Once the wagon rolled to a stop, Lyndal and Wallis stepped down to set up. They asked some merchants to help build the fires for cooking, then went to fetch water from the well. Within the hour, two pots of soup simmered away.
Lyndal kept an eye out for her family, and just when she thought they were not going to show up, she spotted Blake and Eda at the edge of the square. Candace was not with them.
‘I’ll be back in a moment,’ Lyndal told Wallis before making her way over to her sisters. Astin followed at a distance.
The three sisters stood in awkward silence for a full minute before anyone spoke.
‘Is Mother all right?’ Lyndal finally asked.
‘She had some things to take care of at the shop,’ Blake lied.
Lyndal nodded and played with the end of her hair. ‘I gather she still hasn’t come around to the idea of me with the king?’
Blake chewed her lip. ‘Harlan told us about the fire.’
‘It was quickly brought under control,’ Lyndal replied. ‘Shame about the furniture though. Very comfortable chairs.’ She barely knew what she was saying.
You look so tired, Eda signed.
Lyndal’s eyes began to sting. ‘I’ve had a bit of trouble sleeping since.’
‘Not surprising,’ Blake said. ‘Someone did lock you in a room and set the one beside yours on fire before leaving you to die.’
Lyndal crinkled her nose. ‘I gather Harlan spared no detail in his retelling?’
‘Do you think I gave him a choice?’
Silence.
Still going to marry the king, then?Eda signed.
She was the second person to ask that question that morning. ‘I really think I can do this.’
‘You mean if you can survive until the wedding?’ Blake said.
More silence.
‘You’ve always been incredible in a crisis,’ Blake admitted. ‘And this is the biggest crisis the merchants have ever faced. But he doesn’t deserve you, which makes giving you up even more difficult.’
Lyndal’s stomach fell. ‘Please don’t give me up. I couldn’t bear it.’
Eda looked down and began rolling up her sleeves.Enough. How can we help?
Lyndal pulled her sisters to her, kissing their faces before letting go. ‘We have soup for the children and offal and bones for everyone else.’
We’ll spread the word, Eda signed.Tell people to bring a pot with them.
Blake was looking over at Astin with a thoughtful expression. ‘What’s the matter with him?’
How to explain something she was still getting her head around.
Let me guess,Eda signed.He’s figured out he fancies you—too late.
Lyndal’s mouth dropped open. ‘Why would you say that?’
Blake’s eyes returned to her. ‘Maybe because the man has spent the past year asking after you when you’re absent and staring at you when you aren’t.’
‘That’s not true’ was Lyndal’s immediate reaction. ‘If he was looking at me, he was likely thinking up his next insult.’
