Amaris groaned. “Even if your brother wanted to talk to me, I’d have nothing to say to that ungrateful jackass.”
Adelaide smirked, but a stifled laugh sounded from Sephardi before she cleared her throat and continued her work.
Turning to avoid prying ears, Adelaide leaned closer. “It isn’t that he’s ungrateful,” she whispered.
“What are you saying?”
“I know my brother better than anyone, and even I’ve felt he’s pushed me away. I don’t think he wanted you to save him.”
Amaris placed a jar of herbs on a shelf, her mouth going dry. “You think he wanted to die?”
Adelaide nodded toward Sephardi and stepped closer, whispering in Amaris’s ear. “Theo’s been gone for three years, fighting in the Trade War. My family received word during his first year that he went missing behind enemy lines for two seasons. He came back different.”
“What happened to him?” Amaris shouldn’t have cared to learn what he went through. It didn’t change how he’d treated her or how he’d implied Derek didn’t want to be with her anymore.
“I don’t know.”
Amaris eyed Sephardi but continued to flip through her pages. “Was he captured or lost?”
“Again, I don’t know.” Adelaide’s voice was soft, and Amaris strained to hear her. Adelaide seemed to be well-versed in the art of whispering. “My guess is captured, but even Esaias won’t say.”
“Esaias was there too?”
How many more of them had been in the war? Had Alan or Sephardi been there too? Maybe that was why Alan was such a brute.
“Not when Theodoric and his squad went missing, but they were all under the same company.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Adelaide hardly knew Amaris but didn’t seem to care that she was throwing her brother’s deepest secrets at her.
“He’ll never tell you why he snaps at you or says something rude, but I thought maybe if you knew, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
A life preserver. That was what she’d thrown out, but Amaris wasn’t sure if it was for Theodoric or her.
“Theo is caring. Try appealing to that side of him.”
Amaris scoffed, “Believe me, I tried that the first day I met him.”
“If he would only set his duty aside and get Bennet out of his ear, he would see what I do,” she said.
“And what do you see?” Amaris filled her arms with more jars. Even if she didn’t know their properties, she could at least alphabetize them.
“You didn’t kill Lord Freville,” she whispered.
Amaris almost dropped the jars, leaning into the counter to catch them.
“The duke believes what he does is for the good of the province. I, however, believe he only cares about building his reputation. I suggest, if you want to walk out of here, you play their games.”
“I tried playing, but it didn’t work,” Amaris muttered, hanging her head. “Bennet wants to kill me, the duke thinks I’m lying, and soldiers like Alan think they can treat me however they like.”
Adelaide tapped her chin. “Alan carries many faces—”
“He threatened to cut out my tongue,” Amaris snapped.
Adelaide met her with silence, obviously not surprised.
“I noticed how close you are. Are you two—”
“Together?” She smirked. “No, it’s not like that at all. Alan may be protective, but we don’t fancy each other. Besides, I have no plans for marriage.”
