Velvet Song (Montgomery/Taggert 4)

Alyx tried her best to put the incident of the robberies out of her mind. Surely the people would not believe Blanche’s insinuations.

Two seemingly uneventful days went by and then there was another robbery and again people looked at Alyx suspiciously. Blanche, Alyx thought. The woman had certainly been busy in the last few days.

Once, when she ladled herself a bowl of stew, someone jostled her and the hot broth burned her hand. It seemed to be an accident but she wasn’t sure. Another time she heard two men loudly discussing people who thought they were better than others.

On the fourth day, as she was walking on the training field, a sword accidently cut her arm. At Raine’s questioning, no one seemed to have had his hand on the sword, and when he made them all train an extra hour, they glowered at Alyx.

In the tent, Raine was quiet as he bound her wound.

“Say something!” she demanded.

“I don’t like this. I don’t like to see you hurt. Stay closer to me. Don’t leave my sight.”

She only nodded at him. Perhaps she had been too hostile to these people. Perhaps they did deserve some of her time. She didn’t know much about people really, only music. In Moreton she’d been popular because she gave people her music, but here they seemed to want something else. She knew Blanche was turning the people against her, but if she’d been kind over the last months Blanche wouldn’t have had such an easy job.

That evening she borrowed Raine’s lute and sat by the campfir

e and began to play. One by one, the people got up and left. For some reason this frightened her more than anything else.

For two days Alyx stayed close to Raine. The camp people now had someone to turn their hatred on, and they showed their feelings at every opportunity.

It was on the evening of the second day, while Alyx was just a few feet from Raine’s side, that a man suddenly grabbed her and began searching her. Before Alyx could even cry out, the man yelled in triumph and held aloft a knife Alyx had never seen before.

“The boy took it,” the man yelled. “We have proof.”

Instantly, Raine was beside Alyx, pulling her behind him. “What does this mean?” he demanded.

The men grinned at the crowd gathering around them. “Your high-nosed little boy can’t deny this,” he said, holding the knife out for examination. “I found this in his pocket. I’ve had me suspicions for some time, but now we’re all sure.” He pushed his face close to Alyx’s and his breath was foul. “Now you won’t be thumin’ your nose at us.”

In seconds, he was picking himself up from the ground where Raine had tossed him. “Get back to work!” Raine ordered.

The people, the crowd growing larger by the moment, refused to move. “He’s a thief,” someone said stubbornly. “Beat him.”

“Tear the flesh off his back and then see how proud he is.”

Alyx, eyes wide, moved behind Raine.

“The boy is no thief,” Raine said stubbornly.

“You nobles talk about fair treatment,” someone in the back yelled. “This boy steals from us and is allowed to go unpunished.”

“No!” yelled at least five people.

Raine drew his sword, pointed it at them. “Get away, all of you. The boy is no thief. Now, who will be the first to lose his life over this lie?”

“We’ll punish the boy,” someone yelled before the crowd began to disperse.

Chapter Eleven

IT WAS A very long while before Alyx could move away from the protection of Raine’s solid form. Her knees were trembling and she clung to his arm.

“I didn’t steal the knife,” she finally managed to whisper.

“Of course not,” Raine snapped, but she could tell from his expression that he wasn’t dismissing the incident.

“What will happen now?”

“They will work to get what they want.”