“He is here to gather support.”
Thomas stares at me a moment and then laughs. “From the Voyagers? They will not give it. They’ve always withheld aid and allegiance from both sides.”
True, but these are curious times.
“Maybe so, yet it hasn’t stopped them from trying in the past.”
When Galfrid’s father reigned, the War of Loigh claimed more lives than any of the other wars in Meria’s history. In a bid to end the fighting, the King of Edingham had sent a contingent of men to Murwood to elicit the aid of the Voyagers. They refused, and none have attempted to solicit their support since.
Some say the Voyagers trade more regularly with Meria because of that long-ago breach of their unwritten rules: Voyagers do not care for any to test their neutrality. Now that I’ve spent time here, I have a better understanding of their ways. Of their independence. The people here honor Aldwine for his fearlessness more than they do Bailor for his title. Such things are meaningless in Murwood, and the queen should know that already.
But she’s accustomed to wealth and power mattering, and here they do not.
“If they do get the Voyagers’ support . . . ,” Thomas begins, but I stop him.
“You are correct—they would never agree to such a thing. But I can tell you, unequivocally, that is why Stokerton is here.”
“Hmm. Then it should be an interesting meeting. So, since I went to the trouble of arranging it, perhaps you can tell me more of the complications you have embroiled yourself in.”
I have a feeling he already knows. But Stokerton’s arrival gives me an unexpected stay of execution. An extra day to speak to Aedre, to make her understand. She thinks my interest in her was solely to gain an audience with Kipp, and I have to convince her otherwise. I was drawn to her from the start, and there is no way I will leave Murwood End without her. Now I have a reason to stay, to convince her that we should marry.
Chapter Thirty-One Aedre
“I will never marry him. He knew, Kipp.”
Kipp grins at me as I pace in his solar. I came to Nord Manor after sending word to Father instead of going home, desperate to avoid Vanni. I’ve stayed overnight here before, the manor more than large enough to accommodate guests. Now that the tide has risen, we are accessible only by boat, and Vanni and his men have none. Of course, as Kipp pointed out, they could obtain one easily for the short journey, but I do not believe Vanni will do so.
He was less angry than I imagined when I told him Vanni suspected I knew him. Or at least considered the possibility Kipp and I were friends. If he had any inkling of it, Vanni should have told me when I asked.
Is he even still here, in Murwood End?
This morn, the thought of him leaving was devastating. But now, the very opposite is true. If he had asked me instead of telling me . . . if he had made some profession of love . . . if he had considered my wants and needs at all . . . if he’d mentioned the possibility that he knew I had a connection to Kipp.
I don’t know what would have happened then. But I’ll not let a man dictate my future out of some allegiance to a code of honor I do not share. Nor will I wed a man who’s made it quite clear he has no wish to marry.
I would rather remain here, in the manor house, heartbroken.
“The choice is yours.”
Stopping at the window, I find myself thinking of Vanni’s chest beneath my hands, of him thrusting into me, of him looking into my eyes with something stronger than lust. Of the utter bliss I experienced with him.
I was ignorant before, but now . . . now I know. And I will never, ever be the same again.
“How could you not have told me?” I accuse, knowing my anger is misplaced but unable to help myself.
“Told you what, precisely?”
Unlike me, Kipp is relaxed, legs stretched out in front of him as he eats an apple and fingers the dagger my father forged for him. I’ll never forget the day he asked my father for that weapon. Father and I were in the shop when Kipp stormed inside. Normally, we would have learned of his ship’s arrival before we saw him, but we’d heard nothing. We only knew he and his father had gone off to fight for Lord Rawlins in Edingham.
But I knew straightaway something had gone wrong. Which was confirmed by Kipp’s words.
“I need a dagger. The finest, sharpest one you’ve ever forged.”
Even now a chill runs up my back at the memory of his expression that day.
After explaining that his father had been killed, he stated his intention to slay the man who’d hired him.
Lord Rawlins had gained back his estate but at a great loss of life, something the Highlander cared little about given the majority of the men were hired mercenaries. Worse, he refused to pay Kipp, saying his agreement was with the father, not the son.
Since that day, he’s never again spoken of the battle, or of Rawlins, except but one time. I’d asked Kipp why he had wanted a dagger when he owned a perfectly good sword.
“I will look into the eyes of the man responsible for my father’s death.”
After that, I never asked again about Lord Rawlins, his plans for revenge, or details of the battle. I know only he’s talked many times of an opportunity for a fair fight with the man.
“Aedre? What did I not tell you?”
I tear my gaze away from the dagger.
“You’ve been with women before. How could you not have told me what it was like? How transformative it is.”
Kipp wasn’t exactly happy to learn what happened between Vanni and me, especially since
