He knew from experience that whatever it was, prodding at it would do no good, so he set his concerns aside to examine later, found himself a glass of wine, and let his feet carry him along the path that led to the stables. When he got there, he found that Leo and Felix were almost ready to depart. He made a show of stumbling over thin air and put out a hand to steady himself on a wooden rail. He squinted up at Leo on horseback and said, “Are you going somewhere?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “I told you yesterday, Evan. We’re visiting King Alexei in Koroslova for a while. The cooler weather will make a pleasant change.”
“Oh! I suppose I’ll stay here until you’re back, then. I can look after… things,” Evan said, raising his glass in a clumsy gesture at the castle and spilling wine over his hand. He licked it off absently.
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t start any wars while we’re gone.”
“I won’t,” Evan assured him with a bright smile. “I’m not even sure how that would happen.”
“That’s less reassuring than you think,” Leo said. He looked about and his expression brightened. “Oh, excellent, the guards are ready!”
There was the clatter of hooves as the six mounted guards rode up, and Leo and Felix joined them. The party headed towards the courtyard at the front of the castle where Vasily and Mother Jones were waiting alongside a procession of carriages that contained everything they’d need for their trip.
Evan watched them leave, fighting the urge to mount his horse and follow along. He needed to trust Thomas’s choice of guard and that his cousin was in good hands, and concentrate on finding out which of the staff had been sharing the new guard formations and why. It could well have been an innocent mistake—someone making a note for their own reference anddropping the paper—except why, then, had the Viscount of Calthrope kept it? And why did the ambassador for Falsmark have a second copy? Was it so they could let somebody in… or was it so somebody could get out?
Not knowing had him unsettled in ways he couldn’t quite define. Evan had been doing this for a long time, so he was confident he could find the source of the information, persuade them to tell him who was behind the whole plot, and eliminate the threat.
He’d rest easier when he had, that was all.
A hand landed on his shoulder, startling him. He whirled to find Thomas standing there. “You move far too quietly for a big man,” Evan grumbled as he waited for his heart to stop racing. “I should hear someone your size coming a mile away.”
“You’re not the only stealthy one,” Thomas said, looking far too pleased with himself. He nodded in the direction of the departing coaches, the sound of the wheels rattling over the cobblestones fading as the procession became a speck in the distance before disappearing from view. “I’ve sent men who I trust are loyal, and they know what they’re about in a fight. I don’t expect they’ll be needed, but it’s better to be prepared.” He turned to face Evan. “So, this might seem like a stupid question, but how exactly do you intend to catch Marchesi plotting if he’s no longer here?”
“That’s actually a very clever question,” Evan said, and the tension he’d been carrying eased at the reminder that he wasn’t doing this alone. “And I don’t need to catch him. I’ll find whatever lackey did that drawing and terrify them into telling me what I need to know. And once I’m certain he’s behind all this, I’ll pay our friend the ambassador a visit.”
“I’m sure he’ll enjoy that,” Thomas said drily.
“I can say with great certainty that he won’t remember it at all.”
“You know, I don’t know how I didn’t realise you were a trickster before this,” Thomas said. “It’s obvious that nobody could be as stupid as you pretend to be.”
Evan tensed and glanced around them to see if anyone was listening, but the courtyard was deserted, the staff having scattered with the departure of the royal entourage. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted by that comment.”
“Let’s say flattered that you act the part so well,” Thomas said, the corners of his mouth tilting up.
Evan was struck with the urge to kiss the smirk off his face, and he wondered briefly if anyone would notice if they disappeared for the remainder of the afternoon. But before he could suggest it, Thomas said loudly, “Cook has made it known that it’s a cold supper tonight, Your Grace.”
Evan’s brow creased in confusion, but a second later he heard the tread of boots on the cobblestones and turned to find two of the younger guards approaching.
“Excuse me, Captain,” the younger one—Sam, if Evan remembered correctly—said.
“What is it, Sam?”
Sam fidgeted, tugging at the hem of his shirt. “Only, you know we’ve all been working all those shifts?”
“If you mean doing extra guard duty to get the hang of it while you’re in training, what about it?” Thomas said, crossing his arms across his solid chest in a way that made his forearms bulge.
Sam bit his lip. “Well, some of us were wondering if we could, um, take a day off tomorrow?”
Evan expected Thomas to deliver a straight no and a bollocking for even daring to ask, but his captain surprised him.
“Tell mewhyI should give you a day off,” Thomas said, “and I might consider it.”
Sam’s mouth opened and closed and he exchanged an uncertain glance with his companion, but then he squared his shoulders, jutted out his chin, and said, “Well, we’re the Royal Guard. And now that His Majesty and His Highness aren’t here, there’s no royals to guard, is there?”
He looked so young and hopeful that Evan found himself hoping Thomas would agree with Sam.
Thomas hummed under his breath, and after making the young men wait for what seemed an age, he flashed Sam a smile. “You’re right—almost. Because you showed me you can use your brain and gave me a good reason, I’ll allow the guards a day off. But bear in mind that even though the king and his husband aren’t here to be guarded, you did forget that the Duke of Ravenport is also a member of the royal family.”
