Page 35 of Ironling
Aoife fretted over where all the visiting family would sleep—she and Sofie came from an extensive extended clan.
“And of course you and your party,” Aoife said to Aislinn. “We’ll put your father in our room, but for you I was—”
“Please don’t worry over us,” Aislinn insisted. “We’ll bring father’s camp tent. It’s quite spacious and can fit our retinue comfortably.”
Aoife made a face. “I don’t know if I can let the liege and heiress of the land sleep in a tent in the courtyard.”
“Father has used it numerous times.”
Aoife continued to mutter unhappily until finally Sorcha said, “Let them, mama. It’s not like it’s a one-bedroll tent. It’s bigger than this room and the front solar combined. They’ll be fine.”
“I promise we will,” Aislinn agreed.
If not happy, then at least mollified, Aoife poured Aislinn another hearty cup of tea and slipped more biscuits onto her plate.
They chatted the afternoon away like that, Aislinn soaking in the warm perfection of a visit with friends. The feminine laughter and banter, the soft teasing and praise, all fedsomething inside her that withered and nearly perished with her mother.
As the afternoon waned, though, Aislinn knew she still needed to tell them the main reason for her coming. She had much more important news than which guild-masters were feuding and which knights were wooing which maids. Yet, she didn’t want the day to end, the Brádaigh kitchen so warm and welcoming. And…the news brought back a nauseating dread she’d carried ever since she discovered what Jerrod had done.
Still, when she finished the last of her braided stems, she made herself say, “There’s something I must tell you.”
Their gazes shuttered at her tone, preparing for something, and Aislinn detested being the one to do it.
Folding her hands on the kitchen table, she said to Sorcha’s shoulder, “We received word from the Ward not long ago. Jerrod has run away.”
A chorus of outraged gasps filled the kitchen.
“Where will he go?” asked Aoife.
“Has anyone had word of him?” asked Sofie.
Aislinn looked to Sorcha, her friend’s face cast in a dark frown. She knew the expression wasn’t directed at her, but she couldn’t help her guilt and shame. Her own blood had done such a horrible thing to Sorcha, to the family who welcomed her as their own. Their families had always been so close, and to betray those bonds so completely…
The tea and cake churned in Aislinn’s stomach.
“Father said he’ll look for him when he and Sir Ciaran head south after the wedding.”
The Brádaigh women all grumbled with displeasure. “Yes,” said Aoife, “we’ve been told the new plan.”
“Men who feel their business is unsettled can never rest,” Sofie said, shaking her head. “They don’t understand that their business can never truly be settled, only passed on.”
“I was thinking of asking Connor to track him down. I know he’s meant to go south with them, but if Niall is already going, I’d like to send at least someone to find out where Jerrod has gone.”
Sorcha perked up at the mention of her eldest brother. “Niall knows Jerrod better, but I’d trust Connor more to find him.”
Aislinn and Sorcha shared a nod. Niall, the second-eldest brother, and Jerrod had been friends once, before Niall got serious about his knightly training. Although Aislinn trusted Niall as a knight, she didn’t know if she could trust that he would serve her over Jerrod.
And besides, when there was a choice, she’d always choose the older, calmer, wiser Connor. He was a kind man, a carpenter and artisan at heart, which was why many were surprised when he followed his father into knighthood. It may not have been his truest calling, but Connor was noble, loyal, and effective.
“All this would be after the wedding, of course,” Aislinn hurried to add when she saw Aoife’s worried expression.
“You’ll have to tell that man of yours,” Sofie said to Sorcha. “I doubt he’ll take it well.”
“No, he’ll want to go after Jerrod at first light tomorrow.” A sneaky smile spread across her face. “Although, I have my ways of convincing him. I’ll tell him tonight.”
Her mother and aunt chuckled and rolled their eyes.
Aislinn smiled at the joke, but she couldn’t help the jealousy that nipped at her. She’d seen the way Sorcha was with Orek—and more importantly, how Orek treated her friend.
