Chapter 59
Rosetta scowled at her cousin’s back as she trudged through the town’s mining grounds. Normally, the place would be off-limits to someone like her. But with Hanlen leading her in, there apparently weren’t any problems. Beyond, of course, how suspiciously weird the whole thing was. She suspected she would end up regretting this, but the man had been insistent she come along. It was doubtful that she would have, if not for the fact that they were cousins—even if it meant finally speaking with the mysterious smugglers.
The girl crossed her arms, blowing an annoying strand of hair from her face. Now that she was here and had time to consider it more, she regretted the rash decision. A man taking a woman into the mining area of town was not a good look on the best of days. This was by no means ‘the best of days.’ All she could hope at this point was that she hadn’t made a grave decision. Would this ruin everything?
Hanlen could have at least been less rough and handsy in his initial ‘insistence’; not to mention scaring the life out of her, grabbing her in the hall and pulling her out into the street like some deranged murderer. She’d always been of the opinion that the man had more brawn than brains. He was lucky she hadn’t smacked him between the legs and screamed, running for her life.
“Complete idiot,” she muttered under her breath.
“Hmm?” Her cousin turned to face her with a questioning look.
Rosetta sighed. “Nothing, just keep going.”
She was honestly surprised to find that her cousin, of all people, was part of this smuggling group. Just how much of the town was in on it? At this point, she was beginning to feel a little left out.
The girl’s eyes narrowed as she saw the building they were walking up to—a barely standing heap of wood that the miners affectionately called their personal ‘bar.’ Was this really where he was taking her? It seemed like a terribly obvious spot.
Hanlen brought her to a small side entrance, rapping against the door before shouldering it open with a hefty shove and leading the way in. Rosetta stood a bit taller, straightening her dress, and stepped in with a decorum that now came naturally to her. It was time to see what all the fuss was about.
The inside only looked slightly better than the outside, held up by old wooden beams that looked as though they could use a replacement. Overall, it felt cramped, with crates and barrels stacked up and taking much of the floor-space.
There was a ‘bar’ of sorts with several stools around it. It surrounded several barrels that she suspected were full of alcohol. The place even had a little table off to the side with another stool or two. It didn’t have an actual barkeep, as far as she was aware, being truthfully more of a storage place that the miners happened to eat and drink at. Not that it stopped them from priding themselves over it, for whatever peculiar reason.
Men. Idiots, the lot of them. Though whoever put it together to resemble the likeness of a tavern bar was a cheeky fellow, she begrudgingly admitted.
Two men sat on the tall stools, each silently looking between her and Hanlen. Rosetta only vaguely knew them, but she recognized the two by face and name, at least. Belland was a gruff-looking man, with a speckled beard and messy dark hair. His hands and rough clothing were covered in the black oily lesei from the morning’s work in the mine. Slumped forward over the table, the man scowled at her cousin between the looks of suspicious he cast her way.
“Why’s the girlie here?” he grumbled.
Rosetta shifted, fidgeting in place. Great, they didn’t even know she was coming?
“She’s my cousin.” Hanlen glanced her way with a shrug. “Leon asked me to grab her.”
Belland scoffed. “That damned fool’s gonna be the death of us.”
“So, this is…” Rosetta began, not sure what exactly to call this.
“We’re—” Hanlen began, before being cut off by the other fellow in the room, an elder man called Hester.
“Don’t be saying things you shouldn’t, boy.”
Hanlen glanced her way with a fretful look. “She’s my cousin.”
“And I stabbed my father when I was twelve,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“I already know that you’re smugglers,” Rosetta half-whispered to the room.
Hester turned to meet her gaze with steely eyes. “I ain’t no smuggler, girl.”
He said it with so much assertive indignation that she almost believed him, if not for the situation.
“Right,” she muttered.
“You’d be better off leaving,” Belland said.
Hester shook his head, and with a firmness that left no argument, said, “She won’t be going anywhere till Leon shows his face and we find out what sort of trouble he’s been stirring.”
Silence took the room as the two men sipped on their drinks. Rosetta gave Hanlen an uncertain look, fidgeting.
After a moment of looking equally lost, her cousin shrugged. “Have a seat, I guess.”
She sighed and followed his gesture to a nearby stool, stepping up onto it and shifting her dress beneath her as she plopped down on the uncomfortable wood.
The next few minutes stretched on, long and awkward. The ‘bar’ stayed quiet beyond the occasional grumble and scrape of mugs against rough wood. Rosetta felt her stomach rolling with regret. Coming here was a clear mistake. She should have followed her gut and found a way to turn her cousin down, even if it meant not having contact with the supposed ‘smuggling’ group. Was this really all there was to them? She’d been expecting something… grander. At least a few more people. Not just a couple of grumpy old men sitting around a barely standing table.
Really, she needed to get back soon, both to make sure everyone was alright and to wake Lena. That was assuming the noble girl wasn’t already up, which was likely the case. This was so unlike Rosetta’s normal pattern that her mistress was sure to be worried sick already. Was Lena worried about her? Perhaps looking around the estate for where she’d run off to?
As Rosetta brooded, the door to the front burst open, making her jump and nearly fall from the wobbly stool.
“Well! Good to see you’re all here,” Leon said, strutting in and kicking the door closed behind him.
“What have you done this time, Leon? Why’s the girl here?” Hester immediately laid into him.
Leon gave the old man a grin. “She’s here for the same reason as you two.”
Belland gave him a scoff. “Already told you that we aren’t joining any of your ridiculous schemes. And you’re more of a fool than I thought if you think the Dyere maid here is going to join without a plan to toss you to the dogs first chance she gets.”
Leon gestured widely. “As it happens, my plans are already underway. No involvement needed.” He grinned, eyes scanning over all of them.
“Alright. Stop with the theater and get on with it,” Hester said.
“I know you two didn’t want to be part of things, preferring to keep your heads down. But things are already in motion, and I’ve no intention of leaving you behind. In short, I’ve organized a little distraction for our sentinel friends on the other side of town. Meanwhile, we’ll be leaving through the mines. All I need from you two is to be ready. Soon.”
“And how do you expect to do so with only the single entrance in?”
“I’ve got that sorted. In fact you’ll find that out rather shortly,” he said with a smile.
“Leon,” Hester admonished back, interrupting him.
“No no, I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”
Hester’s eyes narrowed, scowling and opening his mouth to argue, only to be interrupted by Belland.
“Why she’s here?” The man gestured Rosetta’s way.
Leon turned her way. “Luthar asked for a favor, and I honestly owe the man quite a lot. So she’s coming with.”
At this, Rosetta scowled. “The ‘favor’ was supposed to be for me and Lena.” Not to mention Pearl and Camilla. This was getting well out of hand. They were making a move already? Did she even have enough time to go warn the others and discuss a plan?
“Bringing you along is one thing, but some noble girl?” Leon shook his head. “I know he said you fancy her, but this is about the best I can do under the circumstance.”
“I don’t care. Either both of us come, or neither of us do,” the maid insisted.
The exuberant man chuckled. “I don’t think you understand your situation, sweetheart. You don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“And what's to stop me?” Rosetta’s eyes narrowed, but her insides twisted with thorny tendrils of anxiety. Could she get away? She didn’t need to be able to fight him, only run. Though, like the others, Leon worked in the mine. How easily would he be able to catch her? Still, if she screamed, then perhaps…
“On this, I believe I’ll agree,” Hester said, standing to his feet. “Letting you run off at this point would be too much of a risk.”
Her eyes roamed briefly to her cousin, struggling to read his expression. Would he help her? Unfortunately, she feared the opposite.
Leon turned to smile at the elder miner. “So then, you’re in?”
“We’ll see about this distraction of yours. Knowing you, there’s something you’ve forgotten. You’ll need someone with at least half a brain to fix things and get us all out of here alive.”
Leon’s smile slipped into a full grin. “Glad to have you back, Hester.”
“Gods damn it all,” Belland blurted out, smacking the table. “Alright, I suppose this is happening, then. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Like I said, just be ready to go.” The grinning miner looked over at Rosetta. “Well? What do you say, maid girl?”
She ground her teeth, debating what her best move was. The wrong decision could lead her to being dragged along much more forcefully, or worse, incapacitated. “Fine. It’s not like you’re giving me a choice.” She just needed to wait for the right moment to slip away. She could do this. For her love’s sake, she had to.
Leon gave her another wide, genuine smile. With a theatrical wave of his arm, he said, “In that case, welcome to the rebellion, sweetheart. Glad to have ya.”
He walked up and held out a hand, intending for her to shake it. Begrudgingly, she stepped forward and gripped it.
A sly, melodic voice off to the side made her freeze in place.
“Well. Isn’t this a most interesting development?”
She turned and stared just as Camilla stepped smoothly out of the shadows, a light smile across her lips. What? When had she entered? And how had no one noticed?
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
The four miners pulled out an array of knives, each pointed in the sorceress’s direction.
“W-wait!” Rosetta shouted, just before Hanlen rushed her.
Camilla casually knocked the blade from his hand with a wave of her arm and tripped the man to the floor, kneeing him in the stomach as he fell. With a smooth stride, she stepped over him. The sorceress gave Rosetta a wink before looking between the three others.
“Let’s talk, shall we?”