Her eyes were on the ground. ‘He has his own farm to worry about.’
Astin glanced sideways at her. ‘You know, Cooper’s not coming back.’
She nodded. ‘I know.’
‘So if you want out—’
‘I can’t run this place alone. You know that.’
‘You won’t have to. I’ll be here to help you.’
She looked up, wary eyes on him. ‘You’regoing to move back to the farm? You’re going to be a farmer? You, the defender?’
He chuckled softly. ‘I’ve lived this life before. I can do it again—at least until you find a man you actuallywantto marry.’
She watched him as she walked. ‘I thought I might go into the village, pick up some supplies. I’ll need to make new linen for the other bed if you plan on staying. Perhaps you know a place?’
He smiled down at his feet. ‘I know a place.’
The merchant borough was slow moving but alive with the smell of simmering meat. Whether that meat had been bought, donated, or stolen was irrelevant given the state of the kingdom. Every person had earned their meal. Noblewomen wandered between the shopfronts carrying baskets of food and medical supplies. There were horses tied up in the street—an act of faith. For once, it seemed like the kingdom was working together and taking care of each other.
Lyndal had stayed the night at their old house in the merchant borough with her sisters and mother. They had opened the shop to anyone who needed it, and now they had a number of children whose parents were either missing or dead. They were nothing but skin and bone and broken hearts, so Lyndal fed them to bursting, cleaned them up, played with them, and prayed people would come looking for them when everything settled.
She was sitting on the veranda with a young girl on her lap while Blake and Eda played gameball with the other children when her mother wandered out and handed the girl a small doll she had sewn that morning.
‘What are you going to name her?’ Candace asked, sitting down beside Lyndal.
The girl ran her fingers over the doll’s face. ‘Fayre.’
Lyndal smiled. ‘Perfect for a doll with so much queen potential.’ Her gaze drifted down the street before returning to the game.
‘Harlan said Astin is alive and well,’ Candace said, watching her daughter. ‘He just lost his mother and has his sisters to care for.’
Lyndal focused hard on the ball. ‘I know that.’
Her mother tucked a piece of hair behind Lyndal’s ear. ‘Have I mentioned how proud I am of you?’
‘You have.’ Lyndal looked at her. ‘And yet I feel sick about the whole thing. The merchants stormed that castle yesterday becauseItold them to. People died because of a fight I started.’
Candace angled her head. ‘You cannot take credit for civil war.’
Lyndal heard men shouting down the street. She rose to her feet, placing the girl on the ground next to her. People were darting in every direction, and her eyes widened when she saw why.
‘Everyone off the street,’ she called, stepping down and ushering the children off the road.
Blake narrowed her eyes. ‘Is that a… bull?’
Eda picked up the last boy and carried him to the veranda.
‘There is something you do not see every day in the merchant borough,’ Candace said.
Food?Eda signed.
Blake laughed, and Candace tutted.
Lyndal watched as the bull trotted past the shop, her eyes widening with recognition. ‘Oh my goodness. That’s him.’
Blake looked at Lyndal. ‘Him?’
