Maia felt as if the sunlight had pierced the clouds. Understanding flooded her. “She misses him.” He had been in the north, preparing to defend their borders from the armada.
Jayn nodded, trying to keep her expression neutral. Over time, she had come to know Jayn better and had learned that she was very discreet. She did not flaunt her emotions for all to see. She was private and reserved and a loyal confidante, so it was natural that she was struggling with how much she should reveal.
“I see I have made you feel compromised,” Maia said, squeezing her arm. “Let me try and guess, then you can rightly say I have needled the truth out of you, loosening stitch by stitch. It has been several weeks since Dodd has been to court, as he is securing our northern borders. I know he has been on the saddle a great deal and has amassed a considerable army to help defend Comoros. But the two are newlyweds, so it is natural they miss each other.” She nodded to herself and then patted Jayn’s arm. “I shall contrive an excuse for her to join him. She can cross the Apse Veil to Billerbeck and spend a few days with her husband. Do you think that will ease her spirits, Jayn?”
Jayn nodded eagerly.
“Why did she not tell me?” Maia said, feeling a little exasperated.
Jayn gave her a serious look. “How could she?” she replied earnestly. “You have been separated from your husband for even longer. Yours is across the sea. She felt . . . how could she complain to you when you have suffered more? She was determined to bear it, truly. She will be upset to learn that I have told you.”
The reminder was like a knife in an old wound. She missed Collier desperately and treasured the messages he sent to her through Simon Fox, reading each one over and over. They were like a bridge that spanned the time and distance separating them. She wanted so much to be with him, to walk with him as they had done in Muirwood, holding hands and finding quiet amidst the apple trees or in the shelter of the walled garden. Her cheeks flushed with the memories. It had been over a month since he had left her to protect his own kingdom. It had been a month since Corriveaux had threatened her heart. She worried about Collier. If anything happened to him, she could not bear it.
It was the nervous tension on Jayn’s face that made her realize she had been silent too long—lost in thought. “You were right to tell me,” she said, patting her arm. “I will not reveal that you confided in me. But I am grateful you did. You are a loyal friend to her and to me. I treasure you both.”
Jayn gave her a dimpled smile in response. “I will always be grateful to you for saving me,” she said. They both knew what she meant.
They made a turn, and Maia spied Simon’s shop. Maia glanced back a moment later and saw their escort round the corner. He was one of Simon’s men—Piers. She gave him a smile and a wink, acknowledging that she knew he had been shadowing them. While Maia did enjoy the freedom to roam the city in disguise, Simon’s spies were always nearby, both to deliver messages and to ensure she was safe. Piers scowled at her for breaking protocol by greeting him, and she and Jayn entered the wine merchant’s shop.
As they stepped through the door, it occurred to Maia that this is where she had come that long-ago day after the kishion saved her life. So much had changed since then. There had been no reports of the kishion since Schuyler’s rebellion had been squelched—perhaps because there was no current threat to her life. Her enemies were under guard at Pent Tower awaiting trials, which Maia was in no rush to pursue. With their capture, all resistance to her authority had crumpled. Comoros was truly hers.
Maia patted Jayn’s arm one last time. “Tell Suzenne to expect me shortly. I will need to speak to Richard about the progress with the river defenses.”
“I will,” Jayn replied. She gave her hand a grateful squeeze and then turned around and left, followed by Piers, who would escort her back to the castle.
The merchant’s shop was always bustling, but one of Simon’s men recognized her and nodded for her to follow him back to Simon’s office. He was a complex man who constantly walked a tightrope. Besides being a spy, both for her husband and as a double agent for the Victus, he was also an unofficial member of her Privy Council. He would often come to the castle after dark and meet with her and Suzenne, discuss the affairs of the day, and pass along any news he deemed worthy of her attention. She trusted him implicitly.
The servant shut the door, leaving the two of them alone.
“Good morning, Simon,” she greeted. Excitement shot down her spine when she noticed the folded piece of paper in his hand. “Is that for me?”
He nodded and handed it to her, his look guarded.
Maia felt a twinge of disappointment. “He rejected the idea,” she said with a sigh. In her last message to Collier, she had offered to cross the Apse Veil to Lisyeux Abbey to see him, in the hopes he could spare time from his war with Paeiz to meet her there.