32
	Catherine had never given much thought to what a General might have in his tent, but if she'd been asked to imagine it, she would have included a soft bed, and a warm stove, to keep out the cold.  She would have decorated it with a suit of armor on a stand somewhere, and a table with maps and important papers.  Thomas's tent was even sparser than the ones given to his fighters, and the only decorations were a folding cot and a paper map of Jaspertree taped to one wall.  He sat crosslegged in the middle of his cot with a smug look on his face and his coat spread over his lap for warmth.  Catherine suspected this was so he could show off the rows of stars he'd painted on both sleeves 
	As a concession to his guests he had had some benches brought in for the rest of them, and a pot of rum-laced coffee.  Catherine was glad of this much comfort and she made herself as comfortable as she could on one of the benches.  Sebastian had curled up on another and sat with his hands in his lap, not looking at any of them.  Elizabeth was the only one who didn't take a seat.  She stood warming herself over a small brazier with her back to the rest of them.
	“I asked the three of you to get Jessamine to help me.  You know how important it is to have someone like her on our side.  But you didn't just help her to go back to Jaspertree by herself, you encouraged her,” Thomas said.
	“Well why not?  We were the ones who freed her.  What kind of people would we be if we then told her she had to do everything we said?” Catherine said.
	“We'd be effective leaders.  We need a diversion if this is going to work,”  Thomas said.
	“Then you can find someone else,” Elizabeth said.
	She rounded on Thomas, and Catherine saw him shrink back just a little.
	“I thought we had an agreement.  I thought you said that if she refused to help you wouldn't try to make her.  My girls have been through enough,” Elizabeth said.
	“But all of my fighters would be recognized as soon as they set foot in the city.  We need someone who can get in without being seen,” Thomas said.
	Sebastian's ears perked up at this, and Catherine slid her hand over to take hold of his.  Startled, he shied away from her, but then he scooted closer until they were almost touching, and he tightened his fingers around hers.
	“Why are you so eager to help this girl?  You don't even know her?” Catherine said.
	“Because I pulled her out of the river, and because I promised I'd see her safely to where she was going,” Sebastian said.
	“She probably won't be grateful.  Girls like her have that beaten out of them early,” Catherine said.
	“That isn't her fault.  I'm still going,” Sebastian said.
	“Do you mean that?” Thomas said.
	He leaped across the room and pulled the boy up off the cot.  Sebastian squeaked in pain, and squirmed out of Thomas's grasp, but the big fox barely noticed.
	“Will you really go?” Thomas said.
	“Oh, no.  I'm not going to let you do this, Thomas.  He's just a child,” Elizabeth said.
	“He's braver than either of you,” Catherine said.
	She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but she felt a certain satisfaction in seeing nearly identical looks of shock on both their faces.  She got up, and shoved past them to the middle of the tent.  
	“He's braver than I am.  I ran away, too,” she said.
	“We had to,” Thomas said.
	“Why?  Was it to lead the resistance, or just so you wouldn't get hurt?  But you want Jess to go,” Catherine said.
	“You're being unreasonable,” Thomas said.
	He softened his voice, and glanced at Elizabeth for support.  She didn't look back at him, but she didn't move away, either.
	“Somebody has to be in command.  Taking it out on us isn't going to help,” Elizabeth said.
	“You'd be surprised,” Catherine said.
	She urged Sebastian a little closer to the door and wasn't at all surprised when Elizabeth jumped between it and them.  The old fox tried to make the move look casual, but she moved just a little too quickly.
	“I wanted you to get Jess out of that damned city.  I'm not going to let that boy take her back,” Elizabeth said.
	“I don't think it's your choice.  Or mine.  I'm not taking her anywhere, I'm just going to make sure she doesn't get hurt,” Sebastian said.
	“Don't try that on me.  I raised the girl like she was my own.  you've only known her for a couple of days,” Elizabeth said.
	“That's long enough to know she wants to decide for herself.  She doesn't need a mother anymore,” Sebastian said.
	The tent flaps opened, which let in a rush of cold air.  Jess came in with it, wrapped up in Sarah's ragged coat.  She stopped just inside the tent and looked at each of them in turn.  The hem of her dress was muddy and there was a dusting of late snow on her shoulders.  The first one of them to move was Sebastian.  He picked up a mug of coffee from the stove and pressed it into her hands.  She didn't drink, but she clutched the mug close to her chest.
	“I may be sorry I let Sarah talk me into coming back,” Jess said.
	“What on earth are you thinking?  You were safe, and now you've come back, for what?  Some stupid girl who's probably already dead anyway,” Elizabeth said.
	“You don't know that she is.  If it were me, I'd want somebody to care enough to make certain,” Jess said.
	“But why does it have to be you?  Haven't you done enough?  You don't have to try to save everyone,” Elizabeth said.
	“I love her,” said Jess.
	Thomas put a hand on her shoulder, his face a perfect mask of concern, but Catherine could all but smell his eagerness.
	“We can help you find her.  I just need you to do me one favor, and I promise I'll get the two of you safely to wherever you want to go,” he said.
	Jess sat on the end of Catherine's cot, close to the stove, and drank her coffee while she watched the little bit of wood they had burn into ash.  Sebastian hovered over her, eager as a puppy, looking for ways to make her more comfortable.  Thomas went back to his cot, but he didn't sit down.  He paced up and down on his side of the tent, chewed on his knuckles, and occasionally stopped to peer outside.  It was snowing hard outside and the only people they could see were the sentries.
	The silence was broken when Jess banged her empty cup down on top of the stove just as Thomas was walking by.
	“I don't trust you, and I don't like you.  When I find Megan, I'm finished and I'm not going to stick around for anything else,” Jess said.
	“Of course,” Thomas said.
	He gave Jess a toothy grin that set off all of Catherine's alarms and he picked up her mug to fill it again.  When he turned his back, she slipped a hand into the pocket of her dress and twisted something.  Catherine caught the soft, metallic click that followed, and she saw the way Jess's mouth hardened.
	“I'm not going to let anything get in my way this time, either,” Jess said.