given them and at each occasion the commander of the troop had reluctantly accepted it for what it was and let them pass.
Beyond that, they had found themselves enjoying the countryside for the most part and the cooling autumn air was a welcome companion as they made their way through the Pass of Brunswick, being able to look up into the high hills with its grey skies and perpetual drizzle, before passing through and then on across the eastern plains of the Empire.
'Might you be able to answer a question that has been planted in my mind for some considerable time?' Rampton asked.
'That depends,' Winterburne replied. 'What is it?'
'Can you please explain to me why it is that when you are travelling to a place it seems to take forever, yet on the return journey it never seems so?'
Rampton's question made Winterburne smile. There was some truth in it, but it was something that he had never fully understood either. 'Aye,' he said, 'it would seem to be one of the very laws of nature itself, my friend.'
Now that he was nearly home he could completely understand what his companion meant; their time in the Commonwealth already seemed an age ago and it could almost have been as if it had not happened at all, excepting that was for the lump on his head, collected from his fall down the waterfall, and the vivid memory of the beating he had taken at the hands of the very man that was riding next to him.
He looked up the road towards Highport's East Gate, now looming large and imposing, smiling at the sight of the rough stonework and aged look of the old place. But he didn't care about how it looked, he was home at last.
The gravelly road cut its way in a straight line through the gates and on towards the city itself. He looked up at the clouds as they hid the sun, but despite the cover, its light still found its way through albeit without quite the warmth that had accompanied them as they had left White Haven City, all those weeks ago. They had been lucky with the weather on their return journey and autumn had been kind to them, but the nights were beginning to draw in and there had been some where the chill cut him. Still, it was better than the hills, far away at the Pass of Brunswick and he knew that whatever was happening elsewhere, or wherever he was, he would never forget that they would be shrouded in that same, grey, blanket of cloud and misty rain.
'What's the first thing on your list of things to do?' Winterburne asked looking over at his companion.
'That's easy.' Rampton laughed. 'I'm getting a shave and a haircut,' he raised his hand to rub his face, 'then a hot bath,' he added. Then his face turned more serious. 'I expect I'll be called for de-brief by the Commander as soon as he realises I'm back. You?'
Winterburne looked back to the road and up to the city walls. He tapped his chest, at the position where the inside pocket of this jacket would be. 'I'll have to deliver this letter to the Emperor, I expect. He'll be eager to know the details of the course of events.' He turned thoughtful, and then smiled at Rampton. 'But first,' he said, 'I have somewhere more important to go.'
'More important than the Emperor?'
'For sure.' Winterburne laughed. 'There are some things in this world, John, that, despite what anyone else says, are more important than all others.'
oOo
The hidden courtyard was just as Winterburne remembered and it hadn’t change one bit. Washing had been strung out on a rope pulled tight between boat hooks pounded into the brickwork, hanging across the tiny square that Alyssa seemed to consider her own. He doubted that the washing would be easy to dry there, the sun failing to get any warmth down this far, and shadows of early evening had already spread across the place, even now seeming to be creeping up the walls as he watched.
The door to the Vawdrey house was closed, but if Alyssa was true to form then it would not be locked. There was an unwritten law on the streets, he knew, and people came and went into their neighbours' houses during the daylight as surely if they were there own.
He pushed the door open silently and the sound of a tune floated through the doorway towards him. Alyssa's singing voice was clear and pure from the kitchen and the sound of water sloshing about accompanied the words to the song, keeping some semblance of timing. He smiled and leaned against the door frame enjoying the performance for a moment longer, waiting for the right moment. He stepped away and raised his hand to rap on the door.
The sloshing stopped and Winterburne heard a curse. He smiled again. Although the words were quiet and he couldn’t quite make them out, if he knew Alyssa half as well as he thought he did then they would be choice.
'Luke!' Alyssa screamed.
Winterburne winced. If her singing voice was pure and clear, then the shout was its pole; strident, piercing, and loud.
As he waited, he half expected the boy to appear from out of nowhere to curse him or utter some cocky remark but the house remained quiet. He was not here it seemed.
'In God's name where is that boy?' Alyssa said, out of sight. 'He's never around when you need him.'
Winterburne listened as her footsteps approached, watching for her as she came around the corner. Alyssa was drying her hands on a striped towel and had yet to look up. She threw the towel onto the table and then their eyes met.
To Winterburne's mind her smile was like a beam of sunshine cutting through the shadows right into his soul, and if a second could stretch to last a minute then this one did with plenty to spare.
'Thomas!' she cried, and ran across the room, almost jumping at him.
Winterburne caught her, half carrying her, squeezing and lifting her from the floor until she dangled in his arms.
'When did you get back?' she asked, as her face beamed up at him.
'About a half hour ago. Just enough time to return my horse to the Watch House stables.'
Alyssa dropped to the floor and stepped back away from him, but still holding his hands. She looked him up and down, cocking her head to one side.
'Have you lost weight?' she asked.
'I expect so,' Winterburne replied, 'I don't go much for all that foreign food.'
'Foreign food?'
'I'll explain later.'
Alyssa nodded. 'Are you well?' she asked. Then, the flood-gates opened. 'What have you been doing? Was it dangerous? Would you like some tea? Come and sit by the fire. Can I get you some food? Have you seen the Empress yet?'
Winterburne laughed and pulled her close. 'Hush woman!' he said, kissing her.
Alyssa closed her eyes as their lips met.
'That's nice,' she said, after she had pulled away. 'You don't know how much I've been looking forward to the day that I had this feeling again.'
'I told you I would be back.'
'You did.'
'I couldn't wait to see you.'
'Nor I, you.' She buried her head against his chest. 'I tried not to think about it,' she said. 'You were gone so long. I wondered if you might not come back.'
Winterburne lifted her chin so that he could look at her.
'Shh!' he said.
'I know, but things happen and—'
'It doesn't matter any more.' He kissed her again. 'I'm home now.'
'For good?'
'That's the plan.'
Alyssa hugged him again.
'Anyway,' Winterburne said, as he remembered something that she had said a moment before, 'what do you mean, have I seen the Empress yet?'
She laughed and stepped away. 'Of course, you don't know, do you? You had already left when it was announced.'
Alyssa clasped her fingers in front of her belly, holding them out in an imitation of advanced pregnancy.
'She is huge.' she said, puffing out her cheeks and crossing her eyes.
Winterburne laughed at the face that Alyssa had pulled. 'Then that will be a sight to behold. In fact,' he said, 'that's just where I am going now.'
'What, the Palace?'
Winterburne nodded. 'Want to come?'
'Can I?'
'Come on,' he said, pulling Alyssa by the hand towards the door.
53
'An
d so the wandering son returns home at long last.' Frederick left Kateryn, who had been sitting at his side, stepping down from the throne and making his way towards Winterburne and Alyssa, the broadest smile on his face. 'Congratulations, my friend, you have made us all proud.'
Winterburne took the Emperor's outstretched hand, shaking it vigorously. 'Thank you, Your Highness.'
'So,' Frederick said, 'are you going to tell me all the gory details of what you got up to?'
'I barely know where to start, Sire, there is so much to tell. I fear it would take a month at least.'
Frederick nodded. 'I understand. I'm sure I'll get to hear it all eventually anyway. Just make sure that it is in some semblance of order.' He smiled. 'I am not a man who is patient enough to join all the pieces together myself.'
Winterburne nodded. 'I do have something for you, though, Sire.'
'For me?'
'The Queen sent this letter for you,' he said, reaching down to his pocket, 'and she asked me to give you her personal apologies for not believing in your sincerity.'
Frederick took the letter and smiled. 'Ysabel's reaction was understandable, I suppose, in the circumstances. In her position I would probably have done the same myself.'
'That's what I told her, Sire.'
They all waited as Frederick opened the letter and read. Then, as he finished, he smiled again.
'She certainly speaks highly of you and Rampton.'
'The Queen is an honourable woman, Your Highness. I was privileged to meet her.'
'Indeed,' Frederick replied, 'as I have been.'
'Your Highness, if I may be so bold, Alyssa tells me that congratulations are in order for you and the Empress.'
Alyssa