Finnie"s lips twitched at his reply but then her face got serious. "She shouldn"t go."
Noc"s grin died.
This was what he thought not only from all Finnie just shared but from the minute Franka mentioned she was doing it.
What he didn"t think about was why it perturbed him so much she seemed to be totally okay with taking off after her brother left like she was leaving nothing behind.
The "leaving something behind" part and precisely what bothered him about that was the part he wasn"t thinking about.
"I"m gettin" that impression," he said.
"What I"d want to know is why she"d want to go," Finnie remarked.
"Because she"s lost the man she loves, her parents are dead to her and never were much to write home about anyway, she wants to put it all behind her and that"s a surefire way to do just that. She won"t run into anything familiar on an entirely different continent."
"Surefire, true. Dramatic, definitely. A little bit crazy, also definitely," Finnie returned. "And that"s being nice because in truth it"s a whole lot of crazy."
f.u.c.k.
"You can"t let her go, Noc," Finnie stated.
"Not sure once she"s fighting fit I"m gonna have a lot of say about that, Finnie."
Her mouth got soft as it tilted up, and looking at her normally, all that white-blonde hair, her fantastic figure, her pretty blue eyes, Noc got why Frey went all out to keep her at his side.
s.h.i.t, when she looked like that, he got why Frey would kill and die for her.
"Think she"s got a soft spot for you, honey," she said quietly. "Hard to miss the way you two were at the jail yesterday."
The way they were at the jail yesterday.
No, it was more the way Franka was at the jail yesterday. All of it.
f.u.c.k, he"d been so d.a.m.ned proud of her, it was scary how much emotion he felt for a woman he really barely knew.
But when she"d turned to him, vulnerable, and latched on to him like she needed his strength, looked to him to allay her fears, that caused even more emotion, he was so f.u.c.king happy he could be there for her. And more, that she had the strength to show her weakness, she showed it to him and she let him be there for her.
"She"s definitely finding it easier to let the mask slip on occasion," he replied. "But she"s stubborn and I get why she wants to go. Why she wants to put her past where it belongs and get somewhere nothing reminds her of it."
"I see why she wants that but it"s still not the right choice."
"There"s a world nothing like hers she can go to where no pirates will take her as booty," Noc pointed out.
Finnie"s eyes got bigger as she sat forward.
"Holy cow, there is," she whispered.
"Not sure I can talk Franka into coming with all of us when I go with you guys while you take Tor and Cora back home. Not sure I can even talk her into coming back with me. What I am sure of is that I can"t take her back unless Valentine does it for me."
"She"ll do it. She seems like a cold fish but she"s all heart."
That was what Noc was counting on.
"So, bringing us back, I gotta talk to Frey and get Valentine a message."
Finnie was out of her seat before he even finished talking.
"Let"s go find him," she said.
Nope.
That look on her face where she didn"t hide her excitement was probably what did it for Frey. That look you"d want to see every day. That look was another look you"d kill and die for.
Noc enjoyed taking in that look the only way he could as he pushed out of the couch.
Then they took off together to find Finnie"s husband.
Franka Late morning I sat with Josette in a small sitting room the queen"s secretary set aside for Josette and myself to do our final interviews of prospective maids.
It was a lovely room, the best part of it being it was one of the growing number that had already had its gla.s.s replaced, so it was bright, sunny and cheerful.
I"d read all the curriculum vitae and references of the candidates. There were several references written by people I knew or knew of (only one I knew to trust every word as the girl had been employed by Norfolk Ravenscroft, an honest, intelligent man and cousin to the queen). We"d spoken to all the candidates. I"d asked a few questions but Josette had asked many more, her follow-up questions.
And now I was being mostly silent.
She didn"t seem to notice, she was chattering up a storm in a way that was thinking out loud.
"The second one, Deona, I think she"s keen for the job just because she wants to catch the eye of a Firenz savage," she stated. "Man crazy could cause problems."
"Mm..." I murmured rather than saying it like it was.
She was absolutely right.
She continued babbling.
"The first one had a problem meeting your eyes. Not sure what that was about. Timidity is one thing but we spoke with her for over half an hour and not once did she get herself together to look you straight in the face. I think that would annoy you over time if she eventually didn"t snap out of it, and I"m worried she won"t."
"Mm..." I murmured again, because again she"d hit it on the nose.
"Not to mention, if she doesn"t have the courage to meet your eyes, how is she going to have the courage to board a galleon and venture across the Green Sea?"
"Good question," I said softly.
She either didn"t hear me or was deep into her bent for she chattered on.
"But the last, I like her. She even brought st.i.tching samples with her and she"s talented with a needle. Almost more than me," Josette went on.
This last was untrue, Josette"s talent with a needle, in my experience, was unsurpa.s.sed, but I said nothing.
"I think that was smart, doing that," Josette continued. "I should have thought to bring my own samples when I interviewed with you. She also has no ties here that would make her homesick and melancholy, which I think we would both find trying."
She was again very correct.
"And her eyes lit up at the idea of crossing the Green Sea," Josette prattled on. "It seemed genuine. Not many would have that reaction. Both one and two said they"d be fine with it, but I didn"t quite believe them. Candidate three, well, I get the sense she"s like Princess Sjofn...and you, of course. A female but with a hint of a raider"s spirit."
I spoke not and waited.
"I think three," Josette declared.
She"d chosen well. Pet.i.te and slender though number three was (a girl by the name of Irene), she carried herself well, had ready answers, stated she relished being busy and she was younger and less experienced than Josette so there wouldn"t be a future where I had one maid attempting to perform a coup to take the status of my other.
"What do you think?" Josette queried.
"Three," I stated.
"You liked her?" she asked uncertainly.
"I don"t know her. I liked her for the job. And you two seemed to converse well."
"I like her," Josette shared.
"Then it"s three."
"But you have to like her," she returned.
I drew in breath to calm my sudden impatience and held her eyes.
"Okay, it"s three," she said, reading my look, her lips quirking.
I dipped my chin in an affirmative. "Send your missive. We"ll need to prepare her for our adventure as well. She might as well start planning now."
Josette jumped from her chair and started to rush from the room, doing this talking.
"I"ll be back to go shopping."
I was certain she would.
"Until then," I said to her back.
The door closed.
I smiled.
That task complete, onward to the next.
Whatever that turned out to be.
One of the palace servants came to me to share that Kristian had arrived.
I didn"t pay any heed to what it might communicate that I abruptly rose from my seat and left Cora and Circe alone in the sitting room as I dashed out the door.
The hallways seemed interminable.
But finally I made the front hall and there he was, allowing his cloak to be taken by a footman while his wife"s cloak was taken by her own maid.
She saw me first.
Brikitta Drakkar.
A mouse of a woman with nondescript hair and features and a too-thin frame, my brother was far more attractive than she.
That said, except in her presence, I"d never seen Kristian smile as much.
Or laugh.
I saw the frozen look on her face I knew was her attempt to hide the fear she had of me.
It was safe to say I had been far from kind to her.
I had not at first because I didn"t wish her with my brother. Not because she looked a mouse of a woman. Because she behaved as one. I wanted him to have a strong mate by his side who could help him endure the threat he lived under and get beyond the suffering of his past. But also to bolster his tendency toward leading with his heart, not thinking with his head, something in our world, and especially in our House, that was considered a weakness and thus preyed upon.
Though it was more.
She made my brother smile and laugh. She had kind eyes. She spoke softly and didn"t hide her affection not only for my brother, but her family, with whom she was close. She was even demonstrative with her servants.
My parents could break Kristian.
If I had ever fallen and they"d turn to Kristian and his own, they would have destroyed her.
I"d wanted to scare her away. When I"d failed at that, I"d wanted her to develop a thick skin.
But now I"d done nothing but make her fear and likely detest me.
In the few days I was sure they"d remain at the palace, I could do nothing lasting about that, of this I was relatively certain.
But that did not mean I shouldn"t try.
Well thought, mon ange, Antoine said in my head, and I very nearly tripped over my own slippers, his voice was such a surprise as I hadn"t heard it in days.
I"d thought he was gone.
I"d even so far as hoped he was gone, a hope that caused me guilt as well as angst.
"Brikitta," I greeted, not quite warmly because I did not yet have the skills to pull that off.