LITMIR.BIZ

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were dispatched to overtake Father. He’s half-way to Yabon by now, but if we can hold out for a week or so, he should arrive in time to relieve us.’

      Without a thought, she slipped her arm through his as if in need of reassurance. ‘How many men do you have?’

      ‘Father left me a hundred.’

      She shivered and leaned into him, as if seeking warmth, even though it was a balmy night. ‘Is that enough?’

      ‘Should be.’ He patted her hand where it rested on his arm. ‘If my studies are any guide, they’ll need to bring more than a thousand men to storm the castle and even then it’ll be touch-and-go. We’ve tested the defences.’

      ‘The Tsurani siege?’

      ‘Yes. When Father left I made a point of studying the writings about that siege.’ He looked at her calmly. ‘Did you know Prince Arutha was a year younger than I am now when he took command, after Swordmaster Fannon was wounded?’

      She didn’t recognize the names, but she did recognize Martin’s determination to take charge of the situation and protect the town.

      As if reading her mind, he said, ‘It’s time to bring in the town.’

      Turning to a point overlooking the inner courtyard, Martin saw the man he sought. ‘Sergeant Ruther!’

      Looking up, the sergeant saw the Duke’s son atop the tower and shouted back, ‘Sir?’

      ‘Sound the alarm, and get the townspeople up here. Have them bring all the food they can carry.’

      Sergeant Ruther snapped off a salute and turned to two soldiers by the gate. ‘You heard the young lord! Get going!’ The sergeant was a short man with a protruding lower jaw and a mean squint, which made him the object of fear among the garrison. He also had a deep abiding affection for his men that he kept well hidden. He was near retirement age, portly with a belly hanging over his belt, but no one in the garrison doubted he was still a hard man to kill.

      The soldiers exchanged glances. ‘Yes, Sergeant!’ they cried in unison, then trotted out of the gate toward the town.

      The townspeople had already been alerted that there might be a call to the castle, so Martin hoped they’d have prepared in some fashion for this. But he knew there would surely be some panic and that many would not have understood it was not only necessary to bring foodstuffs and clothing for their time inside the city’s walls, but also to deny the invaders as much comfort as possible. Orders had gone out that any food left behind should be fouled, but he suspected people would have spent too much time trying to hide valuables the invaders would likely find anyway. Martin knew that the farmers would scatter their herds and flocks rather than put them down in the hope that after the siege some could be reclaimed. At least if the Keshians had to forage to find them, that would be a distraction, Martin thought. He felt Bethany pressing closely to him and turned.

      ‘You should go to your mother,’ he said softly.

      ‘She’s with your mother.’

      ‘I know, but the family quarters are the safest part of the castle.’

      ‘There’s no hurry,’ Bethany said softly, drawing still closer. ‘How long?’

      ‘From the headlands, they’ll be at the mouth of the harbour in three or four hours. Then it depends on how prepared they are to come ashore and if they expect much resistance.’ He was silent for a moment and she studied his face.

      Of the three brothers Martin had always been the most difficult to read, which was why she had always found him the most interesting. He was not the hail-fellow-well-met that his brother Hal was, nor was he like Brendan, an impish prankster. Martin was the thoughtful brother. He was often cross with her, which she found amusing, as she knew it hid his true feelings. She had decided more than a year ago how she felt about him, but decided he would get no help from her in untangling his own feelings towards her.

      He sensed her studying him and turned. ‘What?’

      ‘I find it fascinating how much alike you and Brendan appear, yet in reality you are hardly alike at all.’

      He gave her one of his rare half-smiles. ‘Beth, you’ve known us all your life, and you’re only now noticing I’m not like that little menace?’

      ‘I just find it a bit odd, really,’ she said, turning her eyes back on the town below. Already the sound of alarm was being raised and shouts and cries echoed up to where they stood.

      Martin gently disengaged her arm from his, his mood turning serious. ‘You found an odd time to think about this. Come on, I have much to do and I would feel a great deal better if I knew you were safe.’

      As he started to turn away, she moved forward and kissed him impulsively, long and deep. He tensed for a moment, then returned the embrace. When she pulled back she could see a glistening in his eyes.

      ‘We’ve let too many things go unsaid for too long,’ she whispered. ‘When your father returns I want you to speak to him.’

      ‘About what?’ Martin said, speaking softly as if he feared being overheard.

      Her face clouded over and her eyes narrowed. ‘About us, you fool!’

      His lips quirked. ‘What about us?’

      Her eyes widened: and then she saw the smile. ‘You right bastard!’ she said, then she kissed him again.

      ‘I know. It’s just that—’

      ‘Everyone expects me to marry Hal,’ she interrupted. ‘I know. But no one’s asked me, and no one’s asked Hal. He’s always treated me like a little sister. But you …’ She kissed him a third time. ‘You’ve always been able to … somehow get under my skin, to make me think when I didn’t want to and to endure my … bad behaviour, with good grace.’

      Letting out a long sigh, Martin said, ‘As much as I adore you, and obviously I have done a poor job of hiding that, may I say …’ His voice rose to a near shout, ‘… you’ve picked an impossible moment to profess your love!’ He laughed. ‘But you never were one for choosing the proper moment, were you?’ He kissed her before she could answer and then added, ‘Very well, I’ll speak to Father when this is over.’

      He glanced down at the town as the clamour of voices and the sounds of fear and panic rose. ‘But now I have to go calm the people whose care has been given over to me. We both have rank and privilege, so it is time we both showed we deserve them.’

      Gently he turned her around, and with a slight pressure on her arm indicated it was time to go down the stairs into a much darker and grimmer time than either had ever experienced.

      The ships hove to at the mouth of the harbour at sundown. Martin watched as the last of the townspeople crowded into the yard below. When the last was through, he signalled for the gates to be closed. Sergeant Ruther, standing beside him with his arms crossed, said, ‘Now we dig in.’ Martin glanced at him and the sergeant added, ‘Sir.’

      Martin shook his head. ‘It’s all right, Sergeant. I’m new to this.’

      ‘We’re all new at this, sir. My father was a baby the last time this castle was attacked.’

      ‘Still, we’ve had our fair share of tussles.’

      ‘Yes, sir, but meaning no disrespect, a bunch of bandits or a raiding party of trolls is one thing. We’re about to make the acquaintance of some Keshian Dog Soldiers. Not the same thing.’

      ‘Dog Soldiers? What should we expect?’

      ‘Can’t rightly say. Not one man in Crydee has faced them and all I know is what I was told when I was a young soldier.’

      ‘Which was?’ asked Martin, genuinely curious.

      ‘Old Sergeant Mason, who was here when I was a recruit, he told me he spent time down in Landreth serving with a company of Borderers,

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