Page 10 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
“They wish for us to marry, you know,” she said, proving that she wasn’t really a child.
“You noticed them too, then?” he asked wryly.
She nodded. “The topic has been brought up more than once in council meetings of late.”
“You attend the council meetings?”
“Why wouldn’t I? As princess, it’s my duty to know what is happening in my kingdom.” She hesitated. “And Thomas appreciates having someone to talk to about the meetings after.”
Arick nodded. Even though Thomas was quite smart, there were times when he did struggle to grasp concepts. Although from what Arick had seen, the thing Thomas struggled the most to understand was why the council didn’t do more to help the people, a testament to his pure heart.
“You don’t seem bothered by the idea of marrying me,” Arick said. Etiquette would say he had no right to mention it without being ready to ask for her hand, but she had broached the topic first.
She shrugged a tiny shoulder. “There are worse men they could want to marry me off to for an alliance. At least you’re nice and not twice my age.”
Arick tamped down his own protests about their close relationship. As a man, and not a royal, he had the choice of whom he would marry. Women had far less freedom, and princesses were expected to wed in a fashion that would be advantageous to the kingdom.
“But our marriage is designed to legitimize my claim to the throne. Would you want to see Thomas stripped of his role?”
She gave him a sharp look. “My brother is perfectly capable of being king, so long as he has advisers he can trust and lean on. I intend to be one of those advisers. Marrying you won’t change that. And I hope it would give Thomas another trusted person on his council.”
The music came to an end before Arick needed to reply. He left her with a bow.
Being an unattached man below a certain age, he was expected to dance as much as he could, so he spent the next hour on the dance floor. New partners were introduced to him as soon as he returned one to her chaperones. At this point, he’d forgotten nearly all their names, but Ailsa’s keen eyes watched him throughout the evening, and he knew she could recount each of the young ladies he’d been paired with.
Her words continued to nag him. Married to the princess or not, did he owe it to Thomas to set aside his dream of being a captain to serve at his side?
As another song came to an end, he paused his dancing and left the floor in search of a drink. He should have asked the lady he’d been dancing with if she wanted something, but he wasn’t in the mood for her constant chatter about sheep.
MacIsaac appeared at his elbow. “You haven’t danced with the princess in quite some time,” the councilman pointed out.
Arick jerked at his voice.
“If you are to be betrothed, it's good for the people to see you together.”
Clenching his fist at his side, Arick kept walking. “‘If’ is the key word here. And any relationship between the princess and myself shall be kept private.”
The corner of MacIsaac’s mustache lifted in a shrewd smile. “So you do have a relationship?”
Arick’s face flushed.Confound the man. “That is not what I said, and you know it.”
“Well, hopefully, you’ll be able to make yourprivaterelationship more public before the week is out.” He smirked.
For a moment, Arick wondered whether it would be entirely inappropriate to punch the councilman. Fights weren’t uncommon in the island courts, the people being much more fiery and passionate than those in the lower countries. But it would ruin Thomas’s party, and a fight over her would do nothing for Ailsa’s reputation. He clenched his fist and sought a polite way to escape.
Someone jostled him from behind, and he turned to see one of the smartly dressed sailors hurrying to the foremast. His eyes traveled up the mast to the sky. The stars were winking out one by one as clouds swirled overhead.
A storm was coming.
Thesongshe’dheardthe humans sing continued to play in her ears over the next few days, and Sorcha often found herself humming the melody as she went about her duties. Was it the odd instrument that drew her or the man’s voice?
Another storm raged overhead. One ship had already crashed onto the rocks, and several Watchers had been injured trying to free the sailors. Chaos reigned in the infirmary. Sorcha leaned over a merman with a chunk of wood sticking out of his tail. She held him down as her aunt Maeve worked to free it.
Maeve waved a hand in front of her face, drawing Sorcha’s attention. Chagrined, Sorcha realized it wasn’t the first time Maeve had tried to talk to her. With the seashells tied over her ears, it was hard to hear.
Maeve held her hand near her throat, fingers pinched together, then twisted her wrist back and spread her long, bony fingers at the same time.Sing, she mouthed, just in case Sorcha had missed the hand sign.
With a nod, Sorcha cleared her throat and searched for the words of a song. Lyrics from the lullaby came to mind, but as she tried to sing it, her voice kept searching for the tune from the human song. She faltered and tried again, concentrating on the familiarity of the lullaby, letting her magic flow into the music.
