“When they said they sold what they could and brought supplies,” Andere said, “they meant it.”

“We will never be able to move quietly with all of this!” Lan said.

Andere shrugged.

Lan took a deep breath. Very well. He would work with it. “Moving quietly appears to be failing anyway. From now on, we will pose as a caravan delivering supplies to Shienar.”

“But—”

“You will swear to me,” he said, turning toward the men. “Each of you will swear not to reveal who I am or send word to anyone else who might be looking for me. You will swear it.”

Nazar looked like he would object, but Lan silenced him with a stern look. One by one, they swore.

The five had become dozens, but it would stop there.

Chapter 24

To Make a Stand

“Bed rest,” Melfane announced, taking her ear from the wooden tube she’d placed against Elayne’s chest. The midwife was a short, ample-cheeked woman who today wore her hair tied back by a translucent blue scarf. Her neat dress was of white and matching sky-blue, as if worn in defiance of the perpetually overcast sky.

“What?” Elayne asked.

“One week,” Melfane said, wagging a thick finger at Elayne. “You aren’t to be on your feet for one week.”

Elayne blinked, stunned, her exhaustion fleeing for the moment. Melfane smiled cheerfully as she consigned Elayne to this impossible punishment. Bed rest? For a week?

Birgitte stood in the doorway, Mat in the room beyond. He’d stepped out for Melfane’s inspection, but otherwise he’d hovered near her almost as protectively as Birgitte. You’d never know they cared for her by the way they spoke, however—the two of them had been sharing curses, each trying to top the other. Elayne had learned a few new ones. Who knew that hundred-legs did those things?

Her babes were safe, so far as Melfane could tell. That was the important part. “Bed rest is, of course, impossible,” Elayne said. “I have far too much to do.”

“Well, it will have to be done from bed,” Melfane replied, her voice pleasant but completely unyielding. “Your body and your child have undergone a great stress. They need time to recover. I will be attending you and making certain you maintain a strict diet.”

“But—”

“I won’t hear any excuses,” Melfane interrupted.

“I’m the Queen!” Elayne said, exasperated.

“And I’m the Queen’s midwife,” Melfane replied, still calm. “There isn’t a soldier or attendant in this palace who won’t help me, if I determine that your health—and that of your child—is at risk.” She met Elayne’s eyes. “Would you like to put my words to the test, Your Majesty?”

Elayne cringed, imagining her own Guards forbidding her to exit her chambers. Or, worse, tying her down. She glanced at Birgitte, but received only a satisfied nod. “It’s no more than you deserve,” that nod seemed to say.