The Glittering Court (34 page)

“I will,” said Cedric. “Thank you.”

She headed toward her bedroom, and I asked, “Is the water still hot? I'd like to make some chamomile.”

She gestured at the kettle on the smoldering hearth. “Help yourself.”

Cedric and I walked upstairs together and then lingered on the landing that separated the boys' and girls' rooms.

“Well, how about that,” I whispered. “We get to spend our wedding night together after all.” Through a crack in the door to the boys' room, we could hear loud snoring.

“Exactly as I imagined,” Cedric said.

We kissed as much as we dared with me holding a hot cup of water and the knowledge anyone might stumble upon us. I went off to the girls' room floating, heady with everything that had taken place this night. I changed out of my work clothes and slipped on a plain nightgown. Before getting under the covers with the other girls, I sat on the room's one stool and finished my tea. I hadn't added chamomile to it, however. Instead, I'd mixed in the cinnamon thorn leaves that Mistress Marshall had given me on our journey.

Chapter 27

And so, unbeknownst to anyone else, a new pattern emerged for us in the next week. The entire world had changed for me.

Each morning Cedric would dutifully ride to the Marshall place and bring me back to help with the claim. We didn't get to work right away, though. We'd fall into the bed—or, well, the straw mattress that passed as one—and linger there as long as we dared. At least the straw was new, having been replaced after the storm. Getting up and starting our day took some effort, but the knowledge that we were that much closer to the life we wanted spurred us on. Equally hard was leaving him at the end of the day, but we did that too. I'd teach my lessons, sleep, and begin it all anew.

“I got you something,” Cedric told me one morning.

“More than a gourmet meal?”

That too was something else that had emerged. Cedric would always get out of bed first and make me breakfast. The old stove's options were limited, but he could pull off bacon and simple biscuits reasonably well. He'd serve it to me in bed, teasing that he had to wait on me because he knew that I secretly missed my old noble life and might leave him for it.

“Don't think I didn't notice that sarcasm. And yes, something more.”

I sat up cross-legged on the mattress. The only thing I'd bothered putting on so far was my plain white blouse, which was looking a lot less white than when I'd come to Hadisen. “Don't leave me in suspense.”

He came over and handed me my morning cup of cinnamon thorn tea, something else he'd taken upon himself to make, and a small
metallic object. I looked closer and saw it was a necklace. A narrow linked chain held an oval-shaped pendant of thin glass with a flower pressed in the middle. I'd seen this pressed-flower style before; they were trendy in Adoria right now. I held it up the light and realized what the flower was.

“It's bishop's lace,” I said in delight. “Just like the ones from our wedding.”

“It
is
one from our wedding. Since you can't wear a ring yet, I saved it so you'd have some kind of token.”

“That was resourceful of you.” I put the chain around my neck and ran my hands over the glass. “I forgot all about those flowers after . . . well, everything else that happened that night.”

He touched my cheek. “Well, I can be pretty distracting. It's a wonder you can remember your name anymore. Any of them.”

“Now, now, don't be so humble,” I said, elbowing him. “But thank you. I hope you didn't spend too much on it.”

“Don't worry, it's brass. I'll do better on the ring.”

He leaned down to kiss me, and then the sound of a horse outside made him jerk back. Without speaking, we both jumped up from the bed. Cedric tucked his shirt in while I hastily pulled on my split skirt and boots. I'd just seated myself at the tiny table with my tea when a knock sounded at the door. Cedric opened it casually, putting on a pleasantly surprised smile when he saw Elias's sour face outside.

“What an unexpected delight,” Cedric lied.

Elias peered inside. “Hard at work, I see.”

“You're just in time for breakfast.” I gestured to the bacon before me. “Always a good start to the day. Would you like some?”

Elias stepped inside, studying the shabby room with disdain. He leaned toward my food and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. “Of course not. I'm here on business.”

“Now, now, Elias. Don't be rude,” said a familiar voice. Warren appeared in the doorway. “May I come in?”

“Certainly,” Cedric said with a wave. “Welcome to my home.”

Warren's pleasant smile never left his face as he came in and looked around. I'd grown used to the shabbiness, but Warren no doubt thought I'd made a terrible choice. “How quaint,” was all he said.

Cedric had left the door open, and I could see Elias's usual henchmen out there, along with a few other unknown men milling about. “Is this for the lode?” I asked.

Throughout the week, Cedric and I had dutifully worked the pans and sluices but had stayed away from the outcropping. Warren and Elias had urged us to wait until the proper men and tools were there, and we'd obeyed, despite our growing impatience. It had been hard, knowing that Cedric could have easily gone up there and, within a week of hacking, gotten what we needed for our immediate debts.

“What else would it be for?” Elias snapped. “Now, if it isn't an inconvenience to your meal, we'd like to get started.”

He turned for the door, and Cedric and I exchanged looks behind his back. What else could we do? We both wanted this, and if Elias's attitude was the price we had to pay, so be it.

“I'm sorry,” said Warren in a low voice, once Elias was back outside. “I know he's . . . abrasive at times. But he's good at his job, and he's loyal.”

Outside, we found more climbing gear and several small crates. One of the men stepped forward, introducing himself as Argus Lane. He was an explosives expert and showed us how the crates were filled with small containers. “These work on a delay,” he explained. “There are two components. On their own, they're perfectly stable. When mixed in great enough quantities with each other, they trigger an explosive reaction. Men'll go up there and set them, then hurry down before the reaction occurs.”

“It sounds dangerous,” I said.

Argus smiled at me. “Not if they're done correctly. Once the components are attached and we're ready, you just pull out a pin that triggers the top one to gradually fill into the bottom. It's designed to be slow enough for a getaway.”

“Argus knows what he's doing,” Warren said, patting the other man on the back. “He mined in Kelardia before coming to Adoria, and he's already overseen the excavation of several lodes here.”

Two of the men began strapping on harnesses and ropes, and Cedric offered to go with them. “You stay on the ground,” said Elias. “We need skilled climbers who can get out in time. You can help when we're ready to dig it out—and then you can fall at your leisure.”

We'd mentioned Cedric's fall while at Warren's, and Elias had blamed it on Cedric's inexperience, rather than faulty equipment. Anger flared up in me, and I started to speak, but Cedric laid a calming hand on my arm. “We have bigger battles to fight,” he murmured.

“Elias,” said Warren in a warning voice.

Elias eyed Cedric for several moments, seeming undecided about something. At last, he said reluctantly, “If you want to help, you can fasten the second load of explosive components together.
Just
fasten them. Don't take the pins out. We don't need these going off.”

The components were clearly marked, one blue and one red, and Argus demonstrated how to intricately twist the two cases so they clicked into place, one on top of the other. The pin that stopped them from mixing was fixed in tightly between them. “Hard to get out—but still, be careful. Go slow.”

“I'll help,” I said, starting to kneel with Cedric in the grass.

“In Uros's name, no,” groaned Elias. “I just said we don't need these going off. This is men's work, Miss Bailey. Not sewing and mending.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I'm aware. And I've been doing ‘men's work' for weeks now.”

“She's actually better at it than sewing and mending,” remarked Cedric, deadpan.

Elias turned to Warren beseechingly. “Sir, I beg you.”

“Elias, she
is
a very capable woman, and you'd do well to recognize that,” said Warren sternly. He turned to me. “But, in fairness, I know when too many hands are involved in that kind of detailed work, it actually can get more complicated. Would you mind terribly if instead
I took you up on your earlier hospitality? I thought I smelled tea back there, and now I can't stop thinking about it.”

Elias's smug smile nearly drove me to refuse. I'd served them willingly last time, but now this felt like proof that I could do only “women's work.” But I kept the polite façade and went back to the shanty, grateful that on this trip, at least, I didn't have to hide Alanzan artifacts. I'd used up the last of my cinnamon thorn tea this morning and would have to endure the humiliation of asking Mistress Marshall for more. Not that I would've ever served that to Warren anyway. I instead used some decent black that Cedric had splurged on during a recent trip to town.

By the time it was steeped and ready to go, I found all sorts of progress outside. Warren's men were almost at the top of the outcropping. Cedric was just about finished with his task when Elias unceremoniously set down an enormous pile of rope, as well as a couple more explosives with the components already joined. “Since you're so eager to help,” said Elias, “this needs untangling.” His tone was as demeaning as ever. I was about to hurry over to help Cedric, but Warren beckoned me over, excitement on his face. He pointed up.

“We could mine what's at the top with picks, but the bottom would be too inaccessible because of the column's narrowness. Once they've assessed what's there, they'll blow off the outer rock on top and then mine what's exposed. They'll keep blowing it off section by section, working their way down until we get everything out. And then . . .” Warren gestured to the foothills beyond. “Then we go after that.”

“Where you'll get a lot more than a forty percent commission,” I said with a smile.

“Hey, boss,” called one of the men on top. He'd been looking in the crevasse. “This place is
stacked
. I can tell just from where he picked at it the other day.”

This elicited a few cheers from the men on the ground. Warren looked equally excited but managed to keep his voice dignified. “Well, that is what we're here for. Proceed.”

The men on top set to work placing the combined explosive components. Warren took my arm and began steering me backward. “The charges are designed to be strong enough to break through the rock but not
so
powerful they bring that whole structure down. Nonetheless—it's best if we keep our distance in case there's any falling debris.”

Other men on the ground were doing the same, and I cast an anxious look over at Cedric. He was on the opposite side of the outcropping from me but farther back than we were. When the explosives were set, the men pulled the pins out and then began quickly rappelling back down. Part of me expected something dramatic—like the explosives going off just as the men made it to the ground. But the mixing of the components had been timed to give a high margin of safety, and the men were back in the safe zone when the top of the outcropping exploded spectacularly.

Even knowing what to expect, I couldn't help a small cry of surprise. Thunder boomed around us, and the ground shook as a flash of fire lit up the crevasse. Warren pulled me to him and put his arm out protectively, but there was no need. We were indeed outside the most dangerous radius, and the rocks and debris that rained down stayed relatively close to the cliff itself. As the smoke blew away, I could see glittering spots on the ground among the rocky debris.

“There's gold there,” I said.

Warren smiled. “From the outer layers of the deposit. We can just walk over and pick that up later when the main part of the excavation has wrapped up. A lot easier than panning, huh?”

I started to answer and then caught sight of something in my periphery. I turned and saw a figure on horseback approaching from the side of the claim opposite the one that led to town. “Cedric,” I called. “There's someone there.”

Cedric rose and put a hand to his eyes to block the sun. A big grin broke out over his face. “Hey, Sully!” Cedric strode away from his task and waved to the approaching figure, who answered with his own wave.

A few things happened almost at once then. I saw Elias shoot Warren a questioning look. Eager to meet Cedric's infamous neighbor, I left Warren's side and hurried after Cedric, going very near where he'd been working on the rope. Elias ran up and grabbed me from behind, literally throwing me back toward Warren so that I hit the ground hard and bit my tongue.

“Hey,” I said, struggling to my feet. “What's the—”

The world was suddenly ripped apart. The prior explosion in the crevasse had been loud, but nothing compared to this deafening roar. One successive
boom
followed after another. I covered my ears, but it did little to dampen the sound. The shaking of the ground caused me to fall over again. Plumes of flame rolled up into the air from the equipment pile, soon leaving black smoke in their wake.

A hand on my arm tugged me up, and I found Warren looking down at me solicitously. At first, my ears rang too much to make sense of what he said. Then I finally heard: “Are you okay?”

I gave a shaky nod and looked around. All of his men were grouped not far from us, over by the outcropping and well away from the pile of explosives that had just gone off. Being on open ground like that, the blast had thrown up little debris short of dirt. My real panic, of course, came at seeing Cedric. He stood up on wobbly legs, having also been knocked over by a shock wave, and moved about unsteadily. I started to head toward him, but my own balance was still off.

“Easy there,” said Warren, holding me again so I wouldn't fall.

I started to protest, but then Sully rode up to Cedric and dismounted. The older man said something, and Cedric nodded. As I watched, his steps grew surer, and his balance returned.

“Get some water on that!” shouted Elias.

Most of the fire from the explosions was already out. A little of the surrounding grass still smoldered, but all that remained of the initial blast was a shallow crater. Warren's men all had canteens and used them to put out the residual flames. This just created more
smoke, and for a few minutes, we all coughed and wiped tears out of our eyes.

“Having a little trouble with your charges?” asked Sully conversationally. He was a stereotypical prospector, long and lanky with shaggy gray hair and an unkempt beard.