“Good morning, my lady,” he said. “Can I help you? You look like you’ve lost something.”
“Begging your pardon, sir,” she said, “but I was hoping to speak to the wagon driver. I met him last night, and I think he misunderstood something I said, so I wanted to apologize.”
The lieutenant glanced over his shoulder. “I heard about that.”
Had it been that bad? Were all the soldiers now upset with her? The lieutenant didn’t look angry. In fact, he was smiling.
This was a good opportunity to start learning about the officers for Darnessa, but she wasn’t likely to get anywhere with any of the soldiers until she made things right with Ash Carter. Maybe she could do both.
The soldier offered his arm. “Let me intercede for you, my lady. I can see you won’t be easy until this is smoothed over. I’m Lieutenant Casseck, by the way.”
“Thank you.” She took his elbow and let him lead her. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir. I’m Sagerra Broadmoor.”
“You have to understand, my lady,” the lieutenant said as they walked. “Carter’s a little sensitive because he can’t read.”
She looked up in amazement. “Can’t read?”
Casseck shrugged. “It’s fairly common among soldiers. They learn mostly by reciting. If you don’t learn to read before joining, you never will.”
“That’s a shame,” she murmured.
They reached the wagon just as Carter hopped down from the seat. He saluted the lieutenant, his dark eyes drawn briefly to their linked arms.
“My wagon is almost ready, sir.” He bowed awkwardly to her and looked up from under straight black brows. “Good morning, my lady. It’s a … pleasure … to see you again.”
“Lady Sagerra was just telling me about last night,” said Casseck before she could speak. “I believe she’s worried you parted on poor terms.”
“Yes,” Sage rushed to explain. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Please forgive me, Master Carter.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, my lady.” He hesitated, his words sounding as forced as her own. “I apologize for causing you concern.”
And there it was again: his diction and speech were positively formal. They didn’t match his education, but Casseck had said he learned by listening. He was obviously smart.
Carter bowed to her again and began to walk around the wagon. Sage remembered the way he’d looked at that stack of books, realizing how humiliated he must have felt when she rubbed his face in the fact that he knew nothing about them. She knew what Father would have done.
“I can teach you to read,” she blurted out.
Carter turned back, his mouth dropping open, and the lieutenant pulled away to look down on her. “That’s very generous of you, my lady,” Casseck said.
It wasn’t very proper, either, for a lady. Darnessa wouldn’t be happy, but Sage could also use time spent with Carter to learn about the officers. “It’s no trouble at all,” she insisted. “I have little else to do on the journey. And—and perhaps it would help Master Carter’s career prospects. Do you think your captain would approve?”
Casseck looked more amused than anything else. He covered his mouth with his hand as he looked at Carter. “I think Captain Quinn would thoroughly approve.”
“Would he?” said Carter. His face was unreadable.
“I think I can speak for him,” replied Casseck. A tension stretched out between the two. Carter must feel embarrassed that the lieutenant had told her.
“We can start right away,” said Sage. “I have a slate in my trunk. I can ride on the seat as you drive and show you letters.” She curtsied to Lieutenant Casseck and hurried away before either he or Carter could object. This would be much more fun than cramming in the wagon with a bunch of vipers. It felt like a challenge, too, to see if she could get him reading simple sentences by the time they arrived in Tennegol.
Sage found her trunk still waiting to be loaded on the cart and unlocked it. As she dug around for her slate, Darnessa appeared at her elbow. “What are you doing?”
The matchmaker must have been watching. “Apparently that soldier I told you about, Ash Carter, can’t read, so I offered to teach him.” Sage pulled the slate out, speaking rapidly. “If I ride up front with him, it’ll leave more room for you ladies in the back. I can also get some information on the officers.”
She paused to wait for Darnessa’s objection, but her employer was staring at the two soldiers. Casseck was still talking to Carter, who wore a thoughtful expression. After a few seconds the matchmaker turned back to her.
“Make sure you wear a hat,” was all she said.
17
MOUSE MENTALLY REVIEWED each name as he watched Casseck and Gramwell assist the ladies into the back of the wagons. Lady Broadmoor had vanished, but any minute she’d be needing his help to get up to the driver’s bench, so he waited. Her apology had taken him by surprise, but he’d still thought once Casseck told her he couldn’t read, she’d decide once and for all he wasn’t worth her time. Instead she’d offered to teach him.
The riders mounted up and there were fewer people on the ground, yet he didn’t see her. Had she changed her mind?
“Master Carter?” came her low voice, and he spun around, looking for her. It took him a few seconds to realize she was above him, sitting placidly on the bench. A straw hat was tied to her chin by a green ribbon.
He grabbed the reins from the hook and scrambled up. “How did you get up here?”
She tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “I climbed up.”
Gray. Her eyes were gray. And he’d forgotten to say “my lady.”
“Sorry about this hat,” she said, touching the wide brim and leaning away so he could settle on the bench without bumping into it. “Mistress Rodelle insisted.”
There were honey-colored freckles he’d not noticed last night scattered across her nose and cheeks. This close, he could also smell the lavender and sage scents in her dress, which he much preferred to the floral perfumes the other women were drenched in. He cleared his throat. “I won’t be able to give your lesson proper attention until we’re steady on the road for a few minutes, my lady.”
She nodded. “I expected as much. We’ll just do what we can.” She tapped her fingers against the slate on her lap, then folded her hands over it awkwardly.
The seat was wide enough for both of them, but not cushioned, and he wondered how long it would be before the discomfort got the better of her. Hopefully more than a few hours. He found her slightly intriguing. Still annoying, though. Starling was the perfect name for her.