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A stablehand had been just inside, forking hay from a pile into a nearby stall. At Edmund’s appearance, he straightened, then bobbed a bow. “How may I help you, sir?”
“We would like a ride before supper.” Edmund stamped his cane imperiously on the floor.
“Oh, of course, sir.” The stablehand hastily leaned his pitchfork against the wall. “I’ll go fetch horses for you, if you would like to wait outside.”
“No, no, I must pick out my horses myself. Never get the right ones, otherwise.” Edmund strolled down the center aisle, staring down his nose at each of the horses. Horses at resorts like this were usually dull, plodding animals who were used to going on short, slow rides. He had to pick his own to ensure he found the three hardiest of the lot.
Three horses that he was planning to steal, since he, Jalissa, and Sarya would ride away into the mountains and not return.
Jalissa was right. This spying and escaping business was rather morally shady.
That dun gelding over there looked like it would do. And that shaggy, brown pony would be perfect. Ponies in general tended to be sturdy as well as have more spunk than horses. As for a third horse, the gray mare in the corner didn’t look like much, but she would likely have grit.
Edmund pointed out his choices, ignoring the sidelong looks the stablehand was giving him, before he steered Jalissa back outside to wait.
Finally, the stablehand reappeared, leading the dun and the gray mare. He disappeared back into the stables, returning a moment later with the pony.
If he found it odd that Edmund, Jalissa, and Sarya weren’t dressed for riding, he didn’t question them. That was the power of unquestioned authority that the nobility wore like a fine wool cloak.
The stablehand offered to go along as a guide, but Edmund waved him off, assuring him that they wouldn’t be gone long. With one last nod, the stablehand returned to his work.
Edmund would have helped Jalissa mount and arrange her skirts, which hid their packs once again, but he was barely staying upright himself at this point. Sarya helped Jalissa, then him onto horses before she climbed onto the pony.
After a quick glance over the trails branching off from the stable, Edmund chose one that appeared to head deeper into the forest in the general direction they wanted to go. They would have to ride hard to outdistance any well-meaning search parties. When he, Jalissa, and Sarya didn’t return as scheduled, the stablehand would raise the alarm, thinking that three wayward guests had gotten themselves lost.
Another stab of guilt accompanied the agony in his gut. A lot of well-meaning and concerned people would probably be out that night, searching for a lost nobleman, his wife, and her lady’s maid. It was something he wouldn’t have thought twice about before marrying Jalissa.
Morally shady, indeed.
About a half an hour into the ride, a stream crossed their path, flowing underneath a wooden bridge built over it for the guests to ride across.
Instead of going over the bridge, Edmund urged his horse around it. The horse balked at the edge of the stream and tried to veer back onto the bridge. He firmly pulled its head around, though he didn’t yank harshly.
Snorting, the horse finally stepped into the stream, prancing a few steps before it settled.
Jalissa’s mare plodded along behind Edmund’s horse without so much as a pause at the stream. The horse was probably so well trained to follow the horse ahead of it that it would walk right off a cliff if Edmund’s horse did it first.
Sarya’s pony hesitated at the edge, but as Edmund’s and Jalissa’s horses strode farther upstream, the pony must have decided that its fear of being left behind was worse than its fear of the stream. It gave a lurching jump over the edge, splashing down and trotting a few steps before Sarya calmed it once again.
The stream meandered its way upward. It wasn’t the straightest path to their destination, but the stream was at least free of the dense undergrowth that they would have to fight through if they tried to go in a straight line. Not to mention the rippling water would eventually wash away their tracks. The resort might employ a man who was skilled at tracking to lead the noblemen on hunting expeditions. Hopefully by the time the resort staff thought to get him involved, the stream would have done its work and erased their trail.
Each jolt of the horse’s hooves sent waves of pain through Edmund. He hunched over the saddle, thankful when the horse seemed to decide to stick to the stream of its own accord since he barely had the energy left to hang on.
As he ducked under a low-hanging branch, agony lanced through his lower back. Blackness danced at the corners of his vision, and it was all he could do to breathe through it.
Next thing he knew, Jalissa was urging her horse next to his, reaching out and grabbing the reins from him. “We need to rest for a moment. You need more medicine, and Sarya and I would not mind changing into more suitable clothing.”
He blinked at her, and it took him far too long to bring her and her long velvet dress into focus. Right. Those dresses would snag on undergrowth and lead trackers right to them. And it couldn’t be comfortable for Jalissa, riding with all their packs tried around her waist underneath her voluminous skirt.
It was all he could do to hold on as Jalissa led his horse up the bank and into the forest once again.
When his horse halted, he tried to slide off and ended up falling to a heap on the forest floor.
No matter. It felt rather good just to curl there on the dead leaves and dirt. His head pounded while his tongue felt dry and sticky in his mouth. His internal organs burned, though the urge to vomit was gone for the moment.
“Edmund.” Jalissa’s light touch rested on his shoulder for a moment, then brushed his forehead.
Then she was pressing one of the cool vials of elven healing medicine to his mouth. He sipped it almost desperately, gladly sinking into the small but soothing relief it provided.
