Part 10 (1/2)
Bo pushed past the secretary. ”No need!” He was off down the lane without another word.
”Hey!” One of their escorts took off after Bo. Nila put out a foot, hooking his boot, and the man sprawled into the mud. She immediately grabbed him by the arm.
”I am so sorry! That was awfully clumsy of me.”
The other escort cursed under his breath and rushed off, but Bo was already disappearing inside the front door of the house the secretary had glanced at. Nila left the first soldier in the mud and followed Bo inside, dragging Folkrot along with her.
Bo was just coming out of the dining room when Nila arrived, their angry escort brandis.h.i.+ng his rifle in Bo's face.
”Put that away,” Bo said peevishly, shoving the rifle out of his face. ”My lady! My lady!”
The soldier shoved the stock of his rifle against Bo's chest. ”Outside! Now! Don't make me-”
”Make you do what?” Bo flipped the cuffs of his jacket inside out and slid his hands smoothly into the pair of gloves hidden within. He touched a finger to the soldier's throat and all color drained from the man's face.
”What is all this d.a.m.ned racket?” An old woman wearing a white soldier's uniform with a golden sash came out of the sitting room. She stopped at the sight before her. ”Privileged Borbador?”
Bo spun away from the soldier and slipped his gloves off and into his pockets. ”My lady!”
”Bo!”
Nila could feel her mouth hanging open as the two embraced like old friends and kissed each other on the cheek.
The old woman-Lady Winceslav, Nila could only imagine-stepped away and looked Bo up and down. ”Privileged Borbador, you've certainly grown.”
”And you're looking more beautiful than ever.” Bo turned the full force of his boyish grin on Winceslav.
Lady Winceslav shooed off their escort and the fl.u.s.tered secretary who had caught up with them. ”Come and sit with me! I'll get us some tea. I'm so glad to see you alive. Tamas had a.s.sured me that you had not been included in his purges, but I was worried nonetheless.”
”I very nearly was anyway,” Bo said. ”But I made it through. Lady, this is my new protegee, Nila. Nila, Lady Winceslav; owner of the Wings of Adom mercenary company and one of the finest people you will ever meet.”
The Lady offered Nila her hand, which Nila kissed. ”My pleasure,” she said.
”Oh, she is a pretty one,” Winceslav said. Nila could have sworn the old woman winked at Bo. She felt her cheeks grow red. ”And who is the boy?” Winceslav asked.
”n.o.body,” Bo said. He snagged the secretary by the sleeve just as she was leaving. ”Put the boy in your stocks for two days, then let him go. Feed him well and give him a fiver when he leaves.”
Bewildered, the secretary led Folkrot away.
”I'm sorry to cut the pleasantries short,” Bo said as they took their seats in the sitting room, ”but you should call one of your code breakers right away.” He produced the letter he had taken from Folkrot and tossed it on the table.
”And what is that?”
”A missive,” Bo said. ”From General Hilanska to the field marshal of the Kez army.”
The Lady sent for one of her code breakers before returning to her seat. ”And how did you come about such a missive? Surely you shouldn't be interrupting lines of communication between Hilanska and the Kez. They might be negotiating a peace treaty.”
Nila spoke up. ”We took it from that boy at about two o'clock this morning. I somehow doubt, my lady, that he was negotiating a peace treaty at that hour.”
”Is this true?” Winceslav asked Bo.
”Yes.”
Winceslav shook her head and leaned back in her chair. She suddenly looked older. ”Everything has gone to pit since Tamas disappeared. He was the one thing holding this all together, and...”
”If it makes you feel any better,” Bo said, ”I don't think Tamas is dead.”
”That's awfully optimistic. He was caught with just two brigades behind enemy lines, in enemy territory. I'm no strategist, but the chances of him returning are close to nothing.”
Bo's eyebrows danced mischievously, but he said nothing more on the matter, instead asking after Winceslav's health and children. They went on like old friends, and Nila felt infinitely out of her depth.
How did Bo know this woman? Through Tamas, no doubt, but they weren't acting like mere acquaintances. Bo clearly trusted her implicitly-not something the Privileged was wont to do. Nila knew by now that Bo flirted with everybody, so his grinning and compliments were no surprise, but Winceslav was acting a bit like a schoolgirl around him. Had he... had he slept with her?
”Something wrong?”
It took Nila a moment to realize Bo was talking to her. ”Hmm?”
”Your cheeks are red.”
She fanned herself with a hand. ”Just thinking about all the excitement.”
Bo gave a chuckle and a knowing smile. Pit! It was like he knew exactly what she was thinking.
It wasn't long before the code breaker arrived with a satchel of papers under one arm. Bo directed him to the letter and continued his conversation with Lady Winceslav. Nila only listened partially to their conversation, as she was watching the code breaker closely.
He opened the letter and smoothed it flat on one of the tables, then turned to his satchel. He leafed through several dozen papers, stopping periodically to lay one flat next to the missive, only to return it a moment later. He finally seemed satisfied with one of them, leaving it next to the letter and then producing a clean sheet of paper and smoothing it out with one hand. ”I have a match, ma'am,” he said, interrupting Bo. ”A lesser-used code, but we have it in our records.”
”Go ahead,” Lady Winceslav said. ”Go on, Bo.”
”I was saying it's the curse of war, isn't it? Weeks or even months of waiting for something-anything-to happen. Almost makes you beg for a battle.”
”It's terribly boring,” Winceslav agreed, ”although I wouldn't beg for a battle. I came down here as soon as I heard about the schism in the army. I was just told this morning that no one in Adopest even knows what's going on!” She shook her head. ”I can't possibly believe that.”
”It's true,” Bo said. ”May I ask who told you that?”
”A man by the name of Inspector Adamat.”
Nila turned away from watching the code breaker. ”Adamat was here?”
”He was. He mentioned something about you, Bo, but I'm still surprised to see you here.”
”We...” Nila started.
”My lady!” The codebreaker had stood up, his copy of the letter in his trembling hands. ”I've finished, my lady. This is urgent.”
”Well, go on!”
The code breaker licked his lips. ”Hilanska is plotting with the Kez, my lady. He intends to destroy Ket's brigades and then turn on us, working jointly with the enemy.”
”Give me that.” Bo s.n.a.t.c.hed the translated missive from the code breaker and ran his eyes over it. His face grew grim and he handed the letter over to Lady Winceslav.