The new arrival was greeted with eager interest by the men with Rose. They stood and enveloped the rider as soon as he came to a stop and collapsed on the ground when he dismounted.
His horse was worked up into a lather and clearly struggling, so two of the soldiers quickly tended to the powerful mare's needs.
"Thank you," the weary courier waved from his prone position. "If I had known you had made it as far as you did, I would have hired a mount from an inn for the second leg. Poor Mirabelle nearly gave out on me."
The man looked ready to give out too. His chest was heaving nearly as much as the barrel of his horse.
Gilbert lifted a water skin to the lips of the courier. The man drank greedily, nearly choking before the liquid was pulled away.
"Now tell me, Noeh, why are you in such a rush. Did something happen at the fort?" Gilbert tried to keep calm. Even though he was not a higher rank then any of the men with him, they were all looking to him to gauge their own reactions.
Noeh nodded his head, finally sitting up in the ring of interested faces. "You'll never guess what happened. The colonel caught the person responsible for letting Sir Kent escape!"
The soldiers all began to murmur among themselves trying to guess who the culprit might be. Gilbert could see this was going to be a problem and quickly nipped it in the bud.
"Did you come all this way and nearly kill yourself to gossip? Or were we not your goal and you need to keep moving?"
The pointed questions wiped the mischievous smile from Noeh's face. Couriers were often given a coin or two to spill all the news, but Gilbert obviously wanted the man to get to the point.
"Forgive me, sir," the Courier suddenly became overly formal. Gilbert was not an officer, after all. "I have a message addressed to you for your eyes only."
With Gilbert's help, the man with the satchel stood up and the two of them moved a short distance from the rest of the group. Rose wanted to join them, but knew better than to impose her influence.
While the princess was privy to almost any military secret, Lady Alexis was not. Trying to nose her way in to the private conversation would either tip her hand that Rose was more important than she seemed or would make her appear like perhaps the lady was also a spy.
So, like the rest, Rose waited. It did not take long for Gilbert to open his part of the note, read it and return with a strange expression on his face.
"My Lady?" He said, approaching the princess with the bow.
Rose furrowed her brow. "Bad news? Please don't tell me you have to return to the fort at once!"
That development would put Rose at great risk, especially so close to the city. If the men who attack Rose were still searching for her, then they could easily make her disappear in the city streets—horse and all—without anyone being the wiser.
"Quite the opposite, actually. The colonel has given me a sealed message that he needs to get directly to the king. I do not suppose you would be able to help me make sure that the king will grant me an audience?"
Gilbert's tone suggested that no one else would be able to deliver this particular message. What could be contained within the paper that would be so urgent?
"Of course I would be honored to help! It is the very least I can do." Rose swept a curtsy.
Gilbert shifted his weight, unused to a noblewoman paying him respect in such a way. With a pained smile, he cleared his throat and motioned for the men to pack up to leave.
"Your work here is done, Noeh, but I do recommend you rest Mirabelle before you head back." Gilbert clapped the other man on the shoulder while he tucked the message for the king inside his tunic.
"I shall take your advice on that. Mira is too fine a horse to run into an early grave." Noeh looked at the mare, who had just finished being rubbed down, given water and was now grazing quietly by the road. She had worked hard.
"One more thing. I don't advise you tell anyone what happened at the fort. At least not yet. That information in the wrong hands could prove very dangerous." Gilbert waited a moment for the words to sink into the young courier's mind.
Noeh was trustworthy with not looking at the messages he brought, but he had yet to master the art of subtly. Loose lips would get the courier in a lot of trouble, or worse.
Taking in the words, Noeh pressed his lips together and pretended to lock them. With a firm shake of each other's forearms, the two men parted ways.
Rose waited patiently for the group to start off again. When they were finally on their way, the princess caught the attention of the leader of the group with a tilt of her head. Gilbert slowly made his way to the Princess's side.
"Do you have an inkling what might be in the letter to His Majesty?" she asked as quietly as she could.
"I trust the colonel enough to know he told me exactly what I needed to know. All will reveal itself in due course, or it won't and life will go on. I can not let little things like a letter which may hold the fate of our kingdom in it worry me too much." Gilbert answered without a trace of irony.
While it might be Rose's job to worry about state affairs, it was Gilbert's job to keep that state of affairs safe. Their positions may not have been the same, but there was certainly a lot of overlap in their duties.
Rose chuckled softly, happy to be free of the trappings of court for a moment. The courtiers would have jumped on her question in a heartbeat with every manner of speculation and juicy detail they knew.
The soldier, on the other hand, was content to be ignorant. "You are a credit to the army, Gilbert. I can find no fault with you."
"Were you looking?" A ghost of a smile flashed across Gilbert's face. It was different than the polite expression he had been wearing so professionally until now.
"Oh no, it was merely an observation. Most people's faults are far too easy to spot." Rose looked away, hoping she hadn't sounded as foolish as she felt.
"Then I am glad I hide it better than most." Rather than wink, Gilbert dipped his head, his polite mask falling back into place. Their conversation ended, Gilbert moved back into the lead of the diamond shape of horses to lead the final leg of the journey.
Rose was happy to have gotten a glimpse of Gilbert's real personality. The princess wondered if he recognized her from the child she once was.
Maybe that was the reason he had let her in just for that moment. For old times. As they rode on, the princess thought about what kind of stories Gilbert would tell her if he had the time. Maybe someday, she would find out.
At last Burke came into view. After her time in the countryside, the sprawling city filled Rose with a new awe.
The detail of soldiers came to a sudden halt. Rose could not see the exact reason for them stopping until she heard the sharp voice.
"State your business!"
'There was no one checking people when I left town.' Rose mused.
"We come in peace," Gilbert announced. "His Majesty is expecting us."
"And why would King Rhodri be expecting you?" The voice challenged. His derision was easy to pick up as Rose strained to see who was talking. It seemed to be an officer with many soldiers behind him.
"We are escorting Lady Alexis, who the King wishes to see." Gilbert's men tightened around her, blocking the princess's view once more. However she did not need to see to know what happened next.
"I will take over from here," a deep baritone voice took over from the officer. "I am sorry to have caused you trouble. Please allow me to apologize to Lady Alexis personally."
Rose knew that voice. And as the soldiers parted, she confirmed her fear.
It was Borit.