Page 61 of Beneath the Haunting Sea
He paced up to the house and the other three followed, Caiden dropping back to walk beside Talia. “Aren’t you glad I’m here?” he said in an overly loud whisper. “How bored would you be if I hadn’t come?”
Wen’s shoulders tightened, and Talia’s gut clenched. “Stop making jokes at his expense,” she told Caiden in anundertone.
He gave her a confused look, but didn’t say anything more.
For all its modesty—and it was quite modest, even for a second son—the cottage looked cozy and inviting. It had a bright blue door with a brass knocker, and a white cat was curled up on one of the windowsills inside. Talia found herself wanting to take a nap.
The door opened without them knocking, and an old woman in a servingcap ushered them inside. “Master Wendarien, so nice to see you!” she said, pulling him into a hug and kissing his cheek. Her voice was shaky and soft. “Lord Caiden, Lady Blaive, what a pleasant surprise! It’s been too long since you came to visit.”
Caiden ducked his head and looked embarrassed, while Blaive apologized for not coming sooner.
The servingwoman turned to Talia with a warm smile. “Thismust be the young lady.”
And then there was Wen at her elbow, lending her strength, his fingers lightly touching her sleeve. “Anira, may I present Miss Talia Dahl-Saida, of Enduena.”
“The future mistress of this house! Oh, you are very welcome, my dear.” And she pulled Talia into an embrace as well, crushing her against her bony shoulder. She smelled like cinnamon. “I won’t delay you,” Anirawent on, releasing Talia, “I know you must be eager to see the Ruen-Shained.”
Talia managed a smile.
“This way.” Wen took her arm, steering her past the overexuberant servingwoman. Talia was intently aware of his proximity—the hard muscle of his forearm beneath her hand, his tight way of walking, like he was doing his best to keep himself from falling to pieces and raging at the world. For allthat, his presence steadied her.
But she was conscious of Caiden, too, walking just behind. Blaive trailed in the rear.
They passed from the low entranceway, which was carpeted with elaborate rugs much faded from their original glory, and up a creaky stair. Wen let go of her arm and she shrunk a little without his steady warmth. But she wasn’t brave enough to reach for him again.
The housewas small, the tour brief. Wen spooled out a short history of how it was the last of a number of modest holdings his family had once awarded to faithful lords, back when they were royalty. The other holdings had been surrendered to Enduena, when Ryn was absorbed into the Empire.
Talia peeked into four upstairs bedrooms, a downstairs sitting room, and a tiny parlor.
“Where will your music roombe?” she asked Wen as the four of them trooped through the back of the house and out toward the garden.
“What do you mean?”
“The music room. Where will you put your raina and the other instruments?”
He studied her. “I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Perhaps the sitting room? There’s just enough space, I would think.”
“Even more space at the University,” said Caiden, his voice dripping sarcasm.She wished he would leave Wen alone.
“Lovely idea,” put in Blaive, not to be outdone. “We can hire a cart from the village and start moving everything over today!”
They ate lunch in the garden, a pleasant terrace at the back of the house that looked out toward the distant sea. Anira had laid out a little picnic for them: cold chicken, cider, fresh apples, and coffee. Talia laced her fingersaround her coffee mug and drank deeply, shuddering in the wind.
The majority of the meal passed in an uneasy silence. Wen didn’t say anything at all, while Caiden made various attempts at humor and Blaive tried to flirt with him. Caiden’s attitude toward Wen was making Talia increasingly uncomfortable. She caught Wen’s eyes across the way and smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back, just studiedher. Would he be content, she wondered, spinning out his life in this little house, watching sheep and composing music no one else would ever hear?
No one except for her, if she stayed with him.
The thought startled her—when had she considered, even for a moment, that she would actually marry him?
She dropped her gaze from Wen’s and took a drink of cider.
The wind bit colder and colder asthe afternoon went on, and dark clouds began to roll in from the south. Talia was relieved when Anira appeared and said apologetically that they should head back if they wanted to outrun the weather.
The rain caught up with them halfway to the Ruen-Dahr, and the four of them arrived drenched and shuddering just before dinner, a lantern gleaming bright at the door.
Chapter Twenty-Five
