“I’ll wake you, I swear.”

“All right,” Dorrin said. “But don’t let the men go wandering about—there are many dangers we haven’t cleared yet. And now the others have left, move those poor souls from the dungeons into the house—find clothes for them—”

“—and get their names and homes, and find out everything we can from them,” Selfer said. “And be sure there’s clean water drawn up from the well you specified, and check the state of the pantries and—”

Dorrin laughed, the last thing she’d expected. “And quit acting the mother hen, Captain? All right. I am exhausted. I’ll sleep in the dining room.”

She woke in late morning when Selfer called her name.

“Yes.” She stretched. “What is it?”

Selfer came into the room and closed the door behind him. He carried a tray with a covered dish, two jugs, a bowl and mug, and towels over one arm. He set these on the table. “Something to eat, some hot water.”

Dorrin yawned and stretched, while Selfer laid out a simple meal. Dorrin poured warm water into the bowl and washed her face and hands. Her clothes felt greasy, but she was awake. She sipped a spoonful of soup, trusting Selfer would have made sure it wasn’t poisoned.

“I feel better,” she said.

“Good, because the news isn’t. The man you found in the torture cells died. He roused enough to ask after his son, and wanted to see the body. The men carried him in; he smiled when he saw the way we’d laid the body out. He died shortly after that; I didn’t wake you then, but talked to the other prisoners and found out who he was. Two are from the same vill; they want to take the bodies there when they’re freed. They think they’re still prisoners because we’re guarding them. Anyway—we have no way to preserve the bodies and I don’t know if it’s safe to let them—the others—go. It’s too quiet; there’s no sign of those you’re sure escaped.”

Dorrin stood, raked at her hair, buckled on the sword she’d laid ready on the dining room table. “Do they understand there’s danger from the other Verrakai outside?”

“They think any Verrakai’s an enemy, including you, my lord.” Selfer straightened the hang of her cloak, as if he were still a squire. “They’re scared, they’re confused, and of course they’re still half-starved and some are hurt. We’ve fed them; they’ve had a chance to bathe, and they’re in clean clothes, but I’m not sure of your safety, my lord, let alone theirs.”

“I must go to them,” Dorrin said. “Safe or not—they have no weapons, do they?”

“No, my lord.”

“And where are they now?”

“Here, in the main hall where the Verrakaien ladies were.”

“What about the servants here in the household?”

“We put them to work—what they say is their usual work. I’ve had a squad go through the cells, make sure we didn’t miss anyone. It would take a river to clean out that dungeon—days, anyway.”