“Wow,” one of the twins says.
“Elliot.” This time, when Freya says my name, she takes hold of my arm with both hands and pulls me down until I’m seated again. “I do not think he means me any harm. You can rela—”
“I can’t relax,” I argue, my eyes still on Grimstad’s retreating frame. No matter what he says, his comment still felt like a threat.You never know what people might do.
Things were peaceful in Windgaard, but Breckenholt and Kirkstead were full of discontented people. The lurker at our first hotel followed usto the next town. The noblemen and women Freya has interacted with so far don’t seem to care about anyone but themselves, something I noted in the House of Lords meeting last week. Tabloids and newspapers are keeping a close eye on Freya’s progress, ready to attack her in writing at any moment.
Nothing about our circumstances makes me think I can let my guard down.
“El’s not lying,” Hex says to his siblings. “I got him out on a fishing boat and everything, and I’m pretty sure he’s even more tense than before.”
“This is Havenford,” Sander says, reaching across the table and briefly putting his hand on my arm. It doesn’t offer the same instant relief as Freya’s and Hex’s touches did, but I still feel the contact acutely. “Of all the places you can trust people to keep Freya safe, it’s here.”
“I wish I could believe you,” I mutter. But if I don’t treat everything as a threat unless proven otherwise, I might make a mistake like the one that led to Griff’s death.
It wasn’t your fault. Nora’s voice echoes in my head, a reminder that she never blamed me for her husband’s death. She’s right. I’m not the one who shot him, and I didn’t ask him to push me out of the way.
But it was my plan that went wrong.
“Elliot.” Freya’s fingers find my cheek, catching me by surprise, and she turns my head so I have to look at her.
Her blue eyes are so full of worry that I can’t look away no matter how much I hate that she’s seeing my weakness. It’s been almost a year since that bad op, and I thought I had gotten over it. Why is all of this uncertainty and guilt coming upnow? When I need to be at my absolute best?
With my attention fixed on her, Freya blushes and drops her hand. “Doyou trust me, Elliot?”
I badly want to tell her no so I have no excuses not to stay focused and alert and lean into the frustration that builds every time I set eyes on Markham Grimstad. He’s hiding something, and if I cared less about professionalism or had a valid reason to push, I could put my skills to better use and find out what Grimstad isn’t saying.
But Freya’s smile is soft and warm, and there’s something about the way she looks at me sometimes that gets underneath my skin and won’t leave. Especially after last night, when she declared us friends and something shifted between us. I’ve told her things I’ve barely told the people closest to me, and never once have I worried she would use my secrets against me.
“Of course I trust you,” I murmur. “It’s everyone else I have a problem with.”
She smiles wider and sits up straighter, looking every bit the confident princess. The confidentqueenshe could be. “I will give you every other day to be as paranoid as you would like, but give me this one. Okay?”
“I already gave you yesterday,” I grumble, knowing I’ll agree anyway because the longer I’m around this woman, the harder it is to say no to her. If the country could see this side of her, they’d have no choice but to vote for her.
She bites her lip as her smile turns into a full-blown grin that lights up her whole face. “Every day but this one, Elliot. I promise.”
I’m really starting to wish I had taken that nap when Hex suggested it. “Fine.”
Chapter Sixteen
Freya
IfIthoughtitwould be simply difficult to convince Elliot to loosen up, I severely underestimated his dedication to his job. Or he is incapable of turning off his protective instincts, something I cannot fault him for. But if he does not unclench his jaw soon, it is going to remain stuck shut. He promised to let me spend the rest of the day how I choose, but the levels of stress he seems to be experiencing can in no way be good for him, so I am starting to think my request was a mistake.
I cannot fathom what he sees as a threat in this little town when everyone has been happy to enjoy our company, but Elliot seems certain something will go wrong if he lets his guard down and has a little fun. As Grimstad —Markham—said, the people of Havenford have turned our visit into a celebration, bringing out instruments and setting up a miniature festival in the village square. Markham is among them and hasborrowed someone’s violin to join the other musicians. Food, laughter, and drinks are plentiful, and the skies have cleared to bathe the streets in golden light as the afternoon makes way for evening.
And still Elliot looks like he will snap at anyone who gets too close to me, which is why I have slowly been moving farther away from him. He has been so focused on the people around us that he has yet to realize I am nearly on the other side of the square now. Some distance will be good for him, or at least that is what I tell myself. It will prove that I am perfectly safe, and maybe that way he will let himself breathe.
“Hex.” I grab my brother as he passes by. I am pretty sure he was going to talk to one of the young women who have been eyeing him most of the afternoon, but they can wait. “How can we help him?”
Hex looks at Elliot and laughs. “He might be beyond help.”
“I don’t think he understands down time,” Sander adds, coming over to join us. “Can’t really blame him, with the life he’s lived.”
Elliot is only twenty-six. There is so much life still ahead of him, and if he cannot learn to relax, what will become of him? How will I be able to keep him in my employ when it only seems to cause him stress? He can keep me safe, but I cannot let him do it at the expense of his own life.
“Oh, this could be interesting,” Hex says as a woman who looks to be close to my age approaches Elliot with a bouquet of wildflowers and a broad, dare I say flirtatious smile.
