It took an hour of tossing and turning for me to finally fall asleep. I was on the cot in the closet while Remdon slept in my bed with his swords at his side. We had carefully unlocked and cracked the window before going to bed.
I slept fitfully, awaking occasionally and listening carefully for any disturbance from the other room. Thankfully, everything was quiet.
When I heard rustling, I shot out of the cot, sword in one hand and dagger in the other, and peeked through the door. Instead of the scuffle I was anticipating, I found Remdon stretching in bed and daylight streaming through a crack in the curtains.
Returning my weapons to their hiding place beneath the cot, I opened the closet door and bounced into the bed next to Remdon.
"Well that was anticlimactic," I sighed, settling back on the pillows.
"I would have been surprised if they had moved so soon after leaving their threat. They will want to give you time to let down your guard. How did you do on the cot?"
"Well, I am not planning to make it a permanent fixture, but I could probably survive another week or so," I answered with a teasing smile. "Will you stay with me for a little longer?"
"I will stay until I feel assured of your safety." He grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "But for now, I should get to my room before I am missed."
"Oh, yes. I will see you at breakfast. Thank you, Remdon."
"You are welcome."
The next three days passed slowly. I was still being exempted from evening entertainment because Mother worried that I was still suffering from the trial and "an overabundance of adventures".
Del met Remdon and me on the ridge every afternoon for an update. These visits were short and ended with Remdon leaving me in Del's company after a few minutes. The third afternoon, Del seemed distracted.
"What is on your mind?" I asked, pulling him to a stop with the arm I had linked through his.
"I am worried. I thought they would strike by now and I am afraid that they might strike at you in some other way instead, something we have not planned for."
"That is always a possibility," I agreed. "But we can only do as much as we can do. If they strike at me from a different direction, we will adapt." I shrugged. "I am not concerned. Together, we can face whatever comes."
"Together," he murmured, wrapping his arms around me. "I like the sound of that."
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him close, my head tucked against his chest. We sat there, just holding each other, until Remdon came to fetch me. He always came back out when he decided Del and I had had enough alone time.
"Time to head back in, Jen," he called. I bid Del a quick goodbye, placing a soft kiss on his cheek, and joined my brother at the gate.
"One of these days, Mother is going to realize that you and Del are spending an inordinate amount of time together and she is going to force you to marry, whether you are ready or not," he warned.
I sighed. "Perhaps. But the more time I spend with him, the more accustomed I become to the idea of marrying him."
Remdon laughed. "Naturally. Now, tonight I am going out with my friends. I tried to put them off, but I do not want to do anything that will arouse suspicions in whomever is plotting against you and Del."
"What should I do?"
"Stay home one more night, stay in your room with the door and window locked. I will sneak in when I get home."
I nodded in agreement. The evening was long and boring. I had been spending so much time alone lately, I was even starting to miss the pretentious upper strata events I had always hated. The only company I had had was Anassia coming by for a full account of my adventures and Del's courtship. She had laughed and sighed and completely understood my reasons for not accepting him. But that had been two days ago and she had not been able to come by again since.
After a light dinner and two hours of reading alone in my room, I decided to retire early. I had no reason to stay up. I had given Remdon the spare key to my room, so he could let himself in and crack the window whenever he returned from his nightly activities.
I fell asleep surprisingly quickly considering my long, uneventful day. For the first time since I had found that note, I slept free of nightmares.
My sound sleep was interrupted by the sound of soft voices. I woke up with a sleepy blink, but the scuffling sounds in the bedroom put me on instant alert. Reaching under the cot for my sword and dagger. Creeping to the closet door, I eased it open a crack and peeked into the room.
Three men dressed all in black with hoods over their heads stood around my empty bed. Clearly Remdon had not returned from his nighttime plans yet. I wondered how they had gotten in, then noticed the open window behind them. Had I forgotten to lock it?
The men were speaking quietly. I caught a few words and realized they were discussing whether they should comb the house to try and find me.
Not wanting to place my family in danger, I decided now was the best time to attack. Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaped from the closet, my weapons flashing through the air as I went after the nearest assailant.
The men were indeed surprised and I managed to injure one of them fairly seriously before the other two rallied and drew their own weapons.
I was grateful for Remdon's training in sword fighting when I was younger. The steps and motions were familiar and I quickly fell into a rhythm of blocking, ducking, and making an occasional attack when I could find an opening.
My rhythm was broken when one of their blades sliced past my defenses and into my forearm. I fell back a step with a soft cry and they closed in.