Leech said, "Tell me the details."
He adopted a casual, conversational posture to put Joe at ease.
"Yes," Joe nodded, took another swig of beer, and continued, "We were passing through Waterfall Land, looking to rent a boat to cross the river. As it happened, we ran into a group of peasants blocking the road. Luckily, we were better armed and had a good number of men."
Joe said, a lingering fear in his voice, "But we were still harassed. We lost quite a few men to sneak attacks, though we killed many of them in return."
"After a difficult river crossing, I ran into Lord Wisdom's troops. Miss Wisdom was the one leading them."
Perhaps knowing his lord might marry that young lady, Joe glanced at Leech, only to find his expression unchanged.
In reality, a million questions were racing through Leech's mind.
'Could Cousin Stacy be two-faced? From her letters, she seems like a gentle, artistic young noblewoman. Why would she be out leading patrols?'
