“Did you see him?” Gaston asked Wulfe in an undertone. The two men were in the stables, purportedly checking their steeds. Ysmaine was in the common room, breaking her fast, and Fergus brushed his own steed. His presence was apparently a coincidence, but he watched the courtyard.
“No more than a shadow,” Wulfe acknowledged.
“The ploy failed, then.”
“We drew the villain out, that much is certain.” The portal to the street was opened, and Joscelin returned, his manner jovial. He waved farewell to an acquaintance and hummed to himself as he crossed the courtyard to the common room. He looked well pleased and had been clearly absent all the night long.
To Gaston’s dismay, he made directly for Ysmaine, who smiled thinly. Her gaze flicked to the stables, then back to the merchant. Everard lo
