Ella snorted. “Perhaps one who doesn’t know you’re as good as married already.”
Alys gasped and Tiny giggled.
“What?” Ella demanded, wide-eyed. “Your man told Ira the story of how the pair of you met, and Linny overheard. The whole of the village knew by your second day here.”
Alys was stunned.
“Did Piers truly come upon you in the Foxe Ring whilst you was sleeping?” Tiny asked breathlessly. “Did he awaken you with a kiss?”
Alys laughed. “Actually, no. Iwassleeping, but I was awoken by his screams when Layla bit him.”
All three women shared a chuckle—even Layla chattered happily—and then they were quiet for a moment. Ella broke the companionable silence.
“Will you state your claim to him before the king?”
Alys borrowed time before answering by placing her round of dough in a bowl and covering it with a cloth.
“No,” she said lightly at last. “I love Piers, true. I don’tthink that is any secret here to those who have seen me with him. But I will not press my issue. If Piers wants me, wants to honor the tradition of the Foxe Ring, then I will gladly accept.”
Tiny’s small face looked worried. “But what if he doesn’t?”
“Tiny!” Ella whispered disapprovingly.
“It’s alright, Ella,” Alys said mildly. She glanced at the girl as she began to pour another hill of flour on the table before her. “If he doesn’t? Well, you can’t force someone to love you.”
“Surely he’d do no such thing,” Ella said brusquely, turning her own dough into a bowl and covering it. “After all the two of you have come through, how well you have cared for him, stayed by his side. One would have to be simple to not recognize the way he looks at you.”
Alys wanted to grab the woman by her arms and shout, “How? How exactly does he look at me? Please explain it to me, for I must be simple!”
Instead, she only shrugged and said, “We are very different.”
“Two jugs of water are only good for so many things,” Ella said enigmatically. “But, now, a jug of water and a stick of flame …? Well, those are the very things that together give life. You have water and fire, you can make a meal, a home. With two jugs of water—”
“You could have a very large drink,” Tiny finished cheekily.
“Or take a bath,” Alys added.
Tiny laughed. “I’d trade one jug for a chicken!”
“But how would you cook it if you had no fire?” Alys was warming to the girl’s play.
Tiny didn’t hesitate. “I wouldn’t eat her at all—we’d go swimming in the other jug!”
“You could use the jugs as weapons.”
“Roll them each down a hill in a race and see who’s the winner!”
“Alright, you two,” Ella laughed. “Enough jesting. We have many loaves to bake if we are to feed the feast this night.”
Alys nudged Tiny with her elbow affectionately, and the two shared a sideways glance and a smile. She realized how very much she would miss this young girl, and was saddened by the thought of leaving her and the rest of the villagers behind to their harsh lives in exile.
Her hands paused. “Ella, why don’t you and Tiny and the lads come back to Fallstowe with me?” she asked impulsively.
“Oh!” Tiny gasped. “Verily, Lady Alys? Could we, Mam?”
Ella glanced at her. “Now why would we do that?”
“I’m certain Sybilla could find a place for you, after all that you have done to help me.” She was warming to her impromptu idea, thinking it through as she spoke. “It’s difficult here for Tiny, being in the trees. You could have a real home again, an easier life.”
