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While it was frustrating to spend a night with nothing to show for it, that was often the case for a spy. Often, it took many nights of searching before he found anything worthwhile.
He found his way to the balcony below his and Jalissa’s and found the rope still waiting for him. It only took moments to climb it and roll to his feet on the balcony.
There, Jalissa perched in one of the wooden chairs on the balcony, wrapped in a blanket and a tendril of the ficus in the decorative pot next to her twined around her arm. A hint of a smile played across her face. “You are all right.”
“Of course I am all right.” He crossed the balcony and kissed her.
“You are my ispamir.” Jalissa shook off the plant, then held out her hand to him.
He tugged her to her feet, but he didn’t sweep her into his arms just yet. “Did James get back yet?”
“Yes, about half an hour ago.” Jalissa gestured toward their suite of rooms. “He located a room with military records, but it is going to take some digging.”
“That’s about what I came up with too.” Edmund shrugged and turned back to the rope. They had to pack away the spy gear, then they could head for bed to get some sleep before another tense day.
* * *
Edmund restedhis hand over Jalissa’s on his arm, keeping her tucked against him as they strolled the seaside market of Landri. The royal carriage had parked at the end of the street to wait for them while they enjoyed the market.
Crown Prince Jimson strolled in a pack of guards. More guards surrounded Edmund and Jalissa. A few of the minor lords and ladies had joined their excursion to the market, making it harder to enjoy the market since the lords and ladies kept trying to talk to them.
The gusts of the sea breeze ruffled his hair and snapped the flapping awnings over the market stalls. The seagulls squawked so loudly they could be heard over the haggling voices, yelling vendors, and tramping of hundreds of feet.
So many people. Even for him, the sprawling city and the vast numbers of people who lived here were staggering. It made Aldon look like a tiny, upstart town compared to this prosperous, bustling seaside city, which had already been a center of trade for the region when Aldon had been nothing but forest as part of the great elven empire.
Next to him, Jalissa’s eyes were wide, even if she managed to keep her mouth from gaping. Edmund remembered how awed she’d been at seeing Aldon for the first time. Landri was just so much more.
Edmund and Jalissa politely looked at a variety of booths, taking in the colors and patterns that were foreign to Escarland or Tarenhiel. Many booths sold items decorated with seashells, something that wasn’t the fashion in their kingdoms. Here, they could buy jewelry fashioned from shells, large shells by themselves, or any number of items covered with shells from jewelry boxes to bird baths to snuff boxes.
At another booth, Edmund held up a particularly shell-encrusted jewelry box. “Would you like something like this, my angel cake?”
He could see the way Jalissa gritted her teeth beneath her perfect princess smile. “Of course, darling.”
Edmund purchased the jewelry box, even though he could tell Jalissa hated it. At least that would make it easier to leave behind if they had to flee for their lives.
But buying a few items in the market would endear them to the people and look good in the eyes of their host. After all, King Solan—through his steward—had graciously given them a wad of money that morning, a gift for them to use here in the market.
Edmund was being careful with how he spent the money. He tried to appear as if he was spending it profligately without actually spending that much. He’d need to keep as much as he could for the plan he had in mind.
As he finished purchasing the jewelry box and handed the wrapped package off to the footman trailing their group for this purpose, Edmund steered Jalissa toward the next booth.
Jalissa leaned in closer and whispered, “This would be more pleasant if we could be ourselves.”
“Yes.” Edmund squeezed her fingers on his arm. He agreed. If only he and Jalissa could have sneaked into Mongavaria on their own and walked this market in disguise as two normal people. Talking in this nasal tone was making his sinuses hurt.
Crown Prince Jimson was dropping back, half-turned as he waited for them with sharp eyes. There was something about the prince that set Edmund’s instincts on edge.
Edmund checked that his charming smile was in place before he wrapped his arm around Jalissa’s waist and tugged her closer. He gave her an exaggerated kiss on the temple in the flamboyant manner of his persona. “Isn’t this romantic? Is there anything else you would like, my rosebud? I would buy you the world if you wished it.”
Jalissa’s smile tightened, the lines smoothing to that serene, aloof look of hers. Her gaze strayed, looking away from him. After a moment, her eyes lit up as she focused on something to their left and ahead of them.
Edmund lifted his gaze from her, quickly spotting what had drawn her attention.
A booth ahead was filled with plants with broad, dark leaves and vibrant flowers. He didn’t know much about flowers, but he had visited the Kingsley Gardens in Aldon with Jalissa enough times to recognize the flowers as ones that were foreign to Escarland or Tarenhiel, the kinds that were grown in the large glass house of the Gardens.
Edmund steered her toward the booth. “Would you like to look at the flowers?”
“Would that not be too like ourselves?” Jalissa glanced between him and the plants, a longing in the depth of her eyes.
