“Is this the souvenir you plucked for your efforts?” Uncle Grudin asked with a wry smile.
Leola’s eyes fluttered up just in time to see Sedrak glance back at her and sigh.
“This is… a friend, Uncle Grudin,” he explained.
Grudin’s eyes moved in their sockets, thinking deeply of what Sedrak had said. He fixed his gaze again upon Leola, and she looked down after a few moments, for she could not read what was in his mind, but he seemed at the point of fury.
“Hmmph,” he grunted at last. Leola looked up to see him give Sedrak a hard stare, before turning slowly to walk back through the doors. “Come!” he barked. “Luncheon has been waiting for you and I’m hungry.”
Suddenly Leola felt not at all in the right place. As much as it had warmed her, hearing Sedrak call her a friend, she felt no warmth or welcome from the old man.
Why should I? I’m merely Sedrak’s toy for all he knows…she mused as she followed Sedrak through the massive doors.
Inside, through a cavernous foyer and another set of doors, they came into a room with a long table overflowing with food and drink.
Grudin made his way slowly to a throne-like chair at the far end and sank into it with a sigh.
Sedrak followed patiently behind, waiting until his uncle was seated before turning to escort Leola to a seat. He led her to the table and pulled out a chair, pausing when he heard his uncle harrumph. “Is something the matter, Uncle?” he asked.
Grudin raised an eyebrow at Leola. “Perhaps we could make a plate for the young lady and escort her to the kitchen?” he said. “We have business to discuss.”
Leola shrank beneath the weight of Grudin’s stare. She lowered her eyes and her cheeks burned with shame. Why had Sedrak brought her here? To be humiliated?
Sedrak straightened, drew in a breath, then sighed. He tilted his chin with some defiance. The warmth between the two men seemed to have evaporated, and Leola sensed it was because of her presence, though she could not fathom why then Sedrak had brought her there. “She is here as my guest.”
Grudin’s expression hardened. “Your manners don’t fail you, nephew,” he mused. “As pleasant as she is to look at, however, the blood that courses in her veins isSouthern. You would ask that I share a table with the daughter of my enemies?”
Sedrak’s lips formed a tight line. “Shewasa Southerner. Now she is mine.”
Leola’s heart fluttered at the statement. An uncomfortable silence settled around the three of them as Sedrak and Grudin stared at each other.
Finally Grudin turned his gaze toward Leola. “Forgive my rudeness,” he said, forcing a smile. “Would you share a meal with us?” he asked, indicating the seat Sedrak had his hand on.
Her cheeks still burning, Leola sat down, put her hands in her lap, and stared at the plate in front of her.
Sedrak made his way around the table and sat down next to his uncle.
“Gavar!” Grudin said, waving at the table. “Let’s eat. I’m famished. This is far too late for lunch.”
Leola waited, glancing out the corner of her eye as Sedrak heaped food onto a plate and set it in front of Grudin. He did the same with hers, piling it with rolls and smoked meats and pickles. He put it in front of her then filled a third for himself and sat back down.
Grudin chewed through a few mouthfuls before dabbing a napkin at the corners of his mouth and leaning back in his chair. “Your rider told me that the Southern raiders have been taught a valuable lesson,” he said. He gave another glance in Leola’s direction, his eyes fiery when they met hers.
“They won’t be back again,” Sedrak stated.
The statement caused a heavy, tense silence, during which the two men stared at each other.
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Grudin said at last. He glanced at Leola. “It is wise to take some insurance just in case. Might I ask your newfriend’s name?”
Sedrak turned to look at her. “Leola Grace. Her uncle led the raids. She offered herself in exchange for his life.”
The old man scrutinized Leola again, and then moved back to Sedrak. “Courage,” he said quietly. “A fine quality in a man or a woman. Yet courage…” he swirled a glass of wine thoughtfully, “is not something we are in short supply of, Sedrak.”
Leola didn’t dare meet the old man’s gaze, though she knew he was looking at her again.
“Did you know that, Leola Grace? Courage abounds among us Northerners.” He looked at Sedrak pointedly. “What we lack arealliances.”
Grudin turned back to Leola and stared at her. Leola lifted her eyes and then dropped them. Unease, almost as great as the night Sedrak had first taken her, crawled through her body. She wanted to cry, but knew she would not.
