The Falcon in the Barn (Book 4 Forest at the Edge series) (63 page)

But a knock at the front door on the
afternoon of the 43
^rd
Day of Raining Season reminded
Mahrree there were no more predictable seasons. There stood an
official messenger from Idumea. That the messenger came to the
house, and not the fort, gave Mahrree a hint of what it was
about.

She opened and read the message.

Then she said, “Hmmm.”

She put on her thick cloak and walked in the
falling snow to the fort, into the reception area of the command
tower, and up the stairs.

Shem, consulting the map on the wall, looked
at her in surprise.

She raised her eyebrows briefly.

He gave her a complicated look back.

She held her hands up in surrender. “That’s
all I know, Shem. Don’t confuse me. Is he in?”

Shem grinned. “Yes.” He knocked on the wall
behind him in a pattern that apparently signaled,
Your wife’s
here
.

“
Really? Send her in,”
Perrin called.

When Mahrree walked in he raised his eyebrows
at her in concern. She gave him a unconvincing smile and held up
the message.

“
How’s it phrased?” he
asked.

She opened it up. “‘Colonel Shin, Mrs. Shin,
Miss Jaytsy, and Mr. Peto are
expected
to join the Cush
family blah, blah, blah . . . for The Dinner. The Cush family would
be most pleased if the Shin family agrees to
reside
at the
High General’s mansion during their visit.’ And Mrs. Cush added,
‘We will accept no less than a two week stay. And bring that sweet,
handsome Uncle Shem of yours.’”

“
Hmm,” was all Perrin
said.

“
That was my response too.
They’ve given us a full three moons’ warning. I mean,
preparation time
.”

A voice from the outer office called, “I’m
not going.”

“
If I’m going, you’re
going, Zenos,” Perrin yelled back. “Even though it’ll have been
almost two years, I don’t think they’ll let me back in Idumea
without my escort.”

The door swung open and there stood Shem with
a mischievous smile. “We
could
really have some fun there,
you know.”

“
I’m done having fun,
Shem.”

“
Good. So am I,” and he
slammed the door.

“
We don’t have to send a
response for some time,” Perrin said quietly to his wife. “We can
ignore it for a while, can’t we?”

---

Knock-knock . . . knock-knock-knock.

Perrin had heard that knock so many times
each week he thought at some point it would stop causing him to
cringe. Or at least stop the twitching near his eye.

But no.

Some part of his body always involuntarily
spasmed when that third knock hit the door, followed by the last
two signaling the arrival of the biggest pain in his . . . life.
Aside from the occasional moments when Thorne’s true personality
burst out to confront Perrin, he was usually a compliant,
eager-to-please officer.

Which made Perrin want to kick him.

“
Come in.” Sometimes it was
so hard to get those words out.

The door opened and there he stood with what
he likely thought was his most handsome grin, but he used it on the
wrong person.

“
Sir, I noticed Mrs. Shin
was here this afternoon?”

“
Yes . . .”

“
She was holding an
official parchment?”

“
Tell me, Thorne—do you
enjoy noticing
everything?
”

His jaw worked up and down for a moment.
“Why, yes . . . isn’t that my job?”

“
I don’t know,” Perrin said
coldly. “Is it?”

Thorne glanced around the office, searching
for an answer. Finally his eyes rested again on Perrin, and he
pointed at him in the same manner the cheese hagglers do when
they’re convinced they’re being had.

“
Ha-ha,” the captain
produced a grin. “It is, isn’t it? As second in
command—”

Now Perrin glanced around the office.
“Thorne, just who are you trying to remind of that fact? Is there
anyone in this room who doesn’t know that?”

Thorne pulled his finger back. “Uh, no sir? I
just, just—”

“
You came in here for a
reason, Captain?”

His tense smile returned. “Yes. Yes! I’m
assuming Mrs. Shin was here because she received the
invitation?”

Perrin’s shoulders went rigid.
“Invitation.”

“
To The Dinner, of course!”
Thorne grinned so dazzlingly that Perrin clenched his fist under
the desk. More of those teeth begged—
begged
—to be knocked
out.

“
Ample warning,” was all
Perrin replied.

“
So . . . can I tell my
grandmother to expect you? You can choose the rooms you wish to
occupy while you’re there.”

Perrin reclenched his fist. “Mrs. Shin will
send our family’s response when a decision has been made, Captain.
You need not worry yourself about women’s duties.”

Thorne blinked. “But if I can render
any
service, sir—”

It was the insincerity. Perrin stared deep
into the captain’s blue eyes, but Thorne had built an impenetrable
wall there which blocked a variety of truths which Perrin would
likely find most repulsive. Some men had a little to hide. This boy
hid his entire world.

“
If there’s nothing else,
Captain, I’m about to go out on rounds.” It was a bit early yet,
but no sense in procrastinating.

Thorne stepped reluctantly away from the
door. He must have had something more to say. “Uh, no sir—”

Perrin pushed past him and jogged down the
stairs.

Thorne sighed and stared longingly at the
colonel’s desk.

---

Jaytsy headed home from the market one
afternoon, her breath forming fog and her basket heavy with the
last of the year’s apples and some still-warm sweet breads. The
heat coming up through the cloth protecting them was deliciously
warm on her gloved hands.

“
On such a cold day, would
you accept someone walking you home?”

She shivered when she heard the voice next to
her ear, but it wasn’t because of cold.

“
Of course, Captain
Thorne.” A part of her was startled that he still existed. She
hadn’t even thought of him for many moons. But that was partly
because everything about him was all wrong. His eyes reminded her
of ice, his blonde hair the bales of hay in
that barn
. And
always there was that odd scent of lavender.

“
Thank you,” she said
curtly as she took his arm. She felt him flex his muscles in his
sleeve and she wished she had a pin to poke them with.

“
Did you hear about the
invitation?” he said amiably.

“
To your grandparents’
dinner? Yes, it came about a week ago.”

“
I’m looking forward to it.
My family is too. I think they’re hoping for another show to be put
on by your father,” Thorne chuckled stiffly. “I wonder what he’ll
come up with this year! Last year was, well, a little dull by
comparison to that baby incident. He really seems to enjoy
babies—”

“
Oh, Captain—” Jaytsy cut
him off before he could suggest anything else about
babies.

“
Lemuel,” he reminded
her.

She suppressed a groan. “Lemuel, we haven’t
decided if we’re going.”

“
Oh, but you have to
come!”

“
Lemuel, it’s just that . .
. I don’t think . . .” She faltered until she came up with, “My
father still has some memories of Idumea that I’m not sure he’ll
ever get over. He’s come so far this past year, and we’d hate for
anything to happen to him. It’d be terrible for him to go to that
mansion now and, well, you can imagine. It certainly wouldn’t be
dull, I could promise that!”

Lemuel worked that over for a second before
declaring it, “Funny,” faster than he ever had before. “Jayts—”

She winced at his shortening her name like
that. Only her family, Uncle Shem, and now Deckett—or rather,
Deck—called her that.

“—
can I share something
with you? I really want your father to go. My grandfather’s health
has been failing, and my father is . . .” Thorne sighed and sounded
genuinely concerned. “I’m not so sure that my father is
up to
replacing him
.”

Jaytsy watched him from the corner of her eye
and noticed his jaw moving, looking for the right words.

“
He can be difficult,”
Lemuel finally said. “I believe Colonel Shin would be a far better
High General. He needs to be there at The Dinner so that everyone
can see him as we see him now. He’s just the right . . . ” He shook
his head, unsure of how to phrase it.

Jaytsy let out a breath that hung in the cold
air while her insides squirmed. “I really don’t know, Lemuel—”

He stopped walking. Taking Jaytsy’s hand, the
captain looked around and found a wide tree off the side of the
road. He pulled her over to the meager shelter of it, out of the
traffic of the dozen or so people on their way to the market.

Gripping her arms, he looked fervently into
her eyes. “Miss Jaytsy—
Jayts
—then you come with me! Please,
to Idumea.”

Jaytsy’s mouth dropped open. “Just . . . just
. . .”

“
Yes, just you and me! We
could take the fort coach and talk all the way there. We’ll stay
with my grandparents at the mansion, tour Idumea, and see the
plays. I heard the one about your father is quite good. They keep
extending its run, and they’d give us the best seats in the
theater, I’m sure. There’s so much you didn’t get to see two years
ago. Let me show it all to you! My mother could take you shopping.
I know that’s what girls love to do,” he said as if he’d uncovered
some mystical secret. “You could buy the newest dresses, shoes,
hats . . . anything you want. It’s all yours!”

Jaytsy couldn’t speak. She could only stare
at him as he beamed at her and his brilliant idea.

He had no idea what girls loved. At least not
this
girl. He had a narrow view of women and applied it
lazily to her. Nearly two years ago she’d enjoyed shopping with her
grandmother, but since then the world had changed around her. Even
Edge had shifted, and pushed her in new directions as well. She
didn’t even care that she wore her grandmother’s flowered dresses
after
Harvest Season.

And no men she cared about were interested in
fashion or the theater. It was all fake and contrived, and
unappealing.

But she knew what she
did
love, and it
was glorious to no longer worry about the world’s opinions. She
loved real things. Dirt on her hands and under her fingernails.
Flicking insects off the corn. Filling wagons with potatoes.
Braiding the greens of onions together. Measuring milk yields.
Churning butter. Sampling cheeses. Looking into cows’ eyes.

Cow eyes
.

Lemuel shook her a little by the arms. “Are
you all right?”

“
Yes,” she finally
muttered.

“
Yes, you’ll come with
me?”

“
No!” she nearly shouted.
“I meant, yes,
I’m all right
. But Lemuel . . . I need to
talk to my parents about this.” That was a safe excuse to buy her
time.

“
Of course. Naturally.”
Lemuel lost a bit of his earnestness. “Maybe you can convince them
they should all come. Please try, Jaytsy. Promise me? And consider
us? Much could happen on a trip like this.” He licked his lips
hungrily.

That was
exactly
what she worried
about. Much
could
happen alone with him in a carriage for
days. She felt the urge to kick him for his presumption. Of course
he wanted her alone in a carriage for days. No room for her to
fight and run, no Shem to threaten him . . .

“
I will speak to my
parents, Captain Thorne,” she said firmly. “That’s all I can
promise right now. I need to go home. My mother’s expecting
me.”

“
Of course.” He smiled and
began to lean toward her.

Jaytsy wasn’t about to be nauseated again by
an unwanted kiss. She dodged out of the way, and in two quick steps
she was back on the side of the road heading home at her fastest
walk.

Thorne jogged to catch up to her and let
escape an awkward chuckle. Without a word she took his arm again
out of politeness, although she wasn’t sure why—it wasn’t as if he
had been insinuating anything
polite
—and he patted her hand.
It was the longest three blocks she’d ever walked.

When she dropped the basket of food in the
kitchen a few minutes later, she told her mother, “We have a
problem. Lemuel Thorne walked me home. He wants me to go to
Idumea.”

Mahrree shook her head as she put another
dish in the wash basin. “Now they’ve got him pressuring us, and
they barely sent the invitation—”

“
Mother, you don’t
understand. He wants
me
to go to Idumea. With him.
Alone
.”

Jaytsy had never seen a mother bear before.
But she’d heard stories about what they look like when someone
steps between them and their cubs. Mahrree Shin must have worn the
exact same look.

“
WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?”
she bellowed.

Jaytsy put a finger in her ear and wiggled it
dramatically. “A little louder, Mother, and he can probably hear
you. He’s on his way to the fort now—”

Mahrree threw down her washing cloth and
started for the door.

Jaytsy leaped in front of her. “No! Mother!
Stay! Stop!”