to a young woman as I walked up. “More if you can get them.”
“I’ll do my best.” The young woman turned, and as she scooted past, I saw to my surprise it was Lady Clemence. Both she and Norrie were wearing iron crosses.
“Lucy!” Norrie’s face lit up. “I’m so glad to see you, child.”
“And I to see you.” I offered up my bracelet so that she would know for certain that it was me. “But what’s happening here?”
“Oh, we’ve been busy for hours, ever since the evacuation started. Some poor souls have nowhere to go, or couldn’t be moved far, so the King opened up the Great Hall to them. And the Queen thought we ought to see what could be done for them. Who’d have guessed she’d be such a dab hand at setting up a hospital? But she is. Has the whole place running like clockwork.”
“Is she here now?”
“She’s somewhere about, I expect.” Norrie looked about the crowded hall. “Mind you, I’m not sure just where at the moment. Come to think of it, she may be off talking the King and the Royal Steward into giving us some more supplies. I expect she’ll get them too. She’s the one who dug up these crosses for us, you know. Packed away at the back of the chapel, they were.”
Before she could say anything more, a hollow-cheeked man stumbled up and asked for help for his wife.
“In pain, is she?” Norrie asked. “Well, let’s do what we can to set her at ease.” She motioned for me to come with her, murmuring, “Chances are, the poor dear’s suffering as much from shock as anything else. Sometimes a reassuring word does a world of good. All the more so if it comes from the Chantress, I should think.”
I followed without protest. Although I needed to find Sybil, surely this wouldn’t take long, and the man’s wife did indeed appear to be in great distress. Lying still on a pallet, staring with glazed eyes at the ceiling, she was as gaunt as he was, and at first she took no notice of me.
When Norrie made a point of introducing me, however, the woman glanced fearfully in my direction and shrank away. “You’re the one who’s calling up the monsters.”
“Calling them? No, I’m fighting them—”
“Magic calling to magic. I heard it. Yesterday on the Thames, I did.” She scrabbled at her kerchief and pulled out an iron cross. “Leave me alone!”
She held the cross in front of her, but when I moved to touch it, she jerked back and shrieked louder. “Begone!” She raised the cross, as if seeking to exorcise me.
Didn’t she understand what the point of wearing iron was? “There’s no need to fear me.” I showed her my bracelet. “See, I’m wearing iron too.”
She yelped again and cowered back “Get away!”
Her cries were attracting attention now, as her neighbors looked to see what was wrong.
“Maybe you should go, Lucy dear,” Norrie whispered into my ear. “She’s obviously quite disturbed, and it’ll only upset her more if you stay.”
“But she—”
“Never mind.” Norrie gave my hand a squeeze. “You go on. I expect you have more important things to do. I’ll let the Queen know you were looking for her, shall I?”
As I turned away, it felt as if everyone were watching me. Although some of the people smiled or bowed, I saw others step back. Did they, too, harbor suspicions about my role in all this?
Don’t be ridiculous, I told myself. They have worries of their own, that’s all. You’ve had the people’s goodwill ever since you freed them from the Shadowgrims. That woman’s just a troubled soul who deserves your sympathy.
But as I made my way through the crowded hall, I saw at least a dozen people quietly reach for their own crosses and hold tight to them as I went by.
Outside the Great Hall, it was growing darker, and for once I was glad of the gloom. I pulled my hood up high; I didn’t want to be recognized. Ignorance, that was all it was, I told myself. Ignorance and superstition. But I still felt hollow inside when I thought of those crosses.
Scrying, I reminded myself. That’s what you should be thinking about. And Sybil. I still needed to find her. Norrie had mentioned she might be with the King and the Royal Steward, but I had no idea where they were meeting. The relocated State Rooms, perhaps? Should I go back to the chapel and ask for