Liaze then turned to the pair of red-faced but smiling lads carrying her gear. “Zacharie, will you see to my bow and quiver?” And as the steward stepped forward and took the weapons from the one lad, Liaze said to Martine, “And, madam, would you please relieve these young men of their, um, embarrassing burdens, and see that my garments get to my quarters?”
Grinding her teeth at being asked to act as nought but a common maid, Martine snatched the leathers and silks and linens and boots from the two boys and stalked off toward the manor.
The other women began drifting toward the mansion, and among them there came a giggle, and someone pointed at the retreating matron and said sotto voce, “Did you hear what Martine said when Princess Liaze came agallop with the man?”
“Oui,” came the reply, and the voice took on a portentous tone, somewhat like that of Martine: “ ‘Princess, you are not wearing clothes!’ As if that were the only important thing, the princess having just saved the man from the Goblins and the Troll, and him wounded and all.”
“ ‘Tutor Martine, it’s not like I had time to don my clothing when Goblins were breathing on my neck!’ That’s what she said, the princess.”
The two laughed, accompanied by titters from the others, and then one said, “This brave chevalier, I wonder where he is from, and how he came to be in the Autumnwood, and why was he fighting Goblins, and where did they come from and…” Their voices faded away as they moved onward, guards going at their sides.
Encircled by the warband, Liaze turned to Remy. “Set a double ward this night, Armsmaster, and tomorrow I would have you and your men search the surround and get an accurate count of the fallen foe. See if you can tell whence they came… as well as what you can discover of the path of the chevalier, too.”
“Yes, my lady,” said Remy, touching a finger to his forehead in salute.
“Princess,” said Zacharie, glancing ’round through the moonlit night, “we best get you inside, for as you said, there might be more foe about.”
Liaze nodded and then turned and padded toward the manor, an escort of armed men going ahead and aflank and aft of their barefooted lady, a lad bearing a shattered sword at her side.
3
Zoe stood waiting under the high portico as Liaze and her escort of men paced up the three steps to the landing.
“Where is the chevalier, Zoe?”
“The infirmary, my lady.”
Through the entry they went, the brass-studded, thick doors of oak standing back against the walls of a short corridor. As members of the houseguard closed those doors behind, the princess and her escort stepped along the passage and through another oaken doorway to come to a broad landing opening into a vast front hall. Down two steps the princess went and onto a wide floor of white marble, where centered within and inset in stone lay a large depiction of a scarlet maple leaf in a broad circle, the perimeter of which showed ripened heads of grain-the leaf crafted of shades of red granite, the grain of shades of brown. Three storeys above, the alabaster ceiling held a leaded-glass skylight portraying the same leaf and grain-a reflection of the one below. To either side, a massive staircase-one left, one right-swept from landings up and ’round, curving to a high balcony encircling the floor below, and higher up still were individual balconies jutting out of the three facing walls, with recessed doors leading into chambers beyond. On the main floor itself were doors and archways ranged to left, right, and fore, both at the great-hall floor level and the balcony level just above; beyond those archways corridors receded into the interior of the manor. Sconces bearing lit candles and lanterns were ranged along on the walls around, giving the chamber a pale yellow glow, augmented by argent moonlight slanting in through high front windows and the leaded-glass skylight above.
Many members of the staff stood arrayed all ’round within the hall, and most faces held looks of anxiety.
Liaze stopped upon the red maple leaf-a symbol of her station-and gazed about. Then she said, “I know not why a Troll-led band of Goblins was within the Autumnwood, yet be assured that the Troll is dead and many Goblins were slain, and the remaining few fled for their lives. Be also assured that we are well armed, and the warband and the houseguard are not only up to the task of defending this place, but also of routing the foe. So, tend to your responsibilities, and sleep well this night, for those whose duty it is will remain vigilant and watch o’er you.”
A murmur of assent whispered ’round the room, and Zacharie said, “My lady, we thank you for these heartening words.” Most of those in the hall nodded in agreement, though a few yet held pensive looks. And then, with a gesture, Zacharie dismissed the staff, and the members vanished into the surrounding corridors.
“Zacharie, with me,” said Liaze. “Let us see what this chevalier can tell us.” She glanced at her armsmaster. “You as well, Remy.”
Rightward she turned, and she and Remy and Zacharie, with Zoe trotting after, headed toward the infirmary.
“When we heard the clarion call,” said Remy, “followed by what I knew to be the sound of Goblin horns, that’s when we grabbed up our arms and came running.”
“As did the houseguard,” said Zacharie.
“Who sounded the call, my lady?” asked Remy.
“The chevalier, I believe.”
“It is well that he did,” said Remy. “Else, my lady, you at the pool might have been-”
“Oh, don’t even think that, Remy,” said Zoe from behind, the handmaiden aghast.
“I can only say it was good that he rode a horse,” said Liaze, “else we might not have escaped at all.”
“Why are they here, I wonder?” said Zacharie. “-The Goblins, I mean, and the Troll.”
“The chevalier, too,” said Remy.
“Oh, my,” volunteered Zoe. “Do you think it had anything to do with those sisters, those witches?”
Liaze frowned. “Hradian, Iniqui, Nefasi?”
“Forget not Rhensibe,” said Zacharie.
“But Rhensibe is dead,” said Zoe.
“Exactly so,” said Remy. “It could be a raid of revenge.”
As Zoe’s mouth curved into a silent O, Remy said, “But wouldn’t they attack Winterwood Manor first? I mean, after all, it was Borel who-”
Liaze turned to Zacharie. “At first light send falcons. Perhaps Goblins and Trolls have already attacked there. Send falcons to the Summerwood and Springwood as well, bearing warnings and telling of what happened here.”
“Perhaps they attacked here first,” said Zacharie. “I mean, we have no defensive wall about the estate.”
Liaze shook her head. “We haven’t needed one.” “But Summerwood Manor has a wall about,” said Zoe.
“It is not one for protection,” said Remy. “Even so, were we to have a true defensive wall-”
“Let us not rehash old arguments,” said Liaze, waving a dismissive hand. “The manor itself is strong enough, and I would not live in a fort.”
“As you will, my lady,” said Remy, the armsmaster sighing.
Zacharie shrugged. “Still, they could come at us again with another raid of revenge.”
Liaze frowned and said, “I wonder.”
“My lady?” said Zacharie.
“Well,” said Liaze, “because they came back when the Goblin I slew called out, it seems they were after the knight, rather than coming to mount an attack on the manor.”
“Why would they be after him, my lady?” asked Zoe.
“Perhaps he can tell us,” said Liaze, even as they came to the door of the infirmary.
As they entered, several women standing at the side of a bed turned at the sound of their footsteps. Margaux was among them, and her face lit up and she smiled and said, “My lady.” The women moved aside, making room for the princess and her party.
