Chapter 15
768 Words
Chapter 15
The table went quiet for a moment, several guests exchanging curious glances, clearly unaware of what he was referring to.
Rowena's mother's mind moved quickly, calculating the opportunity laid out plainly in front of her. She had heard nothing about any healer visiting in the night, knew nothing at all about who or what had actually treated him, but the chance to claim credit for something that clearly pleased an important guest was not one she intended to let slip past her.
"Ah, yes," she said smoothly, folding her hands neatly on the table. "I arranged for a traveling healer to see to you last night, General. I had heard how poorly you were feeling and simply could not bear the thought of you suffering under our roof without doing something about it."
Chase's brow lifted slightly, interested. "I would very much like to thank them, if they are still here."
"Unfortunately," Rowena's mother continued, barely missing a beat, "the healer was only passing through on her way to another engagement. She left quite early this morning, before dawn even, and I'm afraid she won't be back this way for some time. A shame, truly. But I am glad to hear her work helped you."
"That is a shame," Chase said, watching her carefully now, something faintly unreadable behind his otherwise polite expression. "Do you happen to know her name? Perhaps I could send word to her directly, arrange something through a letter if she is not available to return in person."
Rowena's mother hesitated for the briefest moment, a flicker of something crossing her face before she recovered smoothly. "I'm afraid I did not catch her full name. These traveling healers rarely stay long enough for proper introductions, you understand. I simply heard of her reputation through a contact and arranged the visit as a courtesy to you."
"Of course," Chase said evenly. "That was very generous of you. Please pass along my thanks, should you happen to hear from her again."
"I will certainly try," Rowena's mother said, visibly pleased with herself, already turning the conversation toward how thoughtful and hospitable her household had been to their important guest.
Chase said nothing further on the matter, turning his attention instead to the breakfast in front of him, offering polite responses to the conversation swirling around the table. But inwardly, his mind turned over everything he had just heard, weighing it carefully against what he already knew.
He had stationed two of his own men outside the house the previous night, standard practice whenever he traveled through unfamiliar territory, especially given the delicate nature of the injury still healing beneath his shirt. Both men had reported nothing unusual through the night. No visitors arriving. No traveling healer slipping in before dawn or leaving in the early hours as claimed.
Which meant either his men had failed at their post, unlikely given how carefully he had selected them, or Rowena's mother was lying to him, quite smoothly and quite confidently, about something she clearly knew nothing about.
He glanced around the table subtly as breakfast continued, studying the family gathered there without appearing to study anyone at all. The mother, pleased with herself, clearly invested in claiming credit rather than admitting ignorance. The father, distracted, barely paying attention to the exchange at all. The son, Peter, absorbed in his own conversation further down the table. And the daughter, Rowena, glowing under the attention of her friends, seemingly uninterested in anything beyond her own circle this morning.
He did not see the other girl at the table. The quiet one from the terrace the night before, the one who had looked at him for just a moment before dropping her eyes and disappearing back into the crowd. He wondered, briefly, where she was this morning, then set the thought aside as unimportant, at least for now.
Whatever had actually happened in his room last night, someone in this house was either mistaken or deliberately lying about it. He decided, quietly, to keep that observation to himself for the time being. There was no immediate benefit in calling out Rowena's mother in front of her own family and guests, no clear reason to stir tension before he understood what he was truly dealing with.
But he intended to watch more closely from here on out. Someone in this house had healed him last night, skillfully enough to ease a wound that three trained healers before her had failed to touch. Whoever that was, they had gone through considerable trouble to remain hidden.
He intended to find out why.
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