Page 23 of Hollow Court
She met my eyes, something clouding her expression I couldn’t quite read.
“And at worst…” She paused, her hand closing around the flask once more. Her slim fingers entwined with mine for a single heartbeat before she pulled the drink back toward herself, never breaking eye contact. “At worst, dangerous.”
My heart pounded harder in my chest with every second she held my gaze. I wondered what she would think if she knew the truth about me, wondered it often enough that I could almost forget about the danger to Rowan and myself, and hell, even what position Galina’s uncle might put her in if he knew how important I was to Lochlann.
Dangerous.
I couldn’t find it in me to argue that point at all.
NINE
Galina
Present Day
The next dayon the road was nearly as tense as the first had been.
Not only was I still plagued with anxiety about whether I would safely reach Lochlann, but a night’s rest had allowed me to consider everything I had no real capacity to think about the day before.
Thousands of questions ran through my mind about our plan, my future in Lochlann, my prospects for marriage, and everything Davin had hinted he was going home to.
The cousins weren’t quite as chatty today, either, though Gallagher did make an effort to engage me in a couple of conversations about Socairan medicine.
All in all, it was a relief when we reached the inn, knowing I could finally get some answers out of Davin. This time, it was Gwyn and Gallagher who stayed behind, either to help the soldiers, or to talk to them.
The greetings Davin received as we walked through the doors of the inn were familiar, and almost downright warm. He couldn’t possibly have been here more than twice, but leave it to Davin to win over the enemy in that amount of time.
Of course, some were warmer than others. The dark-haired young maid who showed us to our rooms was particularly happy to see him, her honey-colored eyes not so subtly raking up and down his body.
“Thank you, Marjatta,” he told her in obnoxiously flawless Socairan.
Color me utterly unsurprised that he knew her name.
“Of course, Laird Davin,” she simpered. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”
I’m sure he will.
He dismissed her politely, again in perfectly accented Socairan. While most of the nobles in Socair learned the common tongue growing up, the Lochlannians—according to Rowan—knew less than nothing about Socair, let alone the language.
Davin must have picked up more than he let on when he was stuck here, probably using pillow talk to practice. My fists clenched before I could stop them.
WhenMarjattafinally left, Davin turned to me with something like amusement dancing in his gaze.
“I didn’t,” he said, answering a question I hadn’t asked.
I hurriedly cleared my features, which must have been giving away more of my thoughts than I intended.
“It’s hardly my business,” I said airily.
He arched a sardonic eyebrow, and I staunchly ignored him, though I did wonder at the truth of my response.
Socairan men had their faults, but adultery was a taboo. Not that it didn’t happen, just as Alexei’s manhandling did, but there were few quicker ways to bring dishonor upon your name than disrespecting your spouse.
Unless, of course, you disobey your duke, as I have done.
Somehow, I doubted things were the same in Lochlann, on either count. Everything had happened so fast that I hadn’t had the time to give much thought to what Davin would be doing during our arrangement, but it was probably a mistake to assume he would bother being chaste.
As long as it didn’t come back on my prospects, I supposed I had been right the first time.