Then Sedric had reacted to him in a way that she could only construe as protective. It had shocked her. And stirred to new life her ancient childhood infatuation with him. Even before he had blossomed into such a gloriously handsome man, he had fascinated her. He’d paid attention to her when no other boy would have looked at her, with her wild red hair and thick freckles and flat bosom. He’d been kind. Oh, how she had dreamed of him, her best friend’s big brother, being more than kind to her. She’d twined their initials on her lesson papers, and stolen one of his riding gloves. It had smelled like him, and she both blushed and laughed to recall how she had kept it under her pillow and smelled it every evening before she went to sleep. She could not recall now what had become of it, or when she had given up her dream that someday he would turn to her and admit that he loved her, too. Was it possible that he had once cared for her? Was it remotely possible that in some corner of his heart, he still did?
Oh, it was a silly fancy, as silly as her timid flirtation with the captain. Silly and absolutely delicious. And what harm could it be for her to imagine, just for a day or so, that two such different men could find her attractive? Hest had, for years now, made her feel so dowdy and stupid and boring. In the light and warmth of the captain’s regard and Sedric’s protectiveness, she felt like a flower stirring back to life.
In her brief time on the Tarman, Alise felt her adventure had approached what she had imagined it would be. The big scow sat so low in the water that it seemed but a breath above the river; it made the trees tower all the higher above them. The birds and the strange river creatures, both dangerous and mild, were closer to her here. From the barge’s deck, she’d had glimpses of what Leftrin called marsh elk and riverpig. One large, toothy gallator had slid from his sunbathing on the mudbank to come and keep pace with the barge for a time until Skelly had given him a good rap with her pole that sent him slashing back to shore. She had seen several varieties of very large water birds; Leftrin had caught her sketching them into her journal and been completely amazed at her great artistic talent. He’d persuaded her to leaf back through her days on the river so that he could exclaim over some of her other efforts. She had blushed with pleasure when he’d recognized Captain Trell from one of her sketches, and when he’d told her the Rain Wild names for some of the exotic plants she’d drawn, she’d pleased him immensely by lettering their names in under her sketches. “So pleased to have been of ser vice to such a scholar, ma’am!” he had told her, with such sincerity that she had blushed.
One insight he had given her had dismayed her. He’d sought her out as she sat in her chair on top of the deckhouse, bundled against the evening chill, with the netting of her hat pinned down against the insects. “Would you mind if I joined you briefly?” His careful formality was at odds with his rough demeanor. “It comes to me that I’ve a bit of information that you might want to know.”
“Of course you may join me! This is your ship, isn’t it?” she replied, at once intrigued by his conspiratorial tone.
Without more ado, he’d taken a seat on the deck next to her chair, folding up with an ease that surprised her. “Well, it’s like this,” he began immediately. “The Council at Cassarick has made a plan about the dragons. The dragons have agreed to it, but for a number of reasons, the word hasn’t been spread about much. But seeing as how it’s important to you that the dragons be there for you to talk to, I’ve decided to take you in, confidential-like. The fact is, the Council is getting ready to move the dragons out of there. And the word I’ve received is that it’s to happen soon. Within the month for certain.”
“Move them? But how? And to where? Why would they do this?” She was shocked.
“Well, as to how, the only way they can go is under their own power. By foot. And to where? That’s something I haven’t been fully told yet. Only that it’s upriver a way. The why is pretty easy; everyone in the Rain Wilds knows that the dragons have become more than nuisances at Cassarick. They’re a real danger to the workers in the buried city, and to the inhabitants. Hungry, bad tempered, and some of them aren’t too bright. Not bright enough to know they shouldn’t bite off the hand that feeds them, if you take my meaning. I don’t know how they’ve persuaded the dragons to leave, but they have. If they can get a crew together to sort of herd them along, they’ll move them out of there as soon as they can.”
She’d felt faint. What if she arrived only to find that the dragons had already been sent away? What then? She’d found the voice to put her fear into words. To her surprise, the captain had grinned up at her recklessly. “Well, ma’am, that’s what I come to tell you. See, I’m part of that crew they’re trying to put together. And near as I can tell, if I say no, well then it’s not going to happen. That Council may not know it, but there’s no other barge on the river that can go as shallow as my old Tarman. No other barge will take on that contract. Up to now, I’ve just been talking to myself, figuring out how much money to hold out for. But if it comes down to it, I may put another condition on it, and that’s that you’ll have a chance to talk to the dragons before they depart. So. What do you think of that?”