“I’ll get you some food,” Caspian said, pulling her in for a quick hug before he released her.
By the time Sophia came back from the woods only a few moments later, the bedding was all packed up and Caspian had bread and cheese and a red apple for her.
She stared at his hands. “It’s an apple.”
“Yes, it is,” Caspian said slowly. “Does that mean something?”
Sophia shook her head, the words sticking in her throat. “She tried to get me to eat an apple. It was how she distracted me.”
“You don’t have to eat it,” Caspian said, pulling his hand back, but she shook her head.
“As long as you haven’t poisoned or cursed it, I suppose it’s safe enough to eat it.”
“Absolutely no poison or curses,” he said, and she reached out and took the food.
Caspian swooped her up into his arms. She shrieked as her balance disappeared and threw her arms around his neck, almost losing the food in the process.
As he began to carry her to his horse, she protested, “You don’t have to carry me. I must be heavy, and your arm—”
“You’re not too heavy for me,” he said as he helped her onto his horse and settled in the saddle behind her. “And I’m never letting you go again.”
After dispatching a man to return home and inform Lord and Lady Rendon that they were safe and they were bringing the prisoners to Riyel, Lord Kellan ordered the group to ride on. A few of the captured men rode in the cart that Sophia had been in, while at least one of the Rendon guards rode in the carriage with Lady Manning.
As they headed south, setting a fast pace, Sophia’s mind whirled with all the possibilities.
Was she really a lady?
What did that mean for her future?
If she was a lady, she didn’t have to work.
And if he married her, Caspian wouldn’t have to find work as a guard.
It certainly would explain why Lady Manning hated her—but could it really be true?
Wouldn’t someone have said something or seen a resemblance, or noticed anything about her that reminded them of her real parents?
Why hadn’t anyone in the servants’ hall said anything?
Wouldn’t Rosaleen have hinted at something?
“Caspian,” she asked after an hour of silent worrying. “Will you help me if it’s true?”
“Of course,” he said, squishing her for a moment in his arms. “I promise.”
“Do you think it’s true?” she asked softly.
Caspian took a moment before he answered. His heartbeat was a steady rhythm against her back that gave her peace, his even breathing another reminder that she was safe. “I think there’s a good possibility that it’s true,” he said. “After you told me about Lady Manning, I asked my father if he’d known Lord Manning. He said that he had, and it was a pity when Lord Manning and his daughter had died.”
Sophia’s breath caught in her throat. “So he had a daughter.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Was it strange to talk about the man who might have been her father like he was someone she’d never met?
She had no memories of him.
How had Lady Manning managed to convince everyone that his daughter had died?
