All the children greeted Maeve with wide, curious eyes. She met them with a forced smile, the good mood from before gone. “Off we go!” she said. “Lunchtime!”
When she met Soren’s gaze, it was with an imploring sort of look.Get us out of here.
Gladly.
Clearing his throat, Soren began to sing the lunchtime song. Remembering their growling bellies, the children gleefully joined in, filling the early afternoon with their off-key notes.
It was for the best Soren was at the front; otherwise, all he would’ve done was stare in concern at Maeve. And then she surely would’ve noticed all his noticing.
Swallowing down his grumble, Soren cast his mind to figuring out how to put the sparkle back in her eyes—while histurukplotted how to pluck out Collin Kenny’s.
12
“It wasmortifying,” Maeve groaned, slumping into a chair at her Auntie Sofie’s battered kitchen table.
“My love, when you’re as…popular as you were, you’re bound to see people you know,” Auntie Sofie said as she poured them both a glass of cool lemonade. That was Sofie’s diplomatic way of saying,Sleep with enough men and you’re bound to see them around town.
Well…pah. According to statisticsandSofie, that was true.
Puckering with her first sip of the sweet, tart lemonade, Maeve hurried to clarify, “I didn’t mind seeing him. It’s that it was in front of the children. And Soren.”
Maeve had always been friendly with Collin Kenny and his younger brother Graeme, had even considered marrying one of them for a fleeting moment, before she’d been accepted to Queen Angharad. They were handsome, charming, and from a well-to-do family in Granach that owned a vineyard.
Collin had been Maeve’s first conquest. A bit older than her and her friends, he’d always been the charmer, easy to laugh andboast. Perfectly unserious, which made him perfect for Maeve. She’d had her fun and gotten out, especially once she noticed that her friend Neomi cared for him.
Honestly, Neomi was far too good for Collin, and Maeve would’ve been embarrassed for him in that exchange—to think headmittednot having brought up that he’d married—had she not been so embarrassed for herself.
The way Neomi had glared at her and hustled Collin away, as though Maeve might try to seduce him.
As if Maeve wouldevergo back for seconds. Collin was handsome, yes, and could be amusing, but ultimately, he was a boor. Just like most of the other men—boys, really—that Maeve had dallied with before university. It made breaking things off all the easier. She honestly might’ve warned Neomi off anything serious with Collin had she known it was a possibility.
“Has anyone else married that I should know about?” she asked. “I depend on you for good gossip, auntie. You know I can’t rely on Sorcha, she’s far too polite.”
“There have been a few, yes.” Sofie rattled off the names of several of Maeve’s friends, as well as a few men she was familiar with, too. Some of them Maeve had set up herself, which did make her a little proud, but others were…ill-advised and wouldn’t have received her blessing had she known.
“Fates, no wonder they haven’t come to visit,” Maeve sighed. “They all probably think like Neomi does.”
“The nice thing about paths, chickadee, is that they go in both directions.”
Placing her glass on the table, Sofie’s sharp light-green eyes pinned Maeve in her seat. “From what I’ve heard, Soren isn’t anything like Collin Kenny or any of your past…acquaintances.”
Maeve groaned again. “He’s not at all. That’s what made it so mortifying for him to see.”
Soren may have been shy, perhaps even naïve when it cameto matters of love and lust, but evenhehad to have seen there was a history between Maeve and Collin—one that Neomi felt threatened by. What was worse, Collin was married to Neomi, who was Imogen’s younger sister, who was mated to Balar, who was Soren’s older brother. Soren knew just what kind of man Collin Kenny was—and that he and Maeve had been…acquainted.
Dropping her cheek into her hand, Maeve consoled herself that, “It doesn’t matter, really. We’ve agreed nothing will happen. Perhaps it’s better if he thinks badly of me.”
“You don’t really believe that,” said Sofie with all confidence.
No, Maeve didn’t. She generally wanted people to like her, but when they didn’t, she tried not to care too much. It was their loss.
But, as with many things, Soren was proving…different.
“It’s somehow worse that he didn’t ask questions,” Maeve couldn’t help continuing. “Later, he said nothing about it. He had half a right to ask, if only about how I knew Imogen’s sister’s husband.”
“Perhaps he didn’t think it his place to pry,” said Sofie. “Perhaps he’s one of those rare people who judges others by what he sees of them, not their reputation.”
Despite herself, Maeve flushed. She wasn’t ashamed of her past behavior, not really. She didn’t dally with anyone who might truly be hurt; she’d always been clear about her expectations, boundaries, and plans to leave the Darrowlands. If a boy found himself dreaming of a future with her, that and his disappointment were his own burdens to bear.
