“And besides,” he adds, because of course he has to, “we walked a long way. You wouldn’t make it back without something to eat and then I’d have to carry youandthe flowers.”
I pout at his grin. Why was I warming up to him again?
A stocky middle-aged woman exits the kitchens in a stained apron and heavy knit cardigan, her blond hair bundled on the top of her head and cheeks flushed from the heat of cooking. Will waves and her face lights up like a buttercup in summer. Within seconds she’s trotted over to our table.
“Willoh, darling, I didn’t know we’d be seeing you today!” she says, then beams at me. “And who is this?Gosh,aren’t you beautiful.”
I was about to introduce myself, but her compliment has me faltering. Me, beautiful? Is that something my curse would allow me to say out loud?
“Anhora, this is Felicity Farrow, Alrick’s most renowned florist,” Will says for me. “We just popped over to Reed’s.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
Anhora rests her hand on Will’s shoulder, and it strikes me to see someone touch him so familiarly. There’s usually a sword swinging for his head.
“Well, it’s lovely to see our Will with someone for once,” she says. “He always hides away in the back corner there. It took some time for him to come out of his shell when he first started visiting with Ruth. He was such a shy wee lad back then.”
“Oh, really?” I reply and raise my eyebrows at Will. It’s his turn to look away. I can’t imagine “shy” being a word associated with him at all. Luckily for the both of us, just like Card, Anhora has the sought-after talent of being able to keep a conversation flowing.
“I tell you, we’ll never forget when he saved our Truffle from falling off that ladder after my blasted roof had been blown off by a storm. I have so many stories, Felicity, but”—she looks betweenus—“you probably have so much to talk about without me blabbering on, so what can I get you both? We’re running low on vegetables and the soup is a little watered down, but it’s hot.” She says it like the promise of a warm meal is as pleasing as all the riches in the castle vault.
“We’ll take whatever you recommend,” Will says, and his embarrassment is more entertaining than I expected. Anhora pats his shoulder and heads back to the kitchens.
“Huh…shy Willoh Vane…Do tell me more,” I say.
“There’s nothing to tell. I’ve been dashingly confident from birth.”
I snort.Sure.
“Why didn’t you choose your regular table?” I ask.
“Well, this one has—” He stops suddenly and gestures to the window. “I guess you can see the village and the flowers from here. And.Whatever.”
“Wow, that wasn’t very eloquent,” I tease, but he’s right. From my seat, I have a view of the whole street, the people passing by, and even better, the potted daffodils on the windowsill. Aw, did he choose this table for me? How interesting…
Anhora brings out two bowls of slate-colored soup for us and insists we share some of the freshly baked bread before she bustles away again. I blow the soup on my spoon and take a mouthful. It’s surprisingly good, if a little weak. I decide to say so.
“It tastes better than it looks.”
Will barks a laugh and shakes his head. “I do enjoy your bluntness,” he says.
“What else can I say? Cursed, remember?”
“That’s a good question. Whatcanyou say? Have you figured out all your restrictions?”
I eye him carefully. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious. You aren’t exactly common and it’s intriguing.”
My chest flares alive. He just means my curse, surely. He wants to know more from a sorcerer’s perspective. But he also pulled out my chair for me and carried my flower basket and I want him to wantme around for more than my curse. I think through my sentences and try to explain.
“It depends on how I learned the factual information. If I read it or heard about it, perhaps it’s not the truth, just an opinion or it’s been misinterpreted, so I can still repeat it if I start with ‘I read that’ or ‘I heard that.’ Questions are useful if I’m not sure if I’m correct, like, um…Anhora cooked this soup, didn’t she? Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t, but I can make an educated guess that is potentially wrong. What else…? Oh, I can say my own opinion too even if it’s not true for other people. Like, for example, grapes aren’t delicious.”
“What? You don’t like grapes? After all those trade agreements with Dreah…”
“No, they taste weird. I don’t like the texture.”
“They’regrapes.Just shove them in your mouth.”
