Homage and Honour (39 page)

“When you get
into Graham, what then?”

“South to
Fort.”

“There might be
a way,” mused Beth, “you’ll need help. Leave it with me and I’ll
get back to you later. When do you intend to leave?”

“Short leave in
three tendays, perfect excuse, I can say I’m going to visit my
family at Settlement. You’ll not say?”

“I’ll not tell
anyone until you’re
missed
,” agreed Beth, “by then you’ll be
in Murdoch and it’ll be too late to stop you and whilst you’re
there, pick up what intelligence you can, will you?”

“Intelligence?”
Tana’s face was a picture.

“Didn’t you
wonder what I do or have you been so full of your own ploys to
think straight?”

Dawning
realisation appeared on Tana’s face.

“Got it yet?”
teased Beth.

“You’re not,
you’re not?”

“Yes you donk,
I’m with the Avuzdel, have been for months. Quite a change when you
think about it, duke’s daughter undergoes metamorphosis into
professional spy. Someone should write a book about it.”

“Maybe someone
will.”

Beth’s head
came up, “must go, I can hear the patter of paws and booted feet so
I deduce in time-honoured fashion that your next class
arrives.”

“First years,”
answered Tana, “most spend more time on the ground than in the
saddle. You should stay and watch, it can be quite funny.”

Beth laughed.
“I beg to be excused, I remember my first attempts, got work and
thinking to do.” With a wave and a laugh Beth was off, leaving Tana
wondering anew at the change. Who would have expected that the
timid and shy Contessa Elisabeth of Graham could have turned into
this bright, confident and courageous young woman?

It was as Tana
dismissed her last class of the day that she was approached by a
yellow-striped male by name of Andrei who, in a polite voice, asked
if he could join her and Tavei on her journey into Murdoch.

Just how he had
become aware of her plans Tana never discovered although she
suspected Beth and Xei had had something to do with it.

“You need to
pass through Graham,” advised Beth, “avoid inhabited areas if you
can, my father’s demesne is wooded, few venture into the murky
depths of the forests.” She traced out the route with an elegant
finger, “but you will not make it to the palace accompanied by
Tavei and Andrei without internal help. I will give you a letter.
It is my business to know what happens in Murdoch, my cousin James,
he is but a year younger than me, commands my father’s border
patrol to the east of the castle. You must find him and give him
the letter. He will help you for my sake, we were always close. In
fact, if my father hadn’t been so set on my marriage to the
Brentwood heir I might have liked to marry him.”

“The Brentwood
Heir? Tom Brentwood? That’s the man that Jess believed her sister
Ruth would have to marry.”

“Then south
along the eastern borders, down through the Duchy of Smith then
west along the river to Fort where the palace is,” Beth instructed,
ignoring the last.

* * * * *

Quest (2)

Tana, Tavei and
Andrei were three quarters of the way across the island chain. The
journey so far had been very wet and unpleasant and it didn’t look
like it was going to get any better.

“There’s a cave
on the other side of this island, shelter and fresh water. Beth
told me about it,” Tana said aloud, “I vote we try to find it. I
would like to sleep dry for a change.”

Tavei and
Andrei agreed and they turned west following in the footsteps, had
they known it, of three fugitives from the South who had fled north
during the very first year.

They found the
cave and went inside. Tana made haste to shed her wet garments and
wondered if they should risk a fire.

“Better not,”
said Tavei, “I have seen no tracks but that is not to say that the
Larg do not know of this place. At least we shall sleep out of the
wind and the rain.” He settled down on the sandy floor and wagged
his tail.

“Tomorrow we
make the last push and arrive at the edge of the Duchy of Graham,”
said Tana, “I wonder what we will find there?”

* * * * *

Quest (3)

Tavei was
careful as he manipulated Tana’s mindset. He knew that the Larg
could sense emotions emanating from human minds.

Tana, as with
the other vadeln-paired had very strong telepathic abilities
although unlike Tavei she could not converse or mind-link with
anyone other than him. A Larg scout might be able to sense her mind
and so he had to take steps to make sure that her thoughts were
blocked to all but him. He himself was in no danger of detection, a
situation for which he was very grateful. With care he insinuated
the telepathic blocks. Now her thoughts and emotions would only be
detected if the Larg were within pouncing distance and he had no
intention of getting that close.

Tana was not
aware of what Tavei was doing. As far as she was concerned, so long
as she kept her emotions tight and didn’t consciously ‘send’ a
message to Tavei they were safe.

It was quite
amazing, Tavei was thinking as he completed the procedure, how
little the humans really knew about telepathic abilities, even
after so long.

A few had
suspected; one long-dead human, Winston Randall by name, had
written a treatise on the subject. He had been ‘encouraged’ not to
disseminate the information and after his death the treatise had
mysteriously disappeared. In fact, it had been taken to the
repository deep within the rtathlians where dangerous items were
kept out of harms way. Of the great secret, only two humans had
ever learned of it and both had taken the knowledge with them to
their graves.

Beth’s cousin
James Graham was frankly admiring of Tavei and Andei.

“I trust my
cousin Elisabeth, whatever the real reason is for your need to
visit Fort, no, do not tell me. After you have delivered the
message to the Master-at-Arms, he is waiting for it, you must
approach the Captain of the Guard at the palace, he and I are old
friends, he will help you if he can. Philip Ross is his name,
remember it. The horse I’m lending you is a fast one, she’ll get
you there and remember, your Lind must not be seen.”

“Thank you,”
said Tana.

“Now, more of
Beth. She is well?”

“Well and
happy.”

“I’m glad to
hear that. I’m glad she made it to the North and in the Vada too!
Perhaps one day we’ll meet again and you can tell me the full
story. Now, you’d better be off. Good luck. I’m thinking you’ll be
needing it.”

* * * * *

Quest (4)

Tana found it
difficult to adjust to riding a horse.

Once I am
home I am never going to ride one of these dratted animals
again
, she vowed.

She had left
the two Lind deep in the great forest and was making the rest of
the journey by herself. It would be too dangerous to take her two
friends any nearer to Fort and the more populous parts of the
kingdom.

She felt that
she had never been so alone.

For the last
ten years her mind had been linked to that of Tavei; she felt
lonely and frightened but she kept going. She owed it to Jess.

Oh Jess, why
did you have to die?

* * * * *

Quest (5)

Fort Baker was
every bit as imposing as Tana had been told.

She traced the
Master-at-Arms and after she had delivered James Graham’s
‘official’ message she asked where she could find the Captain of
the Palace Guard. “I have a personal message from Count James
Graham.”

“He is across
the water at the royal palace lad, surely you know this?” He looked
suspicious.

“Yes sir,” she
answered without hesitation, “but I wondered if the court might be
here and him with it.”

“Never been
here before have you?”

“No sir,”
answered a blushing Tana, thinking how bang on the truth he
was.

“You’ll find
him when you approach the guards at the palace gates. Ask for him
there. That way, over the ford and follow the paved road. Won’t
take you more than a candlemark.”

“Thank you
sir.” She kneed her horse away and thanked the Lai for the
journey-dust that hid her features. The man had been examining her
too closely for comfort.

He for his part
was admiring her poise and posture.

“Lad?”

Tana
half-turned in the saddle, hiding the spasm of fear. Had he
realised that she was not what she seemed?

“A fine lad
like you,” he said, “is wasted running with border guards at
Graham. If you feel like a change, come back and ask for me. The
cavalry would be glad to enlist you. You could do well.”

“I’ll remember
that,” answered Tana with a grin and a jaunty wave, “now I must be
off.”

She touched the
mare’s side, how awkward it was to have to give commands this way
and trotted off, a slim and erect figure sitting in the saddle as
if born to it.

Tana forded the
river and approached the palace gates preparing to face yet another
bout of questions and scrutiny. She need not have worried. The
Sergeant of the Guard recognised the Graham livery and passed her
through with a wave, directing her to the stable block where she
was to hand over her horse to the stable-slaves. The Captain, she
was informed, was in his office next to the enlisted men’s
barracks; his name was on the door. If he wasn’t there she was to
wait for him.

Philip Ross, he
was named after his father, the Lord Marshall, received the letter
with some surprise.

“Another letter
from James!” he exclaimed, holding out his hand for it, “and I have
not yet replied to the last.”

“Yes Captain,”
said Tana, “he said that it was most urgent and I was to ask that
you read it immediately.”

Philip Ross
broke the seal and read the letter’s contents, glancing at Tana
more than once as he did. He then bade her sit.

“This needs
some thinking about. You are from the North and are a friend of his
cousin, the one who went missing some years back? You require an
audience with Her Majesty. A private audience no less. Why?”

Tana believed
she had the answer that would pass muster. To tell him that she
intended to spirit away the Queen’s youngest daughter was
unthinkable, part of the truth would be best.

“I have news
for her,” she gulped, “news of her eldest daughter.”

“Jessica?”

Tana was
confused. How did he know about Jess? This man must be closer to
the family than she had thought.

“Yes,” she
admitted, “she is dead.”

Philip nodded
and Tana got the distinct impression that this was not news to
him.

“You have come
all this way just to tell Her Majesty that?”

“I promised
Jess that I would if anything happened to her and Mlei.”

“How did she
die?” Philip’s question was deceptively mild and disinterested.

“She died in
the mountains in a fight against the gtran defending a mining
camp.”

“You were her
friend.” this was a statement, not a question, “a good friend to
put yourself in so much danger to venture south like this. Are you
in the Vada too?”

Tana remained
silent but a slow flush spread through her cheeks.

Philip looked
at her closely. Something wasn’t quite right about this lad. He
sensed it, an indefinable feeling as yet but one that warranted
further investigation. First things first though.

“Are you
hungry? Course you must be. I’ll get you a meal in a bit. I must
admit that you don’t look like an assassin, but it is my duty to
make sure. I know the royal children well. What are the names of
the next two after Jessica?”

“Anne, she is
called Annette and then Xavier.”

“The youngest
girl?”

“Ruth. Her
grandmother chose it.”

“Did you ever
meet them?”

“Once, during
training. Jess took me and Beth to meet them. I stayed with the
family at their farm.”

“Describe them
to me.”

It was only as
Tana did that Philip began to relax.

“You must have
been very young if you trained with Jessica,” he observed, “I did
not know the Vada trained babes. What age are you now?
Fourteen?”

Tana blushed
again and stared at him, agonised. He was close to finding out her
secret.

“James gives
your name out as Tam. What is it really?”

“It is Tam,”
Tana floundered.

“I think not
girl,” was his sharp retort.

Tana bit her
lip, to have come so far and to have been stopped at the final
hurdle. He would not take her seriously now. Beth had taken pains
to explain how the men of Murdoch treated and thought of their
women.

Philip
surprised her.

“So why come
all this way to tell them their daughter is dead? A letter would
have done.”

It was time to
be straight with him, “Jess and I, we were friends from the start.
We were like sisters, closer even. We swore blood-oath. I promised
that if anything happened to her I would do what I could.”

“Where does
Elisabeth Graham come into all this?”

“She began
training at Vada same time as me. She was so helpless, you should
have seen her. Jess and I, we looked after her, Hannah too. We were
all close, Jess, Beth, Hannah and me.”

“The other two,
are they blood-sisters too?”

“Yes, but Jess
and I were closest.”

Philip’s own
meal appeared at this point and Philip ordered another portion,
passing his own to Tana who attacked the repast with gusto; such a
change from trail rations.

“I think it
safest that you remain here in my quarters,” announced Philip, “the
necessary is over there.” He pointed to a narrow door then
left.