He eyed Emma closely. She was pale, sure, but she flashed a smile anyway.
“Sorry to keep ye waiting,” he said lightly.
This was her cue to say something, anything. But she only smiled and kept quiet.
“Were ye waiting a long time?”
“No more than a few minutes,” she responded.
He chewed on his lip. The carriage lurched forward, carrying them on their way. With the bright lights of the Sinnerfalling far behind, darkness enveloped them so that he could no longer read her expression. He was sure she wasn’t looking at him, anyway.
“Did ye wait in the carriage the whole time?” he asked, as casually as possible. He didn’t want it to sound accusing.
Careful not to look at Emma, Thomas pretended to be absorbed in staring outside. He was sure that she was staring at him.
“Aye,” she said after the silence had stretched out for longer than it should. “I did.”
Thomas’s heart clenched. She’d lied to him, plain and simple. That meant that whatever reason she had for meeting that man up on the hill, she wasn’t about to share it with him.
He nodded and forced a smile, although he was sure that she couldn’t see it.
They didn’t speak another word for the rest of the journey.
“We’re out of brass berries,” Delphine announced.
There was a long pause, and she glanced at her apprentice.
Emma was staring down into the mortar of half-ground herbs and spices, the pestle hovering in her hand. She didn’t seem to have heard a word that Delphine had said.
“Lassie? Are ye seeing yer future in those herbs?” Delphine asked as gently as possible.
Emma flinched, glancing up with wide eyes. “I beg yer pardon, Delphine, I didn’t hear ye. I was… I was in a world of me own.”
Delphine nodded and smiled, making a dismissive gesture. “Not to worry, lassie. I was only saying that we were out of brass berries, and I’d be obliged if ye would go out to get some today. Day after tomorrow, we’re on our rounds again, and you know we’ll need brass berries.”
Emma swallowed hard and nodded, bending her head over her work again.
Delphine watched her for a minute or two, nibbling her lower lip. She was worried about her.
At first, everything had been fine. Privately, Delphine had been pleased to see her pretty young apprentice going off to a pub to have a good time. Emma was far too serious, and she needed friends. She neededfun.
Then, Emma had come home all subdued, worry etched on every line of her face. Delphine had known immediately that something was wrong, but she couldn’t persuade her to tell her what it was. The girl had clammed up whenever Delphine had tried to get the truth out of her. It was infuriating but also worrying.
Something was wrong, plain and simple, and the longer Emma refused to divulge what it was, the more Delphine worried.
Yesterday, when they had been meant to go on their rounds in the village, Emma had pleaded a headache and asked to be permitted to stay. Now,thatwas not like her at all.
Delphine had agreed, of course, and fixed up various headache potions and teas, which had seemed to do the trick. But Emma still hadn’t smiled, still bowed under the weight of some unseen burden that she still wouldn’t share.
What was more, Thomas hadn’t come to visit her, not once.
That had made Delphine angry. She had been ready to stake her pension on the chemistry developing between the two and could have sworn that Emma was starting to feel something real, something that could make its way through the walls of distrust and isolation she’d carefully set up over the years. Thomas, of course, was head-over-heels, whether he’d admit it or not. Delphine had known him since he had been a child, and she couldtell.
And now, this.
I swear,if he’s bedded her and gotten tired of her right after, I’m going to slip a handful of Adder’s Curse in his tea. Let’s see how smug and charming he is when he can’t stir off the privy.
Aloud, she said, “Actually, Emma, would ye mind fetching the brass berries now? It’s a fine day, and I fancy ye could do with some air.”
