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“Yes. He was looking for someone.”

Artur glanced at Julep's stricken expression. “And now I suppose you're just a poor lonely orphan looking for a scrap of compassion in this terrible world...and possibly a bit of revenge?” His tone was dry.

Julep stared at him. She’d never seen him be cruel.

He patted her arm. It was all right. She didn't yet understand goblin games.

The girl stared at him, bewildered.

That was fine. He knew how this story would go. He would play his part. It would be entertaining.

Of course, the girl conveniently had a fresh batch of blue fern juice ready. Julep was thrilled. Between that and the guilt Julep felt for things that weren’t her fault, the orphan came with them.

The girl was called Era, she was eighteen and she let herself be reluctantly persuaded to come along with Julep and her scary goblins.

“You know, I could arrange a convenient accident.

Let her get settled at one of your shops.

Let the madam forget about her. One day she decides there's greener pastures and doesn't come back,” Artur's chief of security said softly.

They were making a pit stop and the ladies were occupied.

Separately, of course. On opposite sides of the road.

“Maybe. We'll see how this plays out. Young ones don't usually have much patience,” Artur said, feeling jaded. There was no rush.

“My money's on seduction,” the security chief said.

“That's because you think with your nuts,” Artur said with a grin. “Most likely she'll go straight to murder.”

“I'll make sure she gets plenty of chances to sneak off and talk to her handlers,” the chief said.

“Keep me posted,” Artur murmured, and moved to intercept his wife. She was stumbling with tiredness, but didn't complain. “Why don't you ride in front of me this time? I'll hold you so you don't fall off and you can take a nap.”

??

They met Rooster's party on the road about five miles away from his carriage. The driver had been in a hurry and snapped the axle. They didn't want to take any chances, so they scooped Rooster up so they could reach Artur's party faster.

Rooster looked dreadful. He was yellow, and blood dripped from his cracked lips. His voice was hoarse, and he could barely talk through the sore throat.

“I need to set up,” Julep said urgently. “I need my tools.”

It was spitting rain, so they set up a tarp under the trees and stacked all the bags of blue fern. The rough handling had produced a lot of juice in the bottom of the bags, which she strained into a bowl.

She waved off the girl's juice. She had no way of knowing how the girl had produced the blue slush. There could be undisclosed impurities, and fresh was more potent. “I want it as fresh as possible.”

Julep filled a tiny cup and brought it to Rooster's lips. He obediently drank, and promptly spit it out.

“What is this slop?” He gagged and almost threw up.

Surprised, Julep stuck a pinky in the juice and tasted it. Granted, it had been shoved in leather sacks and squished on the fly, but it tasted right. In fact, as medicines went it was almost tasty. “It's blue fern, of course. We told you we were getting some. It will cure you.”

“It tastes like something that I hacked up from the back of my throat!”

Julep blinked. Her face hardened. “It's the medicine. You have to drink it.”

He stared at her, mutinous. Finally, he growled, “Fine.” He threw up twice, but finally managed to get some down.

Julep sat back with a groan, glad that was over. It had been a horrible night, but saving Rooster would be worth it.

Thunder cracked, and it began to hail.

??

“At least they brought the female back with them. With any luck, she'll be able to stir up some mischief,” Zul Kan said with satisfaction when Hurdle brought him the news.

Artur hadn't allowed her into his house...yet. A clever girl could get around that. If not, it was a small enough investment, and Rooster would be sick for some time.

Zul Kan smiled. He was in a rare good mood. Not only had he damaged someone close to Artur, he'd made him chase around the countryside in search of a cure. Artur wouldn’t soon forget it.

Meanwhile, Zul Kan was watching an opportunity develop. He'd bide his time, keep an eye on things. If things went the way he hoped, he'd soon be able to make Artur bleed.

This could get interesting.

??

Rooster recovered slowly. The carriage ride had been rough, his driver rushing to close the gap between them. Rooster was tough though, and he appreciated their effort.

Julep wasn't as quick to move on from the trip as Artur would have liked.

“It's my fault,” she said sadly. She was settled in a comfortable chair, holding the new baby in Artur's office, but her gaze had strayed to the window.

Artur put down his pen. He knew what she was brooding about.

“Maybe. Maybe you had the power to send an entire goblin division to wreck the village? Maybe you sent the goblin after you in the first place? And maybe you should never have created the drug to help your father.” He held her gaze.

“I'm sure you could have stood by and watched him die in agony. If only you had known, his sacrifice would be worth it.”

She stared at him, outraged.

“Well? You were being quite dramatic. That is the logical outcome of that line of emotional thinking.”

She blew out a breath. “You're horrible sometimes!” She sounded more exasperated than angry.

“I am,” he agreed mildly. “But not nearly as much as Zul Kan. He would be delighted to know he caused you so much distress.”

“In fact, if we turned your little foundling into a housemaid like you wanted, he'd no doubt know all about it.”

“What are you talking about?” She'd been very annoyed with him that he arranged for the girl to work at a shop he owned instead of the house.

At the time he told her that he didn't allow perfect strangers to work in his household.

The girl would have to earn the right. Julep had reluctantly accepted his reasoning.

“You didn't wonder that she was conveniently collecting medicine in the woods, just as we were looking for it?”

“No. It's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, especially in the spring. We just happened to stumble upon her.”

He sighed. “I love your innocence.”

She frowned at him. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“My dear, there are many kinds of warfare. Yes, Zul Kan would think that far ahead. Yes, he would definitely bother.”

“Do you have proof of your suspicions?” she asked skeptically.

“Would her clandestine meetings with one of Zul Kan's shopkeepers count?”

She exhaled, disappointed.

“If it helps, our house staff's been well vetted. You're safe in our home,” he reassured her. He came around the desk for his turn to hold the baby. “He's grown already. Look at that little fist! He's going to be a big man.”

“I don't know how you can tell,” she said, still miffed. “But his nurse says he’s growing well.”

Since they were on the subject, she added, “Our foster daughter's mother is doing better than expected.

Va seems to have improved, now that she doesn't have to stress about her daughter's future. Her color is better, and she’s eating. Noemi actually went out with Gal today to visit the stables.” Va was still in decline, but at least she would have a little more time with her daughter.

“That's the children taken care of, then. And what about you? Weren't you planning to do something for fun?”

“In’shi and I are going to the Starry Market tomorrow. She said even though it's inside the mountain, it's huge. She's very excited to show me everything.”

“Good. I think you'll like it. Will you be taking our house door or hers?” Most goblin houses and shops had a door that opened into the Starry Market.

When the mountain storms raged, the market became very lively as traffic was driven off the street and into the mountain.

There was nothing like it anywhere else.

“I'm going over there for breakfast, so we'll leave from there. In’shi wanted to show me her copper still. she said I can watch the next time she distills her brandy.” Julep had learned it was a popular goblin hobby. They were entire festivals devoted to it.

“Have fun,” he said. “Don't get lost.”

She raised her brows. “Is that a possibility?”

“No. I’d come looking for you.” He winked.