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Harold shifted uncomfortably but disguised it by craning around to see what Samuel was doing. He shook his head in disgust; the fool boy was dumping out most of his supplies and tending for the horse. What had he called it? Wise-tail? Harold sneered. Such a foolish, weak name, fitting since it was given by a foolish, weak son. Did the boy not know that a horse with a broken leg was as good as dead? He did not seem likely to be catching up any time soon, so Harold turned back to Arthur and his questions.
“Going? We are not really going anywhere. As you have mentioned, Edoras is entirely too far away, and any of the nearby towns are too small; Sandrina and Henry would catch word of us immediately. Rather, we will circle around the estate and return to it in a week or so. This way we will be able to see for our own eyes what is going on there. We cannot just abandon the estates at any rate, because once Sandrina is dead there will be no one left to run it.” Harold was mostly improvising as he went here. He had not planned much of this out in advance. “As for them discovering important information, there is not much for them to discover save by questioning the workers, and none of them know very much that could be useful. My men will be too afraid of what I would do to them for speaking up, and they do not know much that Sandrina and her new friends will not have figured out already. The only one that might have useful information is Cerdic, and he is too loyal to do such a thing. All the important documents and papers I brought along in my saddlebags for such a reason. Does this answer your questions?” Arthur nodded, though Harold wasn’t sure whether he meant it or not. Frankly, Harold did not care whether Arthur accepted the answers, because it was the best that he would get.
Harold glanced back again. Samuel was still tending to the horse, and Harold judged that he had a few minutes before Samuel would catch up. He turned once more to Arthur.
“What do you think about Samuel? Will he stay loyal to us, or will he try to aid Sandrina?” he asked. Harold thought he understood Samuel’s position fairly well, but as his brother Arthur might have some different ideas on it. It would also give Harold a chance to see where Arthur stood. Arthur looked distinctly uncomfortable, and hesitated before speaking.
“Well, I’m not exactly sure-” he began, and was cut off by the sound of hooves behind. Harold spoke softly so as not to be overheard by Samuel. “Well, think about it and you can tell me your thoughts later, when we have a moment together.” Arthur nodded again. Samuel caught up, and they rode on in silence, each one alone with his own thoughts. For himself, Harold was spending his time trying to figure out what Sandrina would do upon reaching the estate. Cerdic had said she was gathering a small force to herself, so Harold supposed that meant between five and ten men. The idea that she might bring women did not even occur to him. It was the men that concerned him more than Sandrina, that and he did not know where Henry was in all of this. Leaving Henry out of his calculations would be a dire mistake. So his thoughts went, until the sun was high overhead and it was nearly time to stop for a break and lunch.
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