He was calling her bluff.
‘That won’t be necessary.’ The best thing she could do at that point was flee and pray the man did not give chase. Except she did not get the chance, because when she looked up, she found Harlan leaning against the embrasure—looking straight at her. Her lungs squeezed when he straightened, looking from her to the defender.
‘That’s what I thought,’ the defender said.
Before she had a chance to respond, Harlan emerged from the nearby turret, eyebrows drawn together in a disapproving line. He strode towards them.
She felt herself shrinking.
‘What’s going on here?’ Harlan asked, stopping next to the defender.
The man grew taller. ‘Commander. I was just telling this young woman, who claims she’s a very close acquaintance of yours’—he glanced at Blake when he said that part—‘that it’s better to return with their uncle if they wish to conduct business in the port.’
Blake cleared her throat. ‘I don’t think I used the termcloseacquaintance.’
‘Those were your exact words,’ the defender said, throwing her under the runaway wagon.
Blake pressed her lips together.
‘What business do you have in the port today, Suttone?’ Harlan asked.
The defender’s eyes shot to him. ‘So youareacquainted?’
Harlan kept his eyes on Blake. ‘Miss Suttone and her sister are Lord Thomas Welche’s nieces.’
The defender’s jaw just about reached the ground.
Blake pushed her own surprise aside. ‘I have to pick up a fabric order from the ship. The borough is open to merchants, is it not?’
‘It is,’ Harlan said. ‘I’m sure my comrade here was just looking out for you. Two women without an escort can invite trouble.’
Blake felt some of her confidence returning. ‘How so?’
‘Easy prey for drunk patrons and men who’ve been stuck at sea for weeks on end.’
‘Then perhaps your men should focus their attention on the drunks and sea merchants, since that’s where the problem lies.’
Harlan’s expression darkened. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Where?’
‘I’m taking you to the ship so you can conduct your business.’ He pinned her with a look. ‘That’s what close acquaintances do.’
Eda chewed her lip to stop from smiling.
‘Move,’ Harlan said, prompting her to start walking.
Blake stepped past the glaring defender and followed him.
Eda eyed their surroundings as they entered the borough, always alert. The tiny warrior was the only escort Blake needed.
Harlan said nothing until they reached the dock; then he stopped and turned to her. ‘You can’t bait the defenders like that. I won’t always be around to get you out of those situations.’
She took in his angry expression. ‘I didn’t bait him. And you didn’t have to come.’
He looked like he had more to say on the topic, but then he turned to the ship. ‘Let’s go.’
They stepped around the fishermen scaling fish, fish that would likely go to the royal and nobility boroughs. The smell mixed with the spices being unloaded from the ship.
