The Warrior Elf (11 page)

Chris leaned back in his chair. “I agree with what Rigel told you Tuesday night. There’s a possibility we can convince Jared to return two of the boats, provided we can find a copy of that contract and it clearly states two, but the two your father promised him in exchange for marrying you are his. You’re the one who called off the wedding, not him. He’s not in breach of the contract, so he wouldn’t forfeit those boats. But it all hinges on your being able to prove your father only promised him two and that all four did belong to you and your father. Do they have any unique markings on them? Anything that would prove they’re yours?”

Doreen thought for a moment and grinned. “On the inside of the bow, under the deck, my father and I carved our initials in the wood.” She laughed. “Although on the first two, my initials leave a little to be desired. I hadn’t learned how to carve at that point, so mine are box letters, and not very neat ones at that, but my father’s are beautiful. So yes, if you pull up a bit of the deck, you’ll find our initials on all four of our boats. Wouldn’t that prove they’re ours?”

“It would to me,” Chris said. “Now, how about the contract? Any idea where we might get our hands on a copy?”

“I know my father wouldn’t have signed a copy for Jared’s business manager without having a signed copy of his own. I don’t know where it could be though,” Doreen said slowly. “Probably somewhere in our house at Parson’s Branch, but I haven’t been there since the raid, so I don’t know what shape it’s in. It may not be standing.”

Chris nodded. “I think the first thing we need to do is go to your house and see what we can find.”

“When can we go?”

Chris thought for a moment. “Myron won’t be back until around lunch. Let me talk to him and see what he thinks. Can you come back this afternoon, say around two? I might have some answers for you then.”

Doreen nodded as she stood up. “Do you think it would be all right if I ate lunch here? I hate to go all the way back out to Jana’s just to turn around and come back.”

“I’m sure that’ll be fine. See you later.”

~ ~ ~ ~

When Kevin got back to the castle, he sat down, folded his arms on his desk, and rested his head on his arms. How in the world was he going to get through the next few weeks? The only way he’d been able to relax around Rhianna was to concentrate on magic. What was he going to do without that as a crutch?

Before he could dive into despair, Chris walked in and shut the door.

“So? How’d it go?” Chris asked as he sat down.

Kevin picked his head up and looked at Chris.

“That bad, huh?”

Kevin leaned back in his chair. “I’ve got a question. Why you?”

“What?”

“Why did Rhianna talk to you about this? Why not me?”

“Well, for one thing, she was afraid if she asked you to do it, you’d refuse.”

“And I wouldn’t if you asked?”

Chris shrugged. “She probably figured I wouldn’t ask, and if you’ll remember, I didn’t.”

“That’s true. You didn’t give me a chance to say no,” Kevin said slowly. “Guess that’s why she went to you instead of me. Good thinking on her part.”

“And she feels bad because she thinks this whole thing is going to put you in a bad spot.”

“No worse than the one the elves are putting her in.”

“It’s not quite the same. Everyone who matters to Rhianna, people like Landis, her family, Glendymere, all know what’s going on, know it’s fake. But if this is going to work, everyone around you has to believe it’s true, so you’re in a worse spot than she is. And when you add in all the flak you’re going to get from the other sorcerers when the news gets out...”

“There is that,” Kevin acknowledged.

“And, to top it off, she feels like it’s all her fault, like none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for her, if she hadn’t asked you to set it up to start with.”

“No more her fault than mine.”

“I know, but she feels like it is. She feels responsible for all the aggravation Rolan’s men are causing in North Amden, and for the fact that Landis and Taelor can’t go back to Crinsor Run until those men give up and go home. She also feels guilty for the mess this is going to cause in your life. And on top of that, she’s worried the Council of Elders will believe the rumors that she killed a man, and she’s afraid it will come up at the federation meeting, too.”

Kevin shook his head. “I can’t do anything about the council, but if it comes up at the federation meeting, I’ll take care of it. I’ll tell them she stopped an assassin from killing Rolan’s younger sister, but all she did was wound him in the shoulder. If they press the issue, I’ll tell them the other assassins killed him in his jail cell.”

“You don’t know that.”

“All right. I’ll say someone broke into the jail that night and killed him, but Rhianna was hundreds of miles away by then, and I know that because I was the one who took her out of Camden.”

“That’ll work,” Chris said with a nod. “But if no one brings it up, don’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t planning to, but why not?”

“The only legitimate reason for you to bring it up is if she did kill a man and you’re asking for a formal investigation. Otherwise, it’ll look like you’re trying to cover it up, especially if word’s gotten around that the two of you are seeing each other. And that little tidbit will come to the attention of the other races pretty fast. They’ll all be interested in that.”

Kevin nodded. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Doreen came by.” Chris told Kevin about his conversation with her. “She needs to search her house and see if she can find a copy of that contract. And if she can, I think we should check out those boats. If Jared has all four, he should return at least two of them. They weren’t his to take.” After a pause, Chris added, “Actually, I think he should return all four.”

“I know how you feel, but she did break the contract. He didn’t. Of course the whole thing’s moot unless she can find a copy of that contract. Without it, he can claim anything he wants to. So I guess that’s the first step. When does she want to go?”

“As soon as possible.”

Kevin sighed. “I really don’t feel like tackling this today.”

“Why don’t I go with her? I can help her search, and if we find something, we’ll see where things stand then.”

“You sure you want to do this? She’s not the easiest woman to get along with.”

“She’s not so bad. I’ve known worse.”

“Okay.” Kevin removed the key to Terah from his chain. “But take Rigel with you.”

“Why?”

“For one thing, he seems to get along with her, and for another, if you’re searching for a contract you won’t be paying attention to what’s around you. He will.”

Chapter 6

Parson's Branch

When Doreen walked into the reception area shortly before two, Chris was seated at his desk and Rigel was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder. She joined them and asked, “When can we go?”

“As soon as I can figure out where we’re going,” Chris answered without looking up. He was trying to find Parson’s Branch on his map.

“Here.” Doreen pointed to a small river on the map near the mouth of the body of water Chris knew as the Chesapeake Bay. “Our settlement’s about a mile from the mouth of Parson’s Branch.”

Chris took out the key and concentrated on a point on the southern bank of the river. Rigel caught Doreen’s eye and nodded towards Chris’s arm as he put his hand on Chris’s shoulder.

When they got there, there were no houses in sight. Chris gave Doreen a couple of minutes to recover and then asked, “Which way now?”

Doreen nodded upstream. “It’s on the other side of those trees.”

Ten minutes later they walked into the clearing where the settlement had been. The houses were still standing, but they were all empty. Chris raised his eyebrows and looked at Doreen.

“That one,” she said as she pointed to a house on the other side of the clearing near a small dock. “That’s our house.”

Chris looked around. “That’s the only dock?”

Doreen nodded. “We only kept a couple of skiffs here. The main boats, the fishing boats, were docked about three miles from here. That’s where our crews and their families lived. We could have moved up there, but this is where my father grew up and where his brother lived, so we stayed here.”

Doreen led the way to her house, and once they were inside, she headed towards the bedrooms. Rigel stayed in the living room while Chris searched the kitchen area.

The first cabinet Chris opened was empty. There were no plates, mugs, pots, or pans, and all of the other cabinets were just as bare. Firewood was stacked beside the stove, but there wasn’t a sign of so much as a kettle.

“I think someone’s already been here,” Chris called out.

“What makes you think that?” Doreen asked.

“The kitchen cabinets have been stripped clean.”

Doreen laughed. “There wasn’t anything in them to start with.”

“How did you eat?” Rigel asked.

“Thomas’s wife fed us,” Doreen answered. “Thomas was my father’s brother. My mother died when I was born, so his wife took us in. I stayed with them while I was a baby, but as soon as I could get around, we moved here. She kept feeding us though, which was a good thing as neither of us could boil water without burning up the pot. She also made our clothes. Washed them, too.”

Doreen walked out of her father’s room. “I thought the contract would be in one of the drawers in my father’s dresser, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t in his closet either. And you said the kitchen cabinets were empty? Did you look in all of them? He might have stuck it in there. He signed Jared’s copy at the kitchen table.”

Chris shook his head. “There wasn’t anything in any of them. Can you think of anywhere else he might have left it?”

Doreen shook her head.

“Have you checked your room?” Rigel asked.

“Not yet.”

“He might have stuck it in there since it was mainly for you.”

“Would it be all right if I pack some of my clothes while I’m looking? I’m sure Jana’s tired of altering her stuff to fit me.”

“Go ahead,” Chris said from the doorway. “We’re not in a hurry. We’ll take a good look around the living room while you’re doing that.”

While Doreen was busy in her room, Chris and Rigel moved furniture around, checked for false bottoms or hidden drawers, looked for pockets in the cushions, and checked the walls, fireplace, and floor for loose rocks or boards. They didn’t find anything that could be used to hide a thimble, much less a contract.

“Would your father have given it to his brother for safe keeping?” Rigel asked.

Doreen stepped out of her room and shook her head. “Thomas died a couple of years ago. He took one of the boats out when he shouldn’t have.”

“What do you mean?” Chris asked.

“My father told him a bad storm was coming, but Thomas didn’t believe him. The storm blew in around lunchtime and lasted for two days.”

“What happened to him?” Chris asked.

Doreen shrugged. “We searched for days, but we couldn’t find one sign of Thomas, his crew, or the boat. The storm took them.”

“That’s scary,” Chris said.

“Is there anywhere else we can look?” Rigel asked, changing the subject.

Doreen thought for a moment, then frowned as she picked up her bag of clothes. “I doubt it would be there, but there’s a shed near the dock where we kept our tools and gear, and there’s a big cabinet in there that my father used to put things in sometimes. I guess we should check it before we give up.”

Chris waved towards the door. “Lead the way.”

The shed was between the house and the dock. Doreen untied the rope that kept the door shut, took the cover off a glowstone on the workbench, and started going through tool boxes and drawers as she worked her way towards the cabinet against the back wall. When she opened the cabinet door, a sheaf of papers tied with string was on the top shelf. Doreen took them out, untied the string, and started reading.

“Here it is,” she said quietly as she read. “This is the contract.” She read on for a minute and then looked at Chris. “Father did give Jared two boats, transferable on the date of our union, but he put some stipulations on the transfer.” She set the paper down on the workbench, smoothed it out and pointed to a paragraph half-way down the page.

Chris leaned over her shoulder and read. The paragraph stated that the boats were to remain Doreen’s property and control of their use was to remain with her. Her father further stipulated that any monies or goods derived from the use of the boats was to be used in accordance with her wishes. The next paragraph stated that unless amended at a later date by Doreen or her father, any remaining boats were to become her property upon his death.

When Chris was done, he motioned for Rigel to take a look.

After he finished reading the contract, Rigel let out a low whistle. “That contract’s not anything like Jared said.”

Doreen tied the papers back up. “Did you notice there’s not one word about children anywhere in there?” Then she handed the contract to Chris. “Do you think we can get my boats back now?”

Chris took a deep breath. “According to this, you should get all four boats back, but you’ll probably be in for a fight. It might be more expedient to let him keep two of them if he’ll give up the other two without a fight.”

Doreen thought for a moment. “I hate to let him have any of them.”

“Well, with this contract, you could press for all four, but I can almost guarantee you he’ll want to take it before the district minister and then on to the court in Milhaven.”

“And while all of this is going on, he’ll still have my boats?”

Chris nodded. “It’s going to take quite a while, and it’ll cost him to go to Milhaven to present his case.”

“If he gets angry enough, I wouldn’t put it past him to scuttle the boats and be done with it,” Rigel said. “He struck me as that kind of man.”

“If he can’t have them, no one will?” Chris asked.

Rigel nodded.

Doreen let out a long sigh. “I don’t want to live at the coast now that Father’s gone, but if I stay in Milhaven I’m going to have to start from scratch. Right now everything I own is in that bag.” She tilted her head towards the bag of clothes she’d set on the floor of the workshop. “Oh, and I guess these tools are mine now. Can we take these back?”