Once again, they hid wagons and animals in the forest while Bear sat by the fire and stared into the coals. Food was prepared, quietly. All of them but Bear ate, quietly. Finally, Precious Wind laid her hand on Bear’s shoulder. “What have you thought of?”
He stirred, noticing the plate before him for the first time. Hungrily, he seized a slab of bread, drew his knife, and sliced sausage atop it, then cheese, covering both with another slab of bread. “I’ve thought before we go riding by that place, we need to know what’s going on. Have any of you been here before? Know anyone who has? Have any kinfolk living up this way?”
Nettie said slowly, “I’ve mentioned my mother’s sister. Belika. She’s at the abbey, or so Ma always said. She cooks there. She’n’ Ma didn’t get along, but ever now and then, Ma got word of her.”
“Ah,” said Bear. “Well, now. Did you ever have brothers? Or cousins?”
“Belika had two boys, Timmer and Hout. They went down to Wellsport years ago, got in with the Port Lords, took ships for who knows where.”
“Willum, Clive,” Bear said. “You’re now Nettie’s cousins. One of you’s Timmer, the other is Hout; decide which and practice using the names. Nettie, you’re just who you are, Nettie Lean, joining your cousins to visit your aunt and their mother at Wilderbrook, hoping to make up for old family quarrels. Dig the cause out of your memory; create one if you can’t remember, so you can gossip about it. Nothing more boring than old disagreements in other people’s families. There are saddles in the dray. Each of you Farriers rides a horse—take that pale roan and the gray, they’re lightest in the bone, along with that brown she-mule for Nettie. Go on down to Benjobz, ask him if he’s got work you can do in trade for your lodging and food for a day or two, while the horses rest up. If yes, fine. If no, fine, say you’ll camp somewhere close by. If you’re asked if you’ve seen us, say you traveled with a bunch of Woldsgard people for a few days and left them when they had wheel trouble, this side of the falls. Get into conversation with anybody who’ll talk. Say you were off the road when a whole rush of horsemen went by one night. That’d make anybody curious, and someone’ll want to show off his knowledge of where they came from.”
“And you folks?” asked Nettie.
“Abasio?” Bear looked at him questioningly. “It would be good if you’d follow Nettie and the men, arriving a bit later. You could take lodging at the inn to rest your horse, or perhaps find some business they may have for a dyer. You don’t know Nettie and the men; they don’t know you. The rest of us are going to stay right here for a day or so,” Bear said. “When you find something out, one of you come to tell us about it. Once we know who all those horsemen were, then we’ll decide what to do next.”
Abasio nodded agreement. “And after you’ve been told?”
“Then each of you does what you said you’d do. Nettie and her cousins get on their well-rested animals and start up the Wilderbrook road to see her aunty. By that time, you’ll be acquainted with Abasio, and he’ll go along, or he’ll go first and you follow or t’other way round, whatever seems most natural. If you leave before us, stop at the first good camping place and keep watch; move on each day. We may not meet up until we’re at the abbey, but we’ll all get there.”
“We could all stop at that inn and find out the same information,” complained Oldwife. “I don’t like this splitting up.”
Precious Wind patted her arm. “All the rest of you could stop there and ask questions, certainly, if Xulai, Bear, and I were not with you. However, there is enmity directed against the child, Oldwife. You know that. And it’s against us, too, because we protect her. This plan seems the least dangerous and takes the least time.”
Willum and Clive went off to the wagons, unpacking this and that to stow in saddlebags. Nettie, shaking her head, went to do the same. She was a small woman; the brown mule was the smallest one, but still shaped like a barrel, and it had been a time since Nettie had ridden anything except a wagon seat. When it came to tactics, however, Bear always had a good reason, so there was no point asking him to change his mind. She was ruminating on this fact when Precious Wind tapped her on the shoulder.
“You won’t be sore from the little ride downhill from here to the inn, but you may on the uphill ride afterward. Here’s some salve for anyplace you feel blistered.”
“I’d feel better if Willum and Clive Farrier never touched ale,” Nettie said, shaking her head. “That’s an inn down there, and they can forget their own mother if they get drunk enough.”
Precious Wind spoke to Bear. Bear spoke softly to Willum and Clive, his hands moving up and down their shoulders as they nodded and agreed. Precious Wind returned to Nettie. “They will each relish one tankard in the evening. Nothing else, or Bear will slice off their ears and fry them for his breakfast.” She put her hand on Nettie’s shoulder.
“You’re sure?”
“Quite sure.” She went on to whisper for some little time, while her hand massaged Nettie’s arm and back. Nettie felt much better when she was finished. Xulai, watching, smiled to herself. She knew that shoulder-rubbing trick of the Tingawans. When they had done it to her, she was convinced she must obey them or die. Of course, she was younger then and didn’t know how to resist it. They had taught her that, too. Later on. When she was old enough to obey out of reason rather than paralysis.
Midmorning, the three rode out, the two men
