“You’ve made an enemy, there,” Friedrich muttered.
“Yes, but maybe a friend, too,” Celia replied, thinking back to the girl staring at her.
♦ ♦ ♦
“I’m going out,” she said simply, waiting for the expected response.
“When?” Greta asked.
“Now. I want to see if the hunters really are coming from the manor.”
Friedrich and Greta exchanged glances.
“Well,” Friedrich said, his voice thick. “I’m not your father, girl, and I don’t know that I could stop you if I were. But I wish you wouldn’t. It would be hard, on Greta, you see, to lose another so soon after. Well, you know.”
“You won’t lose me,” Celia said, touched that this gruff man would display such emotion to her. “I’ll come back in a little while. Trust me.”
Greta hugged her tightly, blinking furiously to stop the tears from overflowing her eyes.
“Really,” Celia said. “I promise. I’ll be careful.”
She disengaged herself and walked to the door. With a last smile, she opened it and stepped out quickly into the gathering dusk.
The streets were almost empty. The sun was barely visible above the rooftops and would be gone in moments. Those still out hurried on their way, glancing fearfully at the crescent of light. No one paid any attention to her.
She moved off quickly, to be away from her host’s house in case a hunter was to see her too soon. But none appeared, and she found a hiding place.
The street darkened, the last stragglers disappeared and Dunfield took on an even more menacing aspect than it wore during the day. Celia shivered and stayed where she was, hoping that one of them would pass by, and hoping the exact opposite at the same time.
The minutes pass slowly until her patience was rewarded.
Down the street came the sound of whistling. It was almost a jaunty tune, like a craftsman would sound while working on a piece. It was out of place here and made her even more nervous.
Cautiously, she peeked out of her hiding and saw them. Two of the hunters, and she was reasonably sure they were the twins from that night in the alley. Bright blue and orange outfits, blank white masks, crazy hair styles. They came up the street together, and whether one was doing the whistling or both she couldn’t tell.
When they neared she shrank back into the shadows. They passed by, never noticing her. When they moved several yards further away, she slowly slipped out behind them, hugging the wall and following.
They moved aimlessly through the streets, that maddening tune never ceasing. Twice she needed to duck into an alley and trust to dumb luck to hide as she spotted others, but she managed to avoid being detected.
Finally, the darkness grew deeper and the two hunters began to work their way back to the plaza with the fountain, then up the wide avenue. Yes, they were heading for the manor.
Celia didn’t need to get close to see the door standing wide open, nothing but darkness visible inside. No sign of lights burned anywhere.
She jumped over the rim of the fountain and crouched down, ignoring the smell from the shallow pool of stagnant water at the bottom. Other hunters showed up, and she worried that one of them would pass close enough to peer over the edge and find her there, but none did.
There was also no one visible but the hunters. If it was their goal to drive everyone off the street but themselves, they had succeeded. But in the process, they had driven off their prey as well.
Celia noticed a difference in them. Some weren’t moving with their normal fluid grace. There were a few missteps and staggers among them. And once, a wavering whistle that sounded like misery.
But all of them made it to the manor and disappeared inside just as the last of the light faded from the sky. The door shut, and night truly fell on Dunfield again.
Chapter 23
Even being in the library couldn’t soothe her, and not for the first time, she wondered how often Florian felt the same. Darius had been gone for two days now, and there was no sign of him and no word from him. Jocasta didn’t have any idea of what was happening at Towering Oaks.
Had he turned on her? It was possible. Even if she had taken him from being a mere servant and raised him above what his birth dictated, he still might harbor feelings of resentment. Or perhaps he was discovered, and even now they were getting information out of him, readying to march on Whispering Pines and take them by surprise.
Anything was possible, and it was maddening to try to consider all possibilities and prepare for them. She realized how much she had come to depend on bouncing ideas off Darius in the short time he was her aide.
Onboard ship, she always had a first mate and, while her word was law, much as it was here, she learned to hire on good ones and listen to their advice. A good first mate was worth their weight in gold, and Darius filled that role for her now.
But if your mate went overboard in a storm, you picked another, even if only until you were back in port. Over the years, Jocasta found a few diamonds in the rough that way.
Here, she already had someone. Childress may have been upset last time they spoke, but it was he who called her home and backed her to be Head of House. Maybe it was only a matter of explaining her intentions better, staying calm and letting him have his say. Then perhaps, he would see the wisdom of what she was saying.
Yes, time to involve Childress more deeply.
She rose to her feet and opened the door to the room, summoning
