Stupid, stupid,Ryder chastised himself.So she doesnae like ye. So what? It doesnae matter if she likes ye, what matters is that ye both keep up yer end of the bargain. It doesnae even matter if Alaina likes ye, so long as ye can keep her safe.
He climbed a little higher, trying to make out the words. The tight spirals of the towers could distort any voice, making it impossible to tell who was speaking, or even if they were male or female, until you were right upon them. Perhaps Alaina had been coaxed out of her room, perhaps Megan was talking to her about…
He rounded another turn and found the three guards he’d stationed outside of Alaina’s room, lounging against the walls and talking. One of them was smoking a pipe.
They flailed into life, jerking to attention, pikes clanging against each other. The one with a pipe visibly panicked and threw it out the window.
There was an awful silence after they had stopped scrambling. Ryder glanced from face to face.
“Well, now, lads,” he said at last. “This doesnae look like Lady Alaina’s doorway, does it?”
The lead guard reddened. “Lady Megan told us to go down a few steps. We thought it best to obey her, with her being yer betrothed.”
The man’s eyes landed questioningly on Ryder when he saidbetrothed, as if he were expecting Ryder to disagree.
“Aye, that was right. And she is me betrothed, for the record,” he added. The guard paled just as quickly as he’d reddened, which seemed interesting. Not that there was time to investigate.
Ryder strode past them, climbing upward. He paused just before rounding the curve that would take him out of their sight and glanced back down at them.
“For future reference, ye are to obey any order Lady Megan gives ye. But I want to be informed of those orders, do ye understand?”
The men clicked their heels.
“Aye, me Laird,” they chorused.
He gave a nod and continued climbing upward.
He reached Alaina’s landing shortly after. The door was ajar, just by an inch, and he paused, one hand on the wood, and listened.
It was eavesdropping, of course, and not something an honorable man should get involved in. Fortunately, Ryder was not an honorable man.
Honor, like duty and romantic love, only seemed to make lifemorecomplicated, not less. Honor wouldn’t keep you alive on a battlefield. Honor wouldn’t soothe a man’s bereaved family after he’d made some stupid decision and gotten put in the ground for it. No, honor was a thing eschewed by sensible men, and Ryderwasa sensible man.
Eavesdropping, when used correctly, was a pretty handy tool.
He could hear Megan speaking inside, a smile in her voice that he hadn’t noticed when she was talking tohim.
“…just like Brigid,” Megan said, chuckling a little. “Brigid had the same black-and-white view of the world as Sophie does. They remind me so much of each other.”
“Had?” Alaina queried. “So, yer sister doesnae see the world in black and white now, does she?”
“I suppose nae. Ye cannae go through life like that. There are so many shades of gray, so much to consider. A viewpoint like that can keep ye honest, I suppose, but it also restricts yer worldview. And that is where the danger comes in. After all, ifyer enemies are just yer enemies, with nay redeeming qualities or any explanation for their actions, how could ye ever forgive them?”
Alaina was silent for a moment. “I see what ye mean,” she said at last. “But I daenae agree that it’s always so bad. I cannae believe that the world is so complicated.”
“Ach, lass, the world is more complicated than either of us could imagine, I’m afraid.”
They were getting on well, then. If Alaina had invited Megan into her room, that would have definitely been a step in the right direction. It didn’t sound as though Sophie was there, but he had smelled frying bannocks as he climbed the stairs, which would explain where she’d gone.
“Brigid was always so cheerful, so happy. She always looked on the bright side of everythin’, ye ken. I think that’s a fine quality,” Megan continued. Ryder heard a softness in her voice when she talked about her sister. It was endearing, really.
Alaina spoke again, and this time her voice dripped with fury.
“Well, I used to be cheerful too. Then me braither chose to lock me away, puttin’ those beasts on the doors. Now I’m… I’m… I’m bitter! I’m bitter, and I hate it! I snap at me sister; I’m awful to everybody. I’m exhausted during the day, and I cannae sleep at night. I’m bitter, and I hate bein’ bitter.”
“I must confess,” Megan responded, a hardness creeping into her voice, “I daenae approve of what yer braither has done. Even though I’ll be marryin’ him, only a monster would keep his sister locked up in such a way. Or anybody, really.”
Ryder jolted back, his eyes wide. Had he misheard? No, he hadn’t. She’d really said all of that. Shock and surprise were quickly overtaken by anger.
