Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Author:Rachel Hartman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-02-27T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

“I’ve heard tell of a palace nearby,” Tess told Reg and Rowan once she caught them up. They were well into their cups at the Hefty Heifer in the village of Faverly. Tess had availed herself of a mug of ale, just one, funded by charitable donation. She was about Griss’s business, after all, and she needed courage. “The palace,” she reiterated, since they were ignoring her, “belongs to the Duke of Barrabou. According to locals, he’s fantastically rich, and—here’s the best of it—he lost his father a few months ago. I don’t mean dead, I mean lost.”

Rowan eyed her sidelong. “Sounds like carelessness.”

“Indeed,” said Tess, keeping a straight face. “The old duke wandered the rose garden at night. No one minded, thinking at worst he’d get caught in the thorns. One day, though, the gardener left the gate open. The old man wandered into the forest and was never seen again.”

She had Reg’s attention now. He picked his nose with his thumb meditatively and said, “I suppose you want something for this information?”

“I ask no reward,” said Tess hastily, as if to fend off their generosity. “I’ll just sneak in the back while you’ve got everyone occupied in front, and walk off with a few golden forks.”

The men laughed and hailed the tapmaster for more ale, whereupon Griss whispered in Tess’s ear: “There is no Duke of Barrabou.”

“You need to keep that very quiet,” Tess whispered back. “Can you do that?”

Griss nodded solemnly; Tess might’ve worried, but she was sure he’d forget the Duke of Barrabou even quicker than his promise.

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