Page 104 of Traitor Son

Unconsciously, her hands moved to cover Eugene’s long ears, as if the donkey might be troubled by the tenor of the conversation. The duke looked down at her, his opaque black eyes so dark, it was as if they could devour the world.

“You gave me your word,” he said ominously. “Jacot, you may go. Thank the lady for her time.”

“I do,” the boy said fervently, giving her a bow. “Very grateful, Your Graces. I’ll remember the nine times table. And I’ll be good to Master Eugene.”

He was grateful, but he was still a boy, and departed at speed. Ophele’s fingers twisted anxiously before her.

“Come. We’re going home.” The duke’s jaw was tight with displeasure as he nudged the horse nearer. Ophele was frozen. She didn’t think he would come to hate her again over something that had seemed so trivial, but his voice had those stiff, frosty tones she remembered all too well, and all the friendliness was gone from his face. It felt like a weight of ice had settled solidly in her middle.

“I’m sorry.” She had to force the words out, her tongue feeling clumsy, a moment from rooting itself to the roof of her mouth. “I didn’t mean anything, I wasn’t thinking…”

“You’re speaking too quietly.” The duke held out a hand, his brows knotting together. “Come here. I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

“I said, I’m sorry.” She made herself take his hand and let him lift her into the saddle. “I didn’t mean to go so far.”

“I don’t like it when people break their promises.” That handsome, arrogant face could look so forbidding. She didn’t know what to say. It had seemed like a small thing to tell Jacot,no, we’ll go on,meaning no harm and thinking they would only go a short distance further. She hadn’t considered it in the light of a promise broken, and certainly not something that could fracture the fragile peace between the duke and herself. The bare thought made her struggle against rising panic.

But wasn’t breaking a promise the same as telling a lie? He already couldn’t trust her; she shouldn’t dare to stir a step without making her intentions clear. What should she do? The silence prickled between them and she could feel the scant, stiff inch between her back and his chest like wind howling through a chasm. They rode in silence down the length of the wall, and turned onto the east road.

“Why did you do it?” he asked abruptly.

“Jacot doesn’t know how to do averages.” She answered quickly and had to remind herself to speak up. “That was how I kept track of how much water everyone was using. The buckets and barrels. He was just giving everyone the same amount. But I had to teach him multiplication and division first, and I wasn’t done when we got to the north end, and I didn’t realize how far we’d gone until you came. I’m sorry.”

He waited, eying her to be sure she was finished.

“I understand. But you promised me. It might seem like a small thing, but this is a dangerous place.” He nudged her to make her look up at him. “Wife. I want to be able to trust you.”

“You do?” Ophele was nearly holding her breath. She had not expected it to go this way, at all.

“I do.” He shifted in the saddle, and she realized that he was uncomfortable, and the shocking thought struck her that maybe this was as difficult for him as it was for her. “Promises are important to me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, laying a hand on his arm. “I didn’t think of it that way. I won’t do it again.”

“Then that’s the end of it.”

And that really was it. His arm tightened around her and Ophele settled back into the comfortable crook of his shoulder and chest, feeling so light she could have laughed, or burst into song. Was it really so simple as that? Could it really be this way between them?

“He said he can’t read,” she told him impulsively. “Jacot. The other boys are making fun of him.”

“There will be time for such things when the wall is done,” the duke replied. “He will have to learn to cope with insults on his own, wife. Believe me, he will not thank you for intervening.”

“But it would help him on the wall if he knew more arithmetic, at least. Perhaps I could teach him again tomorrow, in the morning?”

“Will you keep your word to go no further than the north end?” There was a pleasant rumbling in his voice, even though his face was stern.

“I will.”

“Then yes.”

It was so nice. She didn’t want the ride to end. She wanted to see anything, everything, and it was so comfortable to ride with him this way. And surely he was as tired of the cottage as she was.

“Is there somewhere else you have to go?” she asked, thinking of the many projects underway throughout the valley. “To see Master Didion or Master Ffloce? The planting? Or the palisade? Or that new building by the river?”

He still wouldn’t tell her what that was going to be.

“The planting is done,” he said, slanting a look at her that said he wasn’t fooled. “But they’re laying the foundation of the manor house today.”

“It’s still early,” she said, glancing east, where the sun was now a handspan above the horizon. It would be a hot day, but not yet. “I don’t mind, if you want to go look…”

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