I didn’t know what to say to that. Had Myra known that the bond between us could cause something like that? Neither one of us had any idea of what to expect, and I felt like a new foal learning to walk. We were simply stumbling along together, hoping to stay upright.
“I know. But it’s only two more days, Torben. We must keep our secret. I will not have to be around him until tomorrow evening. I can make plenty of excuses. It will certainly be understandable that I’ll be terribly busy preparing for the banquet. You cannot attack him. That would ruin everything. Please.”
He stepped closer to me, close enough that I could feel his breath on my face. I knew we were playing with fire. Even with Brant guarding the door, it would not look good if someone caught us alone like we were.
“I won’t attack him. But if he hurts you again, I cannot guarantee that some ill fate doesn’t befall him in the middle of the night,” he warned.
I suppose I had to give him that much. If it were the other way around, I would not like to see Torben hurt either. I understood his frustration and anger. I do not know what I would do if someone caused him pain. “Fair enough.”
We stared at one another for a few seconds longer before he sighed and stepped back. “If I touch you now, we might not leave this room for two days. Your mother and sisters are no doubt waiting for you.” He grinned roguishly as he grasped the handle of the door. “I must insist we be on our way now. Otherwise you will arrive a bit disheveled. I can’t have anyone thinking you’ve been ravished by a madman in the halls of your own castle. What kind of guard would I be?”
My mouth dropped open. I might have had a response ready had I not been so distracted by his handsome face and smirking lips. Instead I simply followed him, attempting to will away the blush that was covering my face. The man was going to drive me crazy for the rest of our lives, and yet I could not wait for forever to begin.
Three hours later, I had been poked and prodded to the point that I was ready to stab someone with the sharpest object near me. Cathal’s “dress,” if that is what you could call it, was so ridiculously revealing that my mother was unwilling to allow me to wear it. So she, along with my sisters and Lidia, had spent that last several hours adding material to it to make it appropriate.
The funniest moment of the entire time had been when I’d first arrived with my guards in tow. We’d walked into the living area of my parents’ chambers to find Dayna strutting about in the dress. Upon seeing us enter, she’d stopped midway through ridiculously throwing her head back and flailing her arms and said in a snobby aristocratic tone. “Sister dear, I do believe your future husband wants to whore you out like a common woman in a brothel.”
I was pretty sure my mother was going to choke to death. Lidia had to beat her on the back to help her collect herself. Lizzy, whose presence had surprised me, had covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Brant had cussed a blue streak under his breath and Torben had muttered four words: “Over my dead body.”
I could not believe the King of Tara had the gall to expect his bride to wear such a spectacle. And I wasn’t too proud to admit that I couldn’t wait to see Cathal’s reaction when he saw our alterations. He would not be able to scold me in front of those people. He would be fuming inside.
After the dress was finished, we each took places on the couches in the sitting area and relaxed. It felt good to just sit.
“It feels like forever since we’ve all been together,” our mother said, looking at each of us.
“There has been much going on,” I pointed out.
“I know what Allete has been up to,” Dayna said. “But Lizzy, you’ve been absent much lately. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. Where have you been sneaking off to?”
Lizzy blushed. “I’ve been out with friends.”
“Friends?” Dayna asked. “Are these female friends?”
“Dayna,” Mother gasped. “Really. Don’t be crass.”
Lizzy glanced at our youngest sister and then looked at our mother. No one said anything for a few moments. Dayna eyed Lizzy with a scrutinizing stare. She seemed to be on the verge of pressing the issue when Lizzy appeared to come to a decision. “I have been seeing someone, Mother,” she said and then quickly continued. “He’s a member of Cathal’s court. He’s a good man.”
The eyes of everyone in the room widened, and a couple of mouths dropped open. My mother said nothing for several seconds. “Then why has he not addressed your father and me to request permission to court you?” she finally asked through tight lips.
“Because it isn’t that simple,” she explained. “Cathal would have to approve the courting as well, and that would never happen.”
“What?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Because Cathal’s third queen was the woman this man courted when he was younger. Cathal took her, and then after a year of marriage she died suddenly.”
“What is your beau’s name?” Mother asked.
Lizzy shook her head. “I am sorry, Mother, but I promised I wouldn’t say. Cathal isn’t aware that he is here.”
“Why did he come?” Dayna asked.
“I can’t say that, either.”
The three of us stared at her, shocked that she was willing to keep secrets from us, her family.
“Are you in danger? Is someone threatening you? Is he threatening you?” Our mother spoke up.
“No, it’s not like that at all. We have been careful. No one knows him, and we go to the small tavern on the edge of the village to meet. I’m never alone with him,” she quickly added.
I didn’t like what she was telling us, but Lizzy was eighteen. She was of marrying age and had the right to choose who she wanted to marry, provided his class was suitable.
“So, is he planning on staying here after Cathal leaves?” Dayna asked.
Lizzy’s hands were trembling in her lap, something I’d never seen in our calm middle sister. “I do not think he will be going back,” she answered.
“If he stays, he must speak to your father.”
Lizzy nodded. “I’m sure Father will be speaking with him soon.”
I tilted my head as I looked at her. She seemed sad. Why would she be sad if the man she had been sneaking around with was staying in our kingdom?
“Wouldn’t that make you happy?” I asked. “For him to stay?”
Lizzy finally looked up and met my gaze. There were unshed tears in her eyes, but they were pleading me not to ask why they were there. “I’m asking you to trust me, as your sister.” She turned to Dayna. “And yours.” Then she turned to our mother. “And as your daughter. Trust me that he is no danger to me or my father.”
The stunned silence in the room wasn’t surprising. Lizzy didn’t do emotions. She was calm and collected, and yet every time I’d seen her since she had started seeing the mystery man, she’d been anything but calm. How was I supposed to trust her when she seemed so broken over a man we did not know?