Robin Hobb - Renegade's Magic

I thought of asking her if she realized that her behavior to his superiors would definitely affect Spink’s chance for advancement, but bit my tongue. Spink had said he was content with his willful wife; I would not interfere. I suspected it would have been a waste of my breath anyway. Instead, I said, “I admire what you’ve done with them. But I also envy you and Spink. I’m a stranger to them, but they’ve given their hearts to you.”

“All of that will change after you and Amzil are married,” she decided blithely. “I think you’ll make a very good father to them. Sem still speaks of you, from time to time, as ‘the man who used to hunt meat for us.’ That’s not a bad image for a son to have of his father.”

“You assume so much,” I said shakily.

“Do I?” she asked, and smiled at me fondly. “I’ve masterminded one prison escape before, and it went almost according to plan. There is only one bit I haven’t decided yet. Should she flee or hide?”

“What?” I was completely taken aback.

“Should Amzil flee or hide? If it’s flee, then we need to steal a horse. I’ve been thinking that the animal that scout was riding today looked healthy and fleet.”

“Epiny, you can’t be considering—”

“Oh, we both know nothing else will work. It’s fine for Spink to speak of the Captain coming to his senses, but I don’t think that man has any senses to come to. Once Spink returns, we shall know where she is held, and we can lay our plans.”

I was saved from having to reply to that by Sem coming with the primer, saying that he was ready to have his lesson heard. He battled his way manfully through eight letters, and then Kara read to us about the boy who could see the bee in the tree. I suppose I was too fulsome in my applause, for she rebuked me with a “Truly, sir, it’s not that difficult. I could teach you to read, if you’d like.”

That jolted a laugh from me, despite my heavy heart. Then Epiny rebuked both of us, Kara for being cheeky and me for laughing at bad manners. I straightened my face and managed to keep a grave expression as I asked little Kara if the missus had taught her to play Towsers yet, whereupon Epiny astonished both children by playfully slapping my hand and forbidding me to say another word about that game.

Yet all the while I was enjoying the children and rejoicing in the home they had found here, my heart was aching and my throat clenched over the fate of their mother. When the door closed behind Spink as he entered, we both jumped, and Epiny’s voice was too bright as she asked him if he had found what had been misplaced.

“Yes, I did,” he replied stiffly. “But it’s quite wedged where it has been dropped. I’m afraid it will take more than saying please to get it freed.”

Kara looked up hopefully. “Sir, I’ve got little hands. Often my mother says that I can get things that no one else can reach, like the time that the button fell through that crack in the wainscoting. Whatever it is, I’d be glad to reach it for you, if I could.”

“I know you would, darling,” he replied. “But I’m afraid it will have to wait for a time. Have you saved me anything to eat?”

“Of course we have. Give me a minute, and I’ll have it on the table for you,” she replied in a housewifely little voice, and trotted off to the kitchen, with Sem at her heels loudly insisting that he could help.

Epiny pounced on Spink. “Where is she?”

“The same block of cells where they held Nevare.”

“But that building is half burned!”

“Only the upper part. The lower cells remained intact. So they’ve put her in one of the punishment cells down there.”

“Punishment cell?”

“A very small room, with no windows, not even in the door. And quite stoutly built, I’m afraid.”

“And the guard on it?” I asked.

Spink looked ill. “Two men from that night in the street. Two men with every interest in seeing her hang so she can never speak the truth against them again. I’m sure Captain Thayer chose them deliberately.”

“Two men I’d have no compunction about killing,” I said, and was surprised at how calm and certain I was.

Spink went pale. “What are you talking about?” he asked, aghast.

Epiny answered. “We’ve been planning her escape. The only real question we have left is, should she flee or should she hide? I’ve been thinking that the best solution is to make it appear that she has fled, but when they give chase, they’ll only find a riderless horse. So they’ll think she jumped off the horse and fled into the forest. But actually we’ll hide her somewhere here in Gettys, and spirit her out after they’ve given up looking for her. We think that that scout’s horse looked good and fast. Do you know where he stables the beast?”

“Not ‘we,’” I said firmly. “Epiny has been making these extravagant plans. I have no ambition of stealing Tiber’s horse.” I sighed. “But I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t come up with anything better.”

Spink looked only mildly relieved. “Fleeing or hiding, such plans are of no use until we find a way to get her out of there. I stopped on the way home and spoke quietly to two other officers. Neither of them were enthusiastic about trying a civilian, let alone executing one, and both are horrified at the thought of hanging a woman. As for the Captain having himself flogged, well, it’s insane.”

“Then they’ll stand by us if we go to Captain Thayer tonight and—”

“They won’t stand by us. They won’t confront Thayer. A man capable of hanging a woman and flogging himself is certainly capable of punishing any underling who questions his authority. No. But they’d certainly be greatly relieved if something happened so that the woman didn’t hang.”

Epiny smiled. “So, for example, if she vanished from her cell, no one would search for her very diligently.”

“Epiny.” Spink looked at her levelly. “It’s very complicated. Everyone knows how Amzil feels about her children. They know she wouldn’t leave town without them.”

“She might. For a short time, because she knows they are safe with us.”

“Epiny, we’d still have to get her out of the cell.”

“We have some explosives left from the last time!” Epiny exclaimed brightly.

“No. Blowing up the cell wall with black powder would most likely kill the occupant,” Spink pointed out. “Those cells are tightly built with thick stone walls, not wood. Any explosion we set off that was powerful enough to break the wall would definitely harm Amzil. Nevare was very fortunate that you and Amzil blew up the wrong prison wall the last time. No. No explosions.”

“Well, that’s no good, then.” She thought for a moment. “What is the door made of? If we get rid of the guards, can we force it?”

I spoke up. “I doubt it. My door was of very thick wood, reinforced with metal strapping and a heavy lock.” I hesitated, then added, “It didn’t look as if the place where I broke out of my cell had been repaired very well. I might be able to break a hole in the wall with a pry bar and a sledge. But it wouldn’t be a quiet operation. And I might find myself back in my old cell, with the door still locked, and Amzil locked in another cell.”

Blithely ignoring this, Epiny was relentless. “Who would have the keys?”

“Captain Thayer, most likely.”

“Then we have to get them somehow. Spink, we’ll have to invent a reason for you to visit him tonight and—”

“Not a chance of that.” Spink sighed. “I went there before I came home, determined to make the man see some sort of reason. I couldn’t get past the sergeant on the desk. The man tried to be polite, but finally admitted that he’d been given a direct order not to admit me on any grounds.”