Ashford lifts a shoulder. “A minor inconvenience.”
“You were nearly unconscious.”
“I was contemplating a brief strategic nap.”
Rowan’s gaze sharpens. “You are usually insufferably grumpy before noon. Now you are radiant.”
“I am not grumpy,” Ashford protests. “I am discerning.”
“You glared at a kettle yesterday for boiling too loudly.”
“It was excessive.”
Rowan’s eyes shift past him then—and land on the open bottle of wine on the counter.
A pause.
“…Ah,” Rowan says.
Understanding settles over his expression.
I follow his gaze and exhale. “It was a single glass, Rowan.”
“Of course it was.”
“It would have been discourteous not to offer Her Majesty refreshment,” Ashford interrupts.
Rowan grabs the bottle from the counter. “At dawn?”
“Time,” Ashford says loftily, “is largely symbolic.”
Rowan studies him one more time, clearly still unconvinced but marginally reassured.
“If you begin slurring your words,” he says, “I am sending for the doctor.”
“I would expect nothing less from your tender concern,” Ashford replies dryly.
I laugh again, softer now, shaking my head as they descend into familiar bickering.
I drift toward the window.
The sky is no longer night-black. It is softening at the horizon, pale gold spilling slowly upward as the sun begins its climb. The promise of another hot day glows in streaks of amber and rose. A flock of birds lifts from the distant fields, their wings catching the first light. They rise together in a drifting column, turning as one before scattering into the brightening sky.
Click.
* * *
I return to my room after Rowan assures me that Pepin and his men have left the estate.
It seems impossible to go back to sleep after the events of the night, yet as soon as my head lands on the pillow, slumber finds me.
* * *
When I awake hours later, the sun is already streaming through the blinds, tiny flecks of dust floating lazily in the warm light.
“I am sorry, I did not mean to wake you,” Aileen whispers, poking her head through the door.
“Do not worry,” I say, stretching, the stiffness in my limbs dissolving. “It is about time for me to get up. I can’t remember the last time I slept this late.”
