Free Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

Will for a week or two.”
    “Replace him?” Arald said, puzzled. “We can hardly give Halt a new apprentice for two weeks, my lady.”
    “No, my lord,” she agreed. “But I thought I might lend him one of mine.”
    It was Rodney who was first to see where she was heading.
    “Young Alyss,” he said, “the tall blond one?”
    Lady Pauline inclined her head in his direction and smiled. Sir Rodney found himself wondering about the rumored relationship between Pauline and Halt. She was tall, elegant and graceful. And even now that her blond hair was streaked with gray, she was still an exceptional beauty.
    “Exactly,” she said. “I mentioned I’m planning to send Alyss on her first independent mission. I thought we might ask Halt to escort her. I’m sure his presence would be good for her confidence.”
    Baron Arald was tugging thoughtfully at his short beard.
    “She’s a rather solemn lass, isn’t she?” he asked, but Lady Pauline shook her head.
    “On the contrary, my lord, she has a delightfully dry sense of wit. And a beautiful smile. We’ve been encouraging her to make greater use of it.”
    “And you think a week or so in her company might snap Halt out of this black mood he’s in?”
    “Well, if he’s looking after her, it’ll take his mind off his own troubles,” Lady Pauline replied. “In addition, Alyss is young and free-spirited—and quite beautiful. I think her company might be enough to cheer up any man. Even grim old Halt,” she added, smiling.
    The Baron smiled too. “She sounds just like her teacher,” he said.
    And this time, it was no idle flattery.

9
    T HERE WERE NO ANSWERS TO BE FOUND IN P ORDELLATH . The three companions went through the village and found the same signs of sudden departure that they had seen at the border post. There was evidence of some hasty packing, but in the majority of houses, most of the occupants’ possessions were still in place. Everything spoke of a population that had departed in a hurry, taking what they could carry on their backs and little more. Tools, utensils, clothes, furniture and other personal goods had been left behind. But they could find no clue as to where the people of Pordellath had gone. Or why they had departed.
    As full night closed in, Gilan finally called an end to their search. They returned to the Riadhah’s house, where they unsaddled the horses and rubbed them down in the shelter of a small porch at the front of the building.
    They spent an uneasy night in the house. At least Will did, and he assumed Horace was as uncomfortable as he was. Gilan, for his part, seemed relatively unperturbed, rolling himself into his cloak and falling instantly asleep when Will relieved him after the first watch. But Gilan’s manner was more subdued than normal and Will guessed that the Ranger was more concerned by this baffling turn of events than he was letting on.
    As he stood his watch, Will was amazed at how much noise a house could make. Doors creaked, floors groaned, the ceiling seemed to sigh with every breath of wind outside. And the village itself seemed full of loose items that would bang and clatter as well, bringing Will to a nervous, wide-eyed attention as he sat by the unglazed window in the front room of the house, the wooden shutters hooked back to keep them secure.
    The moon seemed keen to join in on the subterfuge as well, soaring high above the village and casting deep pools of shadow between the houses of the village. Shadows that seemed to move slightly when you caught sight of them out of the corner of your eye, then stopped as soon as you stared directly at them.
    More movement came as clouds flew across the face of the moon, alternately causing the main square to be illuminated, then plunged into sudden darkness.
    Just after midnight, as Gilan had predicted, a steady rain set in and the other noises were joined by the gurgle of running water and the plash-plash-plash of drops falling off eaves and into puddles