Binnesman said nothing in answer, only put his gnarled arms around her shoulders and held her, as her father had when she was a child and she’d awakened from an evil dream.

“Gaborn would help you be strong, if you would let him,” Binnesman offered.

“I know,” Iome said.

Down below her, most of the knights had begun to set a camp in the fields. The thin snow had melted now, and the night would not be cold. But only part of the castle looked serviceable. The Duke’s barracks and one of the manor houses still stood, though they had cracks in them. By no means could the castle house the thousands here, but some knights had brought squires and tents—enough so everyone would have shelter for the night.

Yet as the people put up tents, Iome caught many distrustful glances, heard grumbled comments. “What are the people down there saying about Gaborn?”

“The usual things . . .” Binnesman said. “Rumormongering.”

“What kinds of things?” Iome demanded.

“They feel you should have reacted more strongly to your father’s death.”

“He died when Raj Ahten took his wit. There was nothing left of my father.”

“You are made of stern stuff,” Binnesman said. “But had you cried and demanded Borenson’s death, perhaps your people would feel more . . . relieved.”

“Relieved?”

“Some people suspect that Gaborn ordered your father’s death.”

“Gaborn? How could they suspect that?” Iome asked, astonished. She looked downhill. An old woman bearing a load of sticks from the woods glanced at Iome, suspicion deep in her eyes.

“So he could marry you, take over your kingdom. Some people think that the fact that you let him live is ample proof that he has you fooled, and that now you are about to swoon into his foul clutches.”

“Who would say such things? Who would even think such things?” Iome asked.

“Do not blame them,” Binnesman smiled at her. “It is only natural. They have been deeply hurt these past few days, and suspicion comes easily. Trust comes much harder, and it takes time.”

Iome shook her head, dumbfounded. “Is it safe for Gaborn here? He’s not in danger?”

“As it stands,” Binnesman said, “I think some people in this valley pose a threat, yes.”

“You must go warn him to stay away!” Iome said. She realized that she’d been hoping for Gaborn to come back tonight, that she could not stand the thought of being away from him. “Tell him . . . tell him we cannot see each other, that it’s dangerous. Maybe in time . . . a few months.” Iome found herself shaking at the thought, tormented.

A few months seemed an eternity. Yet in another month or two the snows would begin to fly in earnest. Travel between their kingdoms would become difficult.

She wouldn’t see Gaborn again before spring. Five months or six at the soonest.