Page 32 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

‘Why?’ she said again, firmer this time, her arms tightening around his stomach.

‘It’s because...’ He shifted in the saddle. A pool of dread settled in her stomach. ‘Do you know about the dowry?’

‘Dowry? What dowry?’ She pulled away from him slightly. ‘Do you mean mine? Because I can assure you I don’t have one. Everything was taken from my family when my father was executed for treason. And I mean everything. We were left with the clothes we were wearing and nothing more. I have nothing. I suppose my brother might be able to provide something now he has married, but it won’t be big.’

Erik cleared his throat.

Linota dropped her arms. She found she didn’t want to be holding him when he was so obviously hiding something big from her.

‘Erik, tell me. Or I will...’

‘You will what, exactly? Run off into the woods because that went well for you last time? I should also warn you that I can outrun you quite easily with or without Cai.’

‘I shan’t trust you any more,’ she said quietly.

He was silent for a moment. ‘You don’t fight fairly, Linota Leofric. How can I deny you now?’

Although she no longer held him their bodies rubbed together as Cai moved through the woodland. She wanted to rest her head against the middle of his solid back. She was sure she didn’t want to hear what he was about to say and her head throbbed with a sudden exhaustion.

‘Ogmore has settled dowries on you and your sister. They are quite substantial.’

Her heart pounded. ‘How substantial?’

The sum he mentioned was so vast she had to ask him to repeat himself.

‘Why?’ The amount made no sense to her. Ogmore had shown no interest in Katherine or her in the eight years they’d been sequestered in his fortress, never intervening to put a stop to the semi-incarceration. The sum he was suggesting was akin to a dowry he would provide a daughter.

Erik cleared his throat. ‘Now that your brother has married his only daughter I understand that Ogmore views you and Katherine as family.’

The world appeared to spin as Linota absorbed this. Katherine and she had been alone for so long and now it appeared they had a wealthy protector. For the life of her she couldn’t decide if this was a good or a bad thing.

‘Is there anything else?’ she asked, pleased at how calm she sounded despite the roiling inside her stomach.

‘Ogmore has promised Borwyn a strong alliance as part of the union.’

Linota inhaled sharply. ‘So it’s not my imagination. You are trying to sell Borwyn to me.’

She pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart was still beating even though it felt to her as if it had cracked in two. She was as naive and as foolish as she had originally thought. While she’d imagined Erik and she had been developing a bond, he had been trying to sweet-talk her into marrying his half-brother. Of all the ridiculous things!

While she’d been slowly falling for him, he had been plotting for her to become his sister-in-law. She was so...hurt, angry and... She couldn’t even frame the emotions churning around her at the moment. She needed to get away from Erik. Preferably far away.

‘Is there anything else?’ she asked.

Erik flinched. ‘No,’ he said flatly. ‘That’s it.’

Tears pricked her eyes as she realised she didn’t believe him. There was something else he was keeping from her, she was sure of it. A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

‘Please may we stop for a moment?’ she asked politely.

‘We really need to keep going. I want—’

‘Erik, I have to stop,’ she snapped. ‘I cannot keep going with this new information swirling around my head. Let me down, please.’

‘Lin... Linota, I—’

‘No, you don’t get to talk to me at the moment. Anything you have to say, absolutely anything, will only make me feel worse. Stop Cai so that I can get off, please, or else I will jump down and you will have to explain my broken neck to my sister. Believe me, there is nothing as frightening as my sister in a protective rage—not even a fully trained knight would go against her.’

‘All right,’ said Erik, slowing Cai down with a gentle tug on the reins. ‘You can get down, but only for a short while. We need to reach Borwyn by nightfall.’

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