glanced at Farilane with the shared suffering of the knowledgeable amid the oblivious. Then he turned to look out across the water at the approaching bank. Not a single comment did he make on the subject of their circumstances.

Farilane recalculated her mental abacus. He knows the subject is sensitive, and he is keeping any questions or objections to himself until we can speak privately. This was the only conclusion possible . . . wasn’t it?

Sheldon threw himself and his bag down on the deck of the barge and relaxed with all the abandon of a laborer momentarily unshackled by demands. Kile continued to peer ahead, leaving the princess at least a tiny moment of peace and a chance to breathe before the fight she was certain would follow, one she already regretted. Farilane barely knew Kile but had looked forward to his company. Assuming Kile refused to join her in defying the emperor, she now faced the possibility of traveling into the wilderness alone with Sheldon, not an appealing prospect.