Page 70 of The Tempest
Fighting off a grin, Astria licked her lips. “A little.”
Maude broke down into soft laughter. “The taste will go away soon,” she said. “I’m going tae tell ye something, lass. I knew ye were the right woman for Payne. No ordinary woman will do for him. He’s very special, as ye’ve seen. Ye canna know how glad I am that the marriage seems tae be pleasant for ye both.”
Astria lowered her gaze, fighting off a blush. “You raised an understanding man,” she said. “He has a generous heart and that is very rare.”
Maude’s smile faded. “Dunna ever hurt it,” she said softly. “Payne is a good lad. He’ll make a fine earl. But dunna ever hurt him. If ye do, ye’ll have tae answer tae me, and I’ll not be so patient with ye the second time around. Are we clear?”
Astria knew the threat was genuine, but she also knew it was coming from a mother speaking about her son. “We are,” she said. “And I’m going to say the same thing to you.”
“What?”
“Do not ever hurt him or shame him. If you do, you’ll have to answer to me.”
Maude stared at her for a moment before breaking into a smile. “I think we’re going tae get along splendidly, lass,” she said. “Ye have the same fearsomeness that I do. I recognize it and I respect it.”
“You’d better.”
Maude started laughing. Truly laughing. It wasn’t that she didn’t take Astria seriously, because she did. Very seriously. She was laughing because it was a threat she very much understood and agreed with.
“Then we have a truce, lass?”
Astria nodded. “We do.”
“Good,” Maude said, reaching over to grasp the pitcher of warmed wine. “Eat with me. I want tae hear more about The Sea God and where it all went wrong between the two of ye.”
Astria held up her cup, and Maude poured some of the warm drink into it. “It went wrong from the start,” she said. “He resented his father’s marrying me and then he tried to seduce me at the wedding.”
Maude set the pitcher down, frowning. “The bastard!”
“It’s true,” Astria said, taking a bowl from Maude and spooning out some of the boiled beef that was in a pot on the table. “And I fear that he is looking for us both. You because you took his ships and me because I took his ships first. The Titans of the Deep have a fleet of thirteen ships, Maude. That is nothing to be trifled with, so you must take care.”
Maude broke off a piece of bread. “The man has had five months tae find us,” she said. “If he hasna found us by now, then he’s a fool. And fools are not tae be feared.”
Astria spooned some of the beef into her mouth. “He’s not a fool, but he does get distracted easily,” she said. “Hopefully he’sfound something else to focus his attention on and he’ll forget bout those ships. Where are they, by the way?”
Maude had a mouth full. “That way,” she said, pointing east. “They’re moored in a river about two days from here.”
“That was smart.”
The conversation continued from there, veering back onto the subject of Payne. Maude was telling a story about a pet goose he used to have, one that constantly pinched him, when the entry door to the tavern opened up. Astria was listening to the story about the grumpy goose, not paying attention to who had just come into the tavern, but she should have.
God help her, she should have.
Maude saw it before she did because of her line of sight, straight to the front door. She stopped talking and her features tightened, which caused Astria to look over at the door, purely out of curiosity. But what she saw made her blood run cold.
Declan was standing there.
And so was Arnaldo.
The dangerous sons had arrived.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“What are youlooking at?”
The question came from Elisiana as she stood inside the merchant’s stall, looking at some durable fabric that she was considering using for a garment for her baby. But Athdara was standing in the doorway, looking over at the Black Cock.
“Athdara?” Elisiana said again. “What is it?”
