“I’m going down to the creek and getting the soldier,” he announced, standing up.

“What?” all his little sisters shouted.

“If she’s alive, we can’t let her die on Whistler land,” he said.

“Damn right we can!” Blush snapped. There was a roar of agreement.

“We can’t!” Heria shouted. “Jerin’s right. It’s the law. We have to lend aid to travelers in distress.”

“Who would know?” Leia, the third to oldest, argued. “We just say that we never found her until after she died.”

“Her attackers would know,” Jerin pointed out. “They probably know that the soldier is alive, and that at least one of us knows it, because a Whistler shot at them.”

“Who would they tell?” Blush asked. “It would be stupid for them to tell anyone. They’ll be admitting to beating the soldier up.”

“Better than being blamed for murder,” Heria snapped. “What do you think they’ll say if the Queens Justice catches them? ‘Yes, we killed her,’ or ‘Oh, no, she was still alive when we got chased off?”

Silence fell as his sisters recognized the truth of Heria’s argument.

“The quicker we go.‘” Jerin finally broke the silence, “the quicker we get back.”

“No!” Blush cried. “We just won’t send for Queens Justice. We can bury her in the woods. No one need know.”

“Won’t wash.” Heria stood up. “There’s her horse, to start with. Do we kill it and bury it too?”

“We could drive it off,” Blush said.

“I’m eldest here,” Heria said. “Jerin and I are going down to the creek. You stand ready.”

They didn’t like it, but they had been raised as soldiers and the line of command was clear. Heria was eldest; she was to be obeyed.

“Come on,” Jerin said to Heria. “Show me where the soldier is.”

Despite everything, he was nearly too angry to be scared. “I can’t believe Corelle went off chasing after Balin’s pants. Eldest told her not to leave sight of the house while they were gone.”