Corcy nodded. “I was afraid you’d see it that way. I beg you to reconsider. These men won’t betray you until pressed. I will swear any oath you name.”

The Queen reached out and took Lord Corcy’s hand. “I accept your word, my lord. Go, and return.”

“We’ll just keep your son as our guest,” the captain said.

He and Corcy exchanged a long look, and Blanche thought there might be blood, but Corcy bowed. “Very well, my lord. Adam, remain here with these gentlemen. Where will I find you, sir?”

The Red Knight—in his proper colour, visible even in moonlight—nodded. “North of Lorica, and moving quickly,” he said. “We’ll have de Vrailly at our heels.”

“I’ll come as fast as I may,” Lord Corcy said.

The sheriff was more openly angry. “Christ on the cross, gentles! I swore my oath! Let me be!”

The spearmen who’d accompanied him the day before muttered angrily.

Bad Tom came out of the yard. “We don’t have horses for this lot,” he said. “They’ll only slow us down.”

Blanche put a hand to her throat, convinced she was about to see these poor men butchered.

A tight ring of pages and archers surrounded them, and suddenly they had swords in their hands.

The captain put his hands on his hips. His golden belt glowed in the moonlight.

He winked. It seemed improbable, but she was sure he had winked.

“We’ll be long gone to Lorica,” he said. “Let them go.”

The archers and pages sheathed their swords.

The sheriff and his men were even handed their weapons. They took no more damage than some taunts.

Most of them fled.

Blanche was interested to see that two men—both big, capable-looking peasants—remained. They had a brief conversation with Cully and were put up on wagons.

The Queen smiled at her. “Oh, it is good to be alive! The sun is coming. It is just across the rim of the world. There’s a fox in yon hedgerow looking for a meal, and a family of mice in the foundation just here—by the blessed Virgin, it is the world.” She looked at the worthy sister. “I did not expect to see this morn at all,” she said.

Amicia nodded. “The fox will eat the mice,” she said.

Desiderata’s clear, delighted laugh rang out. “Only some, Amicia. That is the way of the world, too.”

The column began to move.

Chapter Nine

The Company

They moved very quickly—back over some of the same ground they’d followed the day before. Blanche saw a pair of men meet the captain—he rode by the Queen—and both men were new to her, clad in green. The day began to break after they’d been on the road an hour.