She let him keep the bag of candy and told him he might look at the new calves as long as he wanted if he sat on the top of the fence and did not go near them. The cat followed her as she walked toward the cottage. The three men were standing uncomfortably by the door. The oldest man leaned on a younger companion. "You are welcome to come in," she said quietly as she walked through them and into her cottage. They followed her, awkward and silent. "Sit down," she invited the older man. His face was grayish with sorrow. He sat on her chair heavily and then lowered his face into his hands.
"I thought I knew him," he said quietly. "Three years he worked for me and courted my daughter. I thought I knew him. Never imagined he could do what he did."
"Pell ran off the cliff himself," one of the other men suddenly declared. "It was none of your doing, sir. He could have stood and explained himself and come back to town with us to tell his story to the council. He"s the one that ran right off the cliff. If the tide had been in, he might have survived. But not that fall onto the rocks."
"It"s as much as he deserved," the older man said quietly. "After what he did to my daughter. My pretty little Meddalee, flighty as a b.u.t.terfly. She was thoughtless and willful true, but sweet Eda, she never deserved what he did to her."
"You"re Meddalee"s father?" Rosemary asked him quietly. She kept to herself her opinion of what Meddalee might deserve.
"He is." One of the other men answered for him. "And that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Pell killed his daughter last night. Must have crept on board and gone right to her room. Guess he thought that if he couldn"t have her, no one would! When we went to wake her this morning, her own father found her there in her bed. Face all slashed to ribbons and her throat cut, neat as pie."
Light as a leaf, Marmalade floated to the sunny windowsill. He sank his claws deep into the wooden sill, stretched, and then sat. He lifted his paw to his mouth and began to wash.
"Shut up, Bell," barked the other man, and the talker fell silent. Meddalee"s father groaned and hid his face deeper in his hands. "My little girl, my Meddalee," he murmured. Rosemary stared silently at her cat.
"Are you all right, miss?" the other man asked her. "He didn"t hurt you, did he?"
She found her voice. She felt oddly calm as she gave them what he needed. "He threatened me. And came at me with that knife. It was a fancy one, made from Chalcedean steel, he said. He kept it sharp as a razor. But I think it was my boy he wanted to kill."
"Crazy," the first man muttered. "Man would have to be crazy to want to kill his own son."
She nodded silently.
"We should get back to town," the man named Bell suggested. "We need to tell the council what happened. And see to poor Meddalee." He looked suddenly at Rosemary. "You seen what happened, didn"t you? How he broke from us and run right off the cliff?"
She hadn"t, but it was a small lie to pay for peace. "I did. It was no one"s fault, really."
"Sir, you think you can walk that far? Sir?" Meddalee"s father slowly lifted his head. He nodded, and she almost felt sorry for the man as he left, leaning heavily on his captain"s arm. She watched them make the slow climb to the cliff top and then stood watching as they followed the cliff-top path back toward town. Marmalade came out and wound around her ankles. She watched Gillam sitting on the top rail of the fence, blissfully pulling another candy from the pouch. "Red!" he called, holding it up for her to see, and she nodded.
She looked down at the cat. "Don"t ever speak to me again. I don"t want to know."
Marmalade didn"t answer her. He sat down and began to clean his claws more carefully.
About the Author.
ROBIN HOBB / MEGAN LINDHOLM was born in California, grew up in Alaska, and currently lives in Tacoma, Washington. As Robin Hobb, she is the author of fourteen novels and numerous shorter works. Megan Lindholm has published nine novels; her short fiction has won the Asimov"s Readers" Award and been a finalist for both the Nebula and Hugo awards.
www.robinhobb.com.
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Also by the Author.
By Megan Lindholm.
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Alien Earth.
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The Rain Wilds Chronicles Dragon Keeper.
Dragon Haven The Soldier Son Trilogy Shaman"s Crossing.
Forest Mage Renegade"s Magic.
The Tawny Man Trilogy Fool"s Errand Golden Fool.
Fool"s Fate The Liveship Traders Trilogy.
Ship of Magic.
Mad Ship Ship of Destiny.
The Fa.r.s.eer Trilogy a.s.sa.s.sin"s Apprentice.
Royal a.s.sa.s.sin a.s.sa.s.sin"s Quest.
end.