He had been late in starting, lagged behind the others and dropped out of sight before they were scarcely clear of the town. Being the last of the file his disappearance had not at first been remarked.
Sobrenski refused to allow of time being wasted in a search.
He ordered the rest of the men up into the loft, and Arithelli to her work of unharnessing.
He himself remained standing in the shadow of the doorway, his eyes narrowed with anger, his thin lips compressed till they were merely a line.
Here was a complication that he had not foreseen. For the first time in his life his wit and cunning had been at fault.
He must have been mad not to have kept a sharper lookout on Vardri, but he had reckoned he was secure with Arithelli as decoy.
Could it be possible that she had been mad enough to warn Vardri? If so, then why was she here herself?
Either she had more courage or else she was more foolish even than he could have believed it possible for a female creature to be. Women took good care of their own skins in general!
If Vardri meant to try and escape, surely they would have gone together.
Perhaps his, Sobrenski's, detailed descriptions of the fate of others who had attempted flight had made her decide that it would be safer to remain and throw herself on the mercy of himself and his companions.