Wood creaked with each of Glenn’s heavy steps, and despite his desire to be loud, he eased up. His armor was heavy, after all, and the last thing he’d want to do was scuff or break a floorboard. He’d feel just terrible if he busted one of Ziva Willowbraid’s steps.

A short hallway with two closed doors waited above. Glenn tested the doorknob on the first and found it easy to turn. He opened the door—barely—to find the room stuff with rolls of fabric, spools of colorful yarn, what looked to be a number of dresses in different states of completion, and several dressmaker’s dummies. The clutter was thick. He doubted anyone could hide in there.

The other room must be Erika’s room. Her private space. Glenn steeled himself, took a deep breath, and gripped the door handle. It turned easily.

He opened it quietly and stepped into midmorning gloom. He immediately spotted a brightly-colored and unnecessarily complicated undergarment hanging off a chair nearby—Glenn rapidly averted his eyes—but that only took his gaze to the bed.

It was Erika’s bed, which had a very noticeable lump beneath its covers. A person-shaped lump. A ... female shaped lump.

Yawning, with her blond hair tumbling across bare shoulders, Erika Willowbraid rolled onto her back. She looked down the bed and blinked sleepily in his direction before she went as stiff as Glenn, who was now rooted to the floor. Why hadn’t she answered their knock?

Erika gasped and sat straight up, clutching her covers to her chest. Glenn only then realized that she didn’t appear to be wearing anything. Under them. The covers. Gods!

“What in the Six Hells!” Erika demanded.

“Sorry!” Glenn shouted. He instinctively raised both hands in an absolutely abashed gesture of absolute surrender and backed hurriedly from the room. “Mayor’s orders! We knocked!”

“Well knock louder next time,” Erika said crossly.

“Right, we will! We’ll do that.” Glenn closed her door as carefully as he could. “Real sorry!”

When he glanced left, his chagrin grew. Chelsea stood in the hallway, and while he couldn’t see her features through her helmet, he was almost certain she was grinning as wide as Scott when he spoke of The Scarlet Rose. Gods, what a disaster.

“Problem?” Chelsea asked lightly.

“Erika’s still in here,” Glenn said. “She is ... uh...”

“Naked?” Chelsea prompted.

“Sleeping,” Glenn corrected quickly. “She was sleeping. I guess she didn’t hear the knock.”

“I guess not,” Chelsea deadpanned.

“Don’t come in yet!” Erika shouted from the other side of the door. “I’m not decent!”

Glenn felt like his face was about to melt off. Erika was either going to be truly upset with him ... or so amused she would tease him endlessly. Neither was an outcome he preferred.

“The downstairs is empty,” Chelsea said. “No fugitives.”

“Right,” Glenn agreed. “The other room is a storeroom. No fugitives.”

“And the bedroom?”

“I didn’t see anyone else in there.”

“Did you look anywhere other than the bed?” Chelsea asked lightly.

A thump announced Erika’s door opening once more. She stepped out wearing a frilly but modest nightdress, though it was still far fancier than any nightdress Glenn had seen. It was also cut in ways that sent his mind sprinting to places he’d really prefer it not. He was waiting for Becka!

“And to what do I owe this unique pleasure?” Erika asked.

“Sorry,” Glenn said reflexively. “The mayor ordered the Town Guard to search every home in Wolfpine for a fugitive. Anna Bronzelight. We know her as Anna Ironstar.”

“Well, she’s certainly not in bed with me!” Erika said crossly. “Would you like to check?”

Glenn looked to Chelsea for help. She simply shrugged her shoulders. “Orders?”

Chelsea was no help at all. Glenn looked to Erika again, held back his sigh, and nodded as seriously as he could. “I’m truly sorry, but I must take a look inside. Just a peek.”

“I think you got more than a peek,” Erika said archly.

She was definitely going to tease him about this. Still ... if she was here, sleeping, she’d likely left nothing that would incriminate her in plain sight. And Chelsea was letting him look, which meant he could ignore anything he did come across.

“I’ll be only a moment,” Glenn said.

Erika stepped aside, frowning politely. Glenn walked into Erika’s room to find discarded clothing scattered about, which surprised him. He’d thought Erika would be neater than this.

He did a quick search with his eyes and did his best to ignore the frilly clothing, underclothing, and his stubbornly forming thoughts of how any of those items might look upon a female body. He didn’t need to think about that right now. The room felt cold, like the morning air had been at it, but Erika’s window remained closed. Poor insulation?

Glenn opened her closet door as cautiously as if a Grass Boar might charge out. He found a number of lovely hanging dresses, there were no additional undergarments in plain sight. Thank the Pantheon for that.

He took one last look around the room. He briefly pondered checking under the bed, but it was far too low for anyone to fit under it. Nothing in here would get Erika in trouble in any way.

Glenn stepped back out in the hallway. “I’m truly sorry for the trouble, Miss Willowbraid. As you said, there’s no one here. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll be moving on now.”

“That would be best,” Erika agreed.

Glenn looked to Chelsea. “Onto the next house.”

Chelsea nodded his way, then waved to Erika. “Thank you for being so gracious about this. Please, give my best to your mother. I still owe her for the tea she brought back from Lakebrooke.”

“Oh!” Erika said brightly. “I’ll do that. And it’s always nice to see you, Chelsea.”

Her implication was obvious. Glenn hoped Erika was simply acting mad at him to ensure Chelsea didn’t think they’d worked together, but he couldn’t be sure. Best to immediately retreat. He headed down the stairs and exited the house at a pace just dignified enough for a town guard.

Only then did it hit him. The frilly and impossibly complicated undergarment hanging off Erika’s chair. Had that truly been ... a [Noblewoman’s Corset]?

How would a woman even fit her private bits into something with so little actual fabric?

*****

Zack

Once he heard the front door of Erika’s house close with heavy sound, Zack dared breath again. He balanced now just off the side of Erika’s second-floor window, pressed against the wall. Her house faced an alley, but anyone who came in here would spot him. He was too exposed.

A hiss of wood on wood announced Erika’s bedroom window opening once more. Zack silently hopped back inside, heart still pounding. That had been close. That had been too close.

Erika, now wearing the same frilly nightdress she’d tossed off as Glenn thumped up the stairs and Zack slipped out her window, snorted in amusement. “Next time we’re almost caught committing a crime together, move faster. I think I nearly killed Glenn.”

“The sight of your lovely upper half could do that to anyone,” Zack assured her. “Glenn’s just lucky he survived.”

“You say such nice things,” Erika said. She smirked before she bent down beside her bed.

Once more she slid out a bundle containing sandwiches, a canteen, and a book. Thoughtful as Erika was, she’d put together a care pack for Zack to take to his fugitives. Something to make their time in seclusion a little less boring and make sure they didn’t go hungry.

She handed the bundle to Zack. “There’s Adventurers looking for you now as well. For Anna. Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Look who you’re asking,” Zack said, as he backed to her window and silently slid it open. “And Erika ... thanks again. For all of it.”

“Just keep Anna safe,” she said calmly. “That’s your job now.”

“That it is,” Zack agreed. “Sleep tight, gorgeous.”

Zack hopped out Erika’s window again, took one last look at the empty alley, and dropped into it with no more noise than the wind. He then pulled his cloak close around his head and shoulders and sauntered off, whistling. Fugitives didn’t whistle. Anyone who saw him sauntering through town whistling a merry tune wouldn’t give him a second glance.

Six Town Guards. Every Adventurer in town. And Leopold Argentshade, Junior Blazer, were all now searching for a woman who was absolutely wonderful to arrest her for a crime she hadn’t committed. Without Glenn’s help, Anna would likely already be on her way out of town with Leo. Glenn might be a stickler for the rules, and far too trusting for his own good, but Glenn was Glenn.

And a Town Guard was a good ally to have at anyone’s back.