CHAPTER 32 He Politely Recaptured Her

CHAPTER 32

He Politely Recaptured Her

Brownie

Sir Thistlewick, as the lead elf had introduced himself, ushered us all into the room before bowing. “One more for you, gentlemen. I’ll leave her in your capable hands and continue our search.”

He slipped out, closing the door behind him.

Brownie heard the latch lock, trapping her in here. But she wasn’t fazed. This wasn’t the worst situation she’d found herself in. Cool and calm meant she was ready to cut and run when the time was right.

And Rufus being here gave her an extra sense of security. Not to mention he was giving her that reassuring smile. He had a very nice smile.

They were in a cellar of sorts, with two comfortable chairs set up in the middle. The assassin from earlier was quietly assessing the situation from her seat. A storm kelpie in land form leaned against the back wall, his murky eyes watching everything with a controlled demeanor.

“And why is Minstrel Bronwynn here?” Rufus stood, facing her guards. Something about the way the beastman’s tail stiffened made her think he wasn’t as calm as his neutral expression let on.

Brownie wondered if she could get away with pulling out snacks from her spatial ring, but decided against it. She didn’t want to draw attention to it. They’d already searched her tiny pouch and determined she could keep it; there were just a few decoy coins in there.

“We found this in Lady Tate’s room.” A shorter human with bushy eyebrows fumbled a bit before pulling out Brownie’s missing red shoulder bag. He waved his findings triumphantly and announced dramatically, “The bard’s bag!”

The front flap flipped back from his enthusiasm, and something fell out .

“Oh, good, my tuning peg,” Bronwynn said, smiling. Now she wouldn’t need to worry about replacing it.

Rufus bent down to pick it up and flipped it over in his hand twice.

“Here you go, Minstrel Bronwynn.” Rufus handed it to her.

The beastman knight that held her arm released her. Brownie accepted the tool and tucked it into her belt pouch, where it stuck out a bit since it was too long to fit in a regular coin pouch. Once that was done, she gave her arm back to the knight to hold.

He politely recaptured her.

“Why did you give it back?!” the bushy-eyebrow human knight demanded. “That was evidence.”

He was less polite.

Instead of replying, Rufus raised an eyebrow at the human. “And who are you ?”

“My name is Sir Norman Harth,” he replied, puffing out his chest.

Rufus stared at the man. Sir Norman didn’t say anything else. Rufus stared harder. An awkward silence filled the room until Rufus stated, “That wasn’t what I wanted to know, Sir Norman.”

“It wasn’t?” A confused pinch furrowed Sir Norman’s bushy eyebrows together.

“No,” Rufus explained, his voice deep and fierce. “The question is, who are you to question me ?”

The storm kelpie snorted. Brownie felt her heartbeat quicken; Rufus had a very smooth voice when he hit those lower tones. She imagined what it would sound like if he sang a ballad with that voice.

Sir Norman huffed. “I’ve been a knight of this estate for nigh on fifteen years! I know the protocol. All effects of a captured individual are to be stored for evidence until the person in question is, um, questioned.”

“I have a question.” A high-pitched lady’s voice came from behind Rufus. Everyone turned to stare at Lady Tate, who had her arms crossed and her chin stuck out. The ruffles of her skirts were voluminous, and she looked like a proud and angry pink puff pastry to Brownie.

“Go on,” the kelpie urged.

Lady Tate looked Brownie up and down and then pointed to the red bag. “Why did you find that in my room? I’ve never seen it before—and I don’t care for people going into my room without warning just to leave things. It’s rude .”

“But you don’t mind that they were searching your room when they found it?” Brownie asked before she could help herself. Rufus was tapping his chin in thought.

“Of course,” Lady Tate stated, waving her hand elegantly in the air as if to brush away Brownie’s concerns. “They told me they were going to search my room, and it is a perfectly proper thing to do in this case. That, ” she sniffed, “is not mine, and is false evidence planted against the bard. I would expect better of the duke.”

“Sir Norman.” Rufus turned on the knight so quickly that the human took a step back, startled.

“Yes?”

“Do you know a castle attendant named Claire?”

Sir Norman frowned. “Why? She’s got nothing to do with you.”

“We’ll see about that.” Rufus suddenly smiled. He turned to Lady Tate. “You are certain that you’ve never seen this bag before?”

“Of course not.” Lady Tate crossed her arms and somehow managed to look down her nose from her sitting position. “I have class .”

The idea that Lady Tate didn’t like Brownie’s style only reassured Brownie of her own taste; she would’ve been worried otherwise. Also, it went to show that Lady Tate wasn’t as fashionable as she seemed—herringbone weave was all the rage in North Sumbria, and it was spreading like wildfire amongst the other kingdoms even as they spoke.

“How did you get the poison for today’s assassination?” Rufus inquired.

Lady Tate shrugged. “A guild member met me at a carriage stop outside Heatherfeld and gave me the bottle.”

“Thank you for answering my questions, Lady Tate; it’s been a pleasure.” Rufus bowed and offered her his hand.

“This was the nicest interrogation I’ve ever had, Commander General.” Lady Tate allowed Rufus to help her to her feet.

Brownie was confused by the hint of dark emotion that gripped her when the elf placed a hand on those soft beanies and stood beside the beastman. They momentarily looked like a picture out of a fairytale. A tall golden beast prince and the pink ruffle dress lady.

Then the commander general let go and swept his arm toward the door. “A knight will accompany you to your room, and you can take a nice rest until the duke returns tomorrow. I’ll let him know about everything you’ve had to suffer.”

“Thank you. It really was awful.” Lady Tate shuddered. Brownie scoffed; the elf still had both her ears, so it couldn’t have been that bad. She spotted the kelpie in the corner rolling his eyes. It looked like he was thinking the same thing.

Rufus ordered, “Now, everyone out while we interrogate Minstrel Bronwynn.”