“Of course.” He sat back on the floor. I could barely see him in the darkness. About ten heartbeats passed before he asked, “Do you want to be married to him?”
“Not really. And he’s in love with someone else.” I cleared my throat. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It should.”
“Yes.” I shifted aside, making room on the narrow mattress. “Now come to bed. I’m cold.”
There was a rustle of cloth as he shed his own wet clothing. I had a sudden, vivid memory of Jack refusing to let me remove Sam’s shirt when I was stitching himup.
“Are you wearing a binder?”
“Yes.”
He couldn’t have had enough opportunities to take it off for any healthy length of time, given the situation with the lion and everything else. “If it’s getting uncomfortable, you don’t have to suffer for my sake. Just so you know.”
Another rustle, and then he slid in next to me. I debated whether or not I should keep my distance, but the weather overcame any objections in short order. I wriggled in closer and tucked my head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm aroundme.
“Were you planning to sleep in your mask again, too?” I asked.
After a moment, he reached up and removed that as well.
His face, I thought, was a very handsome one. Admittedly the light was dim, but I doubted my opinion would change in the morning. I wanted to brush my fingers across his freckles, but I didn’t.
“What a mess,” Sam said.
“Yes.”
“Gervase is a perfectly nice fellow, by the way. For a long time, I expected he’d be a brilliant brother-in-law.”
“I’m almost surprised Jack isn’t the one trying to kill me.”
“She wouldn’t.”
“Not unless she decides I’m the one behind everything.”
“She won’t. You saved our lives. Hers included.”
“Oh, is that all it takes to get on her good side?”
Sam gave a low chuckle in reply. “You haven’t been seeing her at her best. She’s just frustrated and grasping at any straw. She has a good heart. Jack’s always been my fiercest champion, you know. From the moment I told her about who I was, she wouldn’t let anyone try to deny it. Even when it was taking our parents a much, much longer time to come around to the idea.”
I pulled him the tiniest bit closer. “I’m glad she was there for you.”
“Me, too.”
I’d already known she wasn’t at all a bad sort, in spite of her suspicions and accusations. Jack and her friends had saved me from the spider wolves. They hadn’t been there by accident. They’d been looking for me. Jack had gone into the woods to protect a princess she had every reason to hate. In return, I appeared to have seduced her brother under false pretenses. In my defense, however, he was very, very warm.
Maybe I was the villain of this saga, after all. I hoped not.
“Can you sleep?” Sam asked.
“No.”
I felt him turn toward me, though it was too dark to see him now. “Me, neither.”
“What should we do, then?”
There was a long pause before he answered. “Tell me a story. It’s your turn, I think.”
