‘Born a week back, Your Majesty,’ Cooper said, bowing to the king. ‘All healthy as horses.’ His eyes went to Lyndal, assessing her for the longest time. ‘This must be the lovely Lady Lyndal I’ve been hearing about.’
Astin fought the urge to move in front of her.
‘Lady Lyndal of Cardelle Manor,’ Borin said. ‘Lord Thomas’s niece.’
Her title just kept getting longer.
Lyndal made no move towards him. She simply nodded a greeting before looking past him to where Astin’s mother stood. ‘And you must be Fletcher’s mother.’
Lari glanced at Cooper, then offered her a tired smile. ‘Please to meet you, my lady.’
‘Shall we take a closer look at these lambs?’ the king said, cutting the greeting short.
‘Can I trust you to behave in my absence?’ Cooper asked Astin.
‘We haven’t trusted one another in the past,’ Astin replied. ‘Why would we start now?’
Borin tutted. ‘Come, come. Let us all be civil.’
Cooper gave Astin a hard stare before leaving with the king.
When the men were out of earshot, Astin looked to his mother. ‘Where’s Presley?’
‘She’s in the north paddock with Rose.’ She never quite met his eyes anymore.
Clearing her throat, Lyndal said, ‘Shall we take a walk and find them? It would be a shame to come all this way and not see your sisters.’
‘It’s a bit of a walk. We’ll take the horses,’ he replied.
Lyndal lifted the skirt of her dress, revealing her boots. ‘Merchant feet. I can walk for miles with a pail of water in each hand.’
He loved the way her eyes shone with pride when she spoke of her roots.
‘I could fetch her,’ his mother offered.
He gestured for Lyndal to start moving. ‘We’ll walk.’
His mother took another step towards him. ‘Astin—’
‘It’s Fletcher. I’m on duty.’
Lari nodded and looked down at the ground. ‘Did Presley tell you she’s to be married?’
‘She did.’
Lari kneaded her apron between her fingers. ‘I made some horse bread, and we have butter. Why don’t you come in for some refreshments first?’
‘I don’t think Cooper would like that.’ Then he was walking away.
Lyndal hurried to catch up to him, holding her skirts off the ground as she attempted to match his pace. Registering her struggle, he slowed.
‘Want to talk about that very awkward exchange with your mother back there?’ she asked, looking over her shoulder.
‘Nothing to talk about.’
She watched him. ‘She’s not the first woman to marry the wrong man, you know. Are you really going to make her pay for that mistake for the rest of her life?’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, so leave it alone.’
