Chapter 10: Suspicion

Dane stood up between us and the stair.

He did it slowly.

"My lady," he said. "You shouldn't be down here."

"Neither should you." Rowena came down three steps, and the pelt swung. "Why is my seamstress in your coat?"

"The captain attacked her."

"Did he."

"She came to the guardroom with his wine, and he went for her with a knife."

His voice was flat.

"I found him on top of her, and I hit him. She ran down here to hide."

It was a good lie.

It had one weak seam, and I watched Rowena find it.

"Down here," she said. "To the one locked door in the castle. With his key."

"He dropped it."

"And she picked it up and opened the chest."

"People open things when they're afraid."

Rowena came the rest of the way down.

She stopped at the edge of the lamplight.

She looked at the open chest, and at the skull in my hands.

I kept my head low and my shoulders shaking.

It wasn't hard.

"What's she holding?"

"Bones, my lady. Old ones." I made my voice thin. "I didn't know what they were. I'm sorry."

Her eyes were very blue and very cold.

I wondered if she could smell the silver on me.

"Put it back," she said.

I put it back.

She looked at the blanket, at the white fur still caught in a fold of it.

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