Shadows and Light

made the other barons wonder if these new ideas were coming from their own people or from someone outside of Sylvalan who might have his own reasons for wanting to have our society ripped apart. You made them wonder exactly what was happening in those eastern villages. And you pointed a finger at the men whose appearance in Sylvalan started all these changes. I don’t think the poison was meant to kill you, which is a small blessing, just make you weak enough that you wouldn’t be able to fight or escape the men they sent after you.”
    “Lucky you came along, then.”
    “I was looking for you,” Padrick snapped. “I didn’t want to hear tomorrow morning that you’d been found in an alley somewhere with your head smashed in.”
    Before Liam could say anything, his belly clenched again. He got his head over the chamber pot before he became violently ill.
    “What did—?” Liam gasped. “What—?” Another wave of sickness threw his stomach past his teeth.
    “A purge,” Padrick said. “Whether it’s a mild poison or something strong enough to kill you, you have to get it out of you as quickly as possible.” He pushed the window open, leaned out far enough to take deep breaths of fresh air.
    Liam wondered why a baron would feel the need to carry a purge, but he didn’t feel well enough to ask.
    “Are you through?” Padrick asked.
    Liam nodded weakly. “It’s not just my dinner, it’s my stomach as well that’s filling the chamber pot.”

    Padrick put a cover over the chamber pot, then helped Liam to the bed. “You rest a bit while I pack my things.”
    “There’s no reason for you to leave. And we both have to stay for the vote. We have to.”
    Padrick rested one hand on Liam’s shoulder and leaned over until they were eye to eye. “Get it through your stubborn head, Liam. One way or another, they’re going to make sure you don’t walk back into that chamber tomorrow morning. And not just for the vote. If you die, who becomes the next baron?”
    “A cousin of my father’s. I think.”
    Padrick nodded. “And if he’s a man who can be swayed— or bought—to the eastern barons way of thinking, what will happen to your family?”
    Liam thought of Elinore and Brooke ... and shuddered.
    “You’ll best serve your family and your people by staying alive. And that means getting out of Durham.”
    Padrick went to the wardrobe, took out the saddlebags, and packed swiftly. When he was done, he turned to Liam. “I have to go out for a few minutes. Will you be all right?”
    Liam nodded. He felt hollow—and fragile enough to shatter. He knew Padrick was right, and yet... “You don’t have to go. You could stay for the vote.”
    Padrick paused at the bedroom door. “Laddy-boy, if these Black Coats are as smart as I think they are, they’ll figure out quickly enough who helped you tonight. I don’t fancy getting a knife in the back because of it, and you’re in no shape to ride alone. Besides, getting myself killed would seriously annoy my wife, since I promised her I’d be careful while I was here. You rest for a bit. I’ll be back shortly.”
    “Come on, laddy-boy,” Padrick said, hauling Liam to his feet. “Time to try your legs.”
    Liam stared fuzzily at Padrick. “I thought you were going out for a few minutes.”
    Padrick studied Liam carefully. “I’ve been out. And so, it seems, were your brains.” He paused. “Can you walk on your own? Don’t answer that. I shouldn’t have bothered to ask.” Settling his saddlebags over one shoulder, he draped one of Liam’s arms across his shoulders.
    “If someone sees us ...,” Liam said weakly.
    “You’ve had too much wine, which you inconveniently sicked up when you got to my room,” Padrick said quietly as he led Liam through the sitting room and into the hotel’s hallway. “I told a couple of the western barons who are also staying at this hotel that you’d received distressing news from home, but you’re too ill to travel by yourself so I agreed to go with you. They’re seeing to getting my horse saddled and hunting down a hackney cab for you.”
    “Can you trust them?” Liam asked, gripping the banister as tightly as he could to steady himself as they made their way down the stairs. “What if they ...” He suddenly realized he was trusting his life to a man he knew only by sight, and Padrick was trusting men he didn’t know at all.
    “They won’t raise their hands to do me harm,” Padrick said softly,