She looked amused. “I can take care of myself.”

“With your charm to protect you?”

“Oh, yes—and this.” She pulled her skirt up to her knee and showed him a shapely leg and the poniard in her boot.

Seregil chuckled, showing her the poniard he carried in the same manner. “They do come in handy, don’t they?”

“Since I’ve been on the island, I’ve never had to use it.”

“But before?”

“As I said, I traveled. You don’t always get a hospitable welcome, especially if you’re a woman.”

That had certainly been his experience when he traveled or worked dressed as a woman, but he couldn’t really tell her that.

She cocked her head slightly, which made her look that much more fetching. “I suppose it would be rude of me to wonder why a rich Skalan baron is getting himself into scrapes with ghosts and acting as a wizard’s scent hound.”

“Some might say so,” Seregil replied and left it at that. Was it her charm and beauty, or blood loss that was making him feel so reckless?

A cart was found. Seregil tied Windrunner on behind, with Kordira’s bay gelding, and struggled to pull himself up to the seat beside her as every cut and stitch on his body cried out with the effort. Kordira caught his elbow as he began to fall back. Gritting his teeth, he made it and sat very still, trying to get his breath back.

“You really should stay in bed for another day or two,” she noted.

“You’re absolutely right, Doctor, but I’m not going to.” He gripped the edge of the wooden seat. “Let’s get on with it, shall we?”

She shook the reins over the cart horse’s back and they rattled off down the road toward Mirror Moon. They hadn’t gone more than half a mile when she reined the horse in. “You’re in too much pain, aren’t you?”

It would have taken strength Seregil was using to stay upright to argue the matter.

She produced a clay jar from under the seat and handed it to him. “This will help.”

He shook his head. Out here alone, she could easily poison him.

“Suit yourself,” she said. “Let’s see if we can get to Mirror Moon without you screaming.”

“Thanks for the thought. Tell me about Lady Zella.”

“As I told Thero, she was in and out of consciousness when I left her. Physically she wasn’t seriously harmed, but something of the madness you saw in Captain Sedge is in her. It might just be fear and shock. I’ll be able to tell better when I see her today, now that she’s safe and has had a chance to rest.”