I cracked a grin. “There are all sorts of things you don’t know about me, little Wyn.”
She whipped her head back around to face forward and didn’t respond.
“Are you Raewyn’sboyfriend?” Turi asked in a sing-song tone and giggled with her tiny hands over her mouth, as if she knew she was asking an inappropriate question.
“No,” Raewyn answered before I got the chance. “We are just friends.”
“Raewyn’s never had a boyfriend,” Tindra informed me in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Is that right?” I asked, getting perverse enjoyment out of the way Raewyn’s posture stiffened.
“We’re poor,” the little girl explained. “No one wants to marry poor girls.”
My heartbeat slowed, and there was a sudden ache in my throat. I wanted to go back to that stupid village and thrash everyone who’d belittled Raewyn and her family.
“I don’t think that’s true,” I said. “Not based on what I’ve seen. Why, your sister was the most popular woman at the entire First Night Ball, and no one asked about her family’s financial situation.”
“Because they all assumed I had money,” Raewyn said sourly. “They were operating under all sorts of illusions.”
“Illusions only go so far. The real soul of a person always shines through, don’t you find?” I said.
Though the words were murmured too quietly for the younger girls to hear, Raewyn heard me, and she shivered again.
Perhaps it wasn’t the cold after all.
“Wouldyoumarry a poor girl, Pharis?” Turi asked.
“That’s enough questions,” Raewyn told her. “Let’s ride in silence for a while.”
I didn’t let the child’s question go unanswered though.
“I’ll marry anyone I want to marry,” I said. “And no, a woman’s wealth and family status would have no bearing on my choice. That would be determined based on whether we were a good match.”
Tindra nodded in satisfaction then faced forward and obeyed her sister.
After riding for a few hours, we stopped to rest near a stream. As soon as we dismounted, the horses went to it, lowering their heads for a drink.
I did the same, sitting on a flat rock that protruded into the streambed. I dipped my hands into the cold flow several times and brought the makeshift cup up to my mouth.
Raewyn’s sisters scrambled over to the side of the water, attempting to do the same. The littlest one leaned out too far for my liking.
Jumping up to grab the back of her dress, I lifted her onto safer ground.
“It’s a bit dark out for a swim, Pollywog. That current is swift. Wait a minute. I’ll get some water for you,” I said.
I filled my canteen and offered it to her. The two girls took turns drinking from it then handed it back to me, and I carried it over to their father.
“Thank you,” Wyll said after drinking his fill.
Wiping his mouth, he asked, “Will we go much farther tonight?”
His face was drawn tight. Was he fatigued from the ride already? I was planning to go until daybreak.
“Several more hours yet until sunrise. Are you tired?” I asked.
I had noticed him slumping in the saddle a bit, but I’d assumed he’d just been drowsy. Looking at him now though, I wondered if it was something more. He looked like he might have been in pain.
“Fine, fine,” the man said, straightening. “Just a bit out of practice, is all. Ready to go when you are.”
