*
It was hard work riding with two children, and harder still that she had to keep them hidden under folds of a spare cloak. She was careful to stop only in towns with strong rebel leanings, or sizeable rebel districts where they could stay, but to do so she had to take a somewhat circuitous route north.
It would have been more direct to go to Venncastle first, and up to Mersioc later, but at Venncastle someone might notice Isabelle. Whereas this way, if she could get to Mersioc without being spotted, she knew she could afford to travel openly back to Venncastle. Martin still looked like a tiny newborn.
And so it happened that one night the most natural staging post happened to be in Almont, and she decided to take the opportunity to visit whatever was left of First Corps at the northeast gate. She came into the city from the south, and worked her way up to the edge of the rebel district without trouble. Once she’d exchanged pass phrases with a couple of guards, she could finally let the children out of hiding to see the city. Bella gaped up at the huge city wall, as Eleanor led the horse into the shade and tied him by troughs of hay and water. Then she made her way across to the gate itself and knocked at the little door.
Dash stepped out in front of her, his huge frame almost blocking the doorway.
“Password?” he asked.
“What? Which password?”
“You need to give me the password before you can come through.”
“But Dash, you know me.”
“I’m sorry, you need to give me the password.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? And you know me. This is virtually my second home.”
“We can’t let just anyone through, you know. You taught us that. You’ve got to have the password for the gate.”
“I don’t have the latest one. You can test me on any of the old ones, I can even give you a list of active codewords, but I’ve been out of town for a while.”
“Sorry.” He centred himself in the doorway; there was no way she could squeeze past without a fight. “You’re the one who told us we had to be careful.”
“Yes, that was me. Precisely. I’m still me, I’m still on your side.”
“Sweetie, what’s up?” A thin arm wound around Dash’s waist, and a moment later Nicole’s head popped out from beneath his arm. “Eleanor, hey! Welcome back.”
“She doesn’t have the password,” Dash said. “I was explaining that she can’t come in.”
“And I appreciate your thoroughness,” Eleanor said. “But let’s stop this now, shall we? I need a drink, and the kids need some sleep.”
“I’ll tell you the password,” Nicole said. “Then he’ll have to let you in.”
“I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work,” Dash said, but he let her past to whisper in Eleanor’s ear, and when Eleanor gave the right password he moved out of her way. Upstairs, Jace was on duty with a young man Eleanor didn’t recognise.
“So how’s it going?” Nicole poured ale for both of them and plonked the tankards hard onto the table, splashing her drink across her fingers. Dash kissed her on the forehead and went back to his post. “What’s been happening out in the big wide world?”
“Not much,” Eleanor said. She settled Isabelle and Martin on blankets in one corner, and came to sit with Nicole. “I’m on my way north. But I see you’ve got news. You and Dash?”
“Yeah we... we hooked up. We’re still living here, obviously, keeping your gate for you. It’s nice. He’s a nice guy.”
“Don’t let it get in the way,” Eleanor said, though she felt like every kind of hypocrite as she spoke. “It’s important not to care too much, in times like these.”
“Oh, I get it,” Nicole said, taking another swig of her beer. “Dangerous times. And this is a dangerous job. We know.”
“As long as you understand that the revolution comes first.”
“Yeah, of course, this is bigger than us all. This stuff matters.”
“Well, I’m really happy for you. I think it’s great that my little guard unit gave you two the chance to get to know each other.”
“Yeah, I never would have thought it. Not with his attitude, all team-leader, bigger-than-you crap. But he’s nice when you get to know him. Real nice.”
“I could have told you that,” Eleanor said, laughing. “Leadership isn’t a character flaw, you know.”
Nicole shrugged. “I don’t much like being told what to do.”
“No... me neither.”
They’d almost finished their drinks when Rosemary came down from the sleeping loft.
“I thought I heard a familiar voice,” she said, crossing to give Eleanor a hug. Then she spotted the children in the corner. “Oh, and this must be Bella, isn’t she growing up fast? And the baby...?”
“Martin, my little one.”
Bella had started crawling across the floorboards at the sound of her name. Eleanor stepped across and lifted her to her feet.
“You’re a big girl, Bella, you can walk now. No need to crawl around on your knees.”
“You’re not working, then?” Rosemary said. “Not with the children.”
“No, I’m...” Eleanor hesitated, trying to think of how to explain without alienating everyone. “I’m taking them to see my mother. It’s not safe for them to live in the Association with me.”
“Do you want me to look after them for a bit?”
“Sally suggested the same thing,” Eleanor said. “But I really want to get them further away from the war. I don’t want them growing up in the middle of this.”
“Have you seen much of Sally?”
“And Violet?” Nicole chimed in. “We miss them, when can we have them back?”
Eleanor finished her drink and poured herself another before answering. “Violet’s the reason I’m here, really. She got hurt helping me to rescue Bella.”
“Oh no. Is she okay?”
“We think she’ll recover, but one of her wounds went bad. She’s very sick at the moment. Anyway, I can’t let that happen again, so I have to get the children out of danger.”