“Yer braither means well, Alaina,” she said quietly. “He may feel overbearin’, but it’s because he cares for ye. He is tryin’ to protect ye.”
Alaina stared at her, startled. “I thought ye were on me side!”
“I am on the fair side. And ye must not lose sight of the fact that helovesye. He truly does, Alaina.”
She snorted, shaking her head. “I daenae want him to worry. But I also want an ordinary life. Is that a crime? All the other lasses me age have…”
“Other lasses daenae run the risk of bein’ snatched away from their homes,” Ryder interrupted tartly. “Other lasses are nae worth a king’s ransom. The threat of kidnap…”
“But I havenaebeenkidnapped!”
“And why do ye think that is?” Ryder snapped, leaning forward. “Ye are kept safe because of me precautions, lass. Make nay mistake. I willnae relax me security measures, nay matter what ye or Megan says.”
Alaina slumped back in her seat, pressing her lips together in a thin line. She shot a quick, apologetic glance at Megan.
She kens that we’re on the same side. That’s good.
There was an awkward silence, stretching out for a few moments, before Megan risked speaking again. She cleared her throat, shifting in her seat.
“I’d like to send letters to me sisters, Ryder. Just so they ken I’m safe.”
He nodded listlessly. His place was full of food, but she could see that he’d barely touched it, and instead of eating it, he just pushed it around his plate.
“Aye, ye should tell yer sisters where ye are,” Alaina muttered. “If ye wander around without their say-so, they might come and take ye captive too. One captivity a week is surely enough.”
“Alaina,” Ryder muttered in a warning tone. She met his gaze steadily and lifted her eyebrows.
“Aye?” she questioned defiantly.
Ryder was too tired to fight. Megan could see it on his face. If he weren’t so insufferable, perhaps she would feel sorry for him. There were purplish semicircles hanging under his eyes.
She’d heard footsteps outside her door during the night, neither lingering nor running, and had assumed that it was a guard patrolling. Her door locked securely from the inside—no outside locks on her door—and so she hadn’t worried too much about it. People were always coming and going at all hours in a keep.
But what if it was Ryder? Would he really have paced the halls all night to keep his sister safe?
Sisters,she reminded herself.Just because Sophie is nae a target doesnae mean that she is safe. They might choose to steal away another sister, or perhaps decide that two is better than one. If this idea has occurred to me, then it will surely have occurred to Ryder.
She watched him smother a yawn and drink back a mouthful of ale.
Imagine if he did stay up all night, patrollin’, only to have Alaina throw his worry back in his face and brush it away. That really isnae fair.
It was too late to say anything now, not without sacrificing the progress she’d made with Alaina. It was pretty clear thatAlaina was angry. She felt helpless, and probably a little scared by it. She resented her brother, whom she blamed for her lack of freedom, without looking beyond his measures. Surely she couldn’t be oblivious to the danger she was in?
I should talk to her about it sometime. I’d like to hear Alaina’s point of view on this attempted kidnapping.
Not now, of course. Now, they had to get through breakfast. Megan poured herself a cup of milk and took a long sip, trying to think of something to say next. The silence fell heavily across the table, with neither Ryder nor Alaina willing to break it. Even Sophie, normally so chatty, seemed unwilling to speak much.
Footsteps echoed, and they all glanced up at the same time to see Ewan approaching, striding confidently through the Hall.
Oh, thank heavens,Megan thought, biting back a giddy smile.Company.
Ewan didn’t look particularly stern or grim, so she could be reasonably comfortable that whatever news he brought was not bad news.
“What is it, Ewan?” Ryder asked, picking up a small piece of bread from his plate and popping it in his mouth.
Charming,Megan thought, trying not to looktoodisapproving. Her goal might be to win Alaina’s trust, but it would do her no good to forget who held the real power.Ryder.
“I have messages, all good news,” Ewan promised, smiling at the two girls. They smiled tentatively back. Ewan raised his hand, showing that he had a large wax-sealed letter.
