A person who stammered and blushed and couldn’t string a sentence together for the life of him.
“Good mornin’, Keir,” said Layla, giving him one of those bright smiles. “Are ye well?”
“Och aye,” said Keir. “Quite.”
“Good,” said Layla. “So am I, in case ye were wonderin’.”
“Och aye, of course,” said Keir. “Where are me manners?”
It was like watching a particularly graceless bird try to woo a female of its kind, River thought as she watched them. The entire time, she remained silent, simply watching, not wanting to interrupt them. Keir was doing better than usual, after all, and she didn’t want to ruin his chances.
But then an awkward silence settled over them, Keir and Layla simply staring at each other, and River knew she had to act to spare him the pain.
“I’m quite alright, Keir,” she told him, and Keir jumped upon hearing her voice, as if he had completely forgotten she was there, too. “Layla can tell ye everythin’, isnae that right, Layla? Ye can sit here and discuss while I get ready for the day.”
“But me lady…daenae ye need me assistance?”
River shook her head. “Nay, nay…sit with Keir. I’ll be fine on me own. It wouldnae be the first time.”
As she spoke, River retreated back into the bedroom, closing the door that separated it from the sitting room. For a few moments, she didn’t even bother getting ready; she only stood there, by the door, trying to listen in to their conversation—if there was even any—but the door and the walls were too thick for her to hear.
Eventually, she gave up and began to wash and dress, hoping that Keir would find his usual eloquence eventually, once he was used to Layla’s proximity. By the time she was done, she had decided to stay in the bedroom for a little while longer, just to give them some privacy. When she opened the door once more, she found the two of them sitting close to each other on the sofa, but her sudden appearance forced Keir to jump back, his head snapping to the side to stare at her.
“Ye’re pregnant!” he said, his tone caught somewhere between enthusiasm and fright.
River couldn’t help but laugh this time. “Aye, so I am.”
After her response, his enthusiasm seemed to fade rather fast, and River knew that Keir had suddenly come to a realisation.
She wondered what Archer had been like in the time since she had last seen him. He had clearly not shared the news with Keir,but judging from the man’s expression, he had been anything but excited for it and Keir had known something was wrong. Now he knew what it was; now he knew the joyous news had brought Archer no joy.
“I’m guessin’ this isnae somethin’ many people ken,” said Keir.
“Nay,” River confirmed. “Only us, Archer, Jenson, and Finlay.”
“It will be better to keep it this way for as long as possible,” said Keir. “Though I doubt the secret will be kept a secret for long.”
River understood Keir’s concern. With a killer on the loose, it was better if no one knew about the pregnancy, but how long could she hide it? Even if she ended up not showing for a long time, even if she covered up with different gowns, the word would spread eventually and everyone would know she was pregnant. Still, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to try and keep it a secret.
“The people will be glad to ken their lady is with bairn,” Layla pointed out. “And there is nae protection better than that of the servants. If ye have them on yer side, they’re better than any guard.”
“That may be true,” said Keir, “but I’d rather keep it a secret from whoever is after Archer for as long as possible. Ye never ken…ye never ken what may happen.”
A knock on the door signalled the arrival of the one man who would protect her no matter what. Finlay entered the room, but the moment River’s eyes found him, she saw that there was something clearly wrong. He wore a sour expression, the one that spoke of rage—not the quiet kind, the one he usually reserved for certain people who had provoked it, but something bigger, stranger, deeper. He looked to her as if he was ready to snap, as if he was going to kill the object of his ire with his bare hands.
“Finlay…what’s the matter?” she asked, and Finlay’s gaze snapped up to her as if he didn’t even expect her to be there, as if he didn’t know in which room his feet had taken him. He glared around the room, taking in every person there, and then shook his head, his expression mellowing out ever so slightly.
“Naethin’,” he said. “It’s naethin’ important.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Then, Keir took a deep breath and made his way to the door.
“I will leave ye to it, then,” he said, bowing once with a stiff back. “River, Finlay…Layla.”
Layla’s name was spoken on an exhale, and once again, River had to stifle her laughter as Keir left the room. But when she glanced at Finlay again, any trace of humour was gone from her mind.
She had only seen him like this once before—when her mother had been killed. Now that he was like this, she didn’t know what to do about it, especially if he refused to tell her what was wrong.
With a sigh, River came to sit on the sofa and Finlay threw himself down on the chair across from hair, glaring. A cold dread coursed through her and she could only imagine what it was like for the person with whom Finlay was furious.
