“The house. Grandad and Da’s work. Things Nan and Mam made. I don’t know. The house.” Then Annice looked over at him. “And that needs money. And me. And I don’t know.”
“Can you get someone to keep an eye on it for a week or two? Longer if you like, you’re welcome to stay longer. You might figure more out when you’re not right in the middle of it.”
There was another silence, but much shorter this time. When she looked up again, he asked another question. “You said you have other family, your cousins? Could they keep an eye on it?”
“Aye.” Annice swallowed hard. “Can I get a beer? Can I get you a beer?” The two questions, one after the other, said so much about her. That she needed a bit, that she thought to ask him about it.
“Please. Both, I mean.” She stood, and Griffin watched her cross to the chest with the beer in it, the way she was deliberate about her movements. She brought it back, and held it out, and he opened it with a charm, then his own.
It wasn’t until she was sitting again, her hands curled around the bottle, that she spoke. “Why do you want to help me, in particular? I mean, there must be lots of people to help.”
Now was where it got delicate, and also, he would tell her the truth. “I— I keep watching you, and I’m trying to figure you out. You confuse me a lot, but not in a bad way. A way I want to understand.” Griffin twisted a little on the sofa, to better face her. “You make beautiful jewellery, you have clever fingers, you care about what you do, and I like all of that. I don’t understand why, sometimes, but I know I do.”
She looked at him, searchingly, then down at her lap. “I told you, I don’t want to marry. And I definitely don’t want that kind of trouble.”
“To be entirely fair, you can outrun me without breaking out of a walk.” His own voice cracked a little at the end, getting her to look at him again. “I’m glad to swear on my magic that I won’t do anything you don’t want, if that would make you feel safer trusting me. Or whatever else of that kind. I just...” Griffin swallowed, hard. “I want to understand you more. If you’ll let me.”
“And you want me to come to Trellech? Stay a bit. Besides the actual agreement.”
“I’m committed to Trellech. I know you love Whitby, but I want to show you what I love there. So many people just walk by it, and don’t notice, and I think you’d notice. You’d care about what you saw. And getting to show you that? That’d be great fun.”
Finally, slowly, she nodded. “I’ll come down and look at your courts and your rooms and your jet. And then we’ll see. I’ll ask Ruth to keep an eye on the house. What sort of things should I pack?”
“Something you can work in, clean and well mended, for the Courts. If you’d rather pick up a few new things in Trellech, before we go to the Courts, I know where to take you for a bit of shopping. Fair prices, decently made - the people who took over my father’s store, a couple of others.”
“Discounts?” The way she thought about that made him laugh.
“Possibly, yes. They do good solid blouses and skirts, good material, magical dyes for a bit more colour fastness. That sort of thing. And some comfortable shoes, whatever personal things you want for your hair and soap and all. I’ll set up the inn, and you can decide how you enjoy being there.”
They talked a fair bit from there, and then she asked if he’d talk a little about the Courts. He didn’t think he’d been that long-winded. But he looked up after a couple of minutes, to realise she’d fallen asleep on the sofa, her feet curled up to the side. Griffin considered waking her, but she was sleeping deeply enough that she didn’t stir when he tried her name. Instead, he found a blanket from the linens, draping it over her one-handed without being too clumsy, and left her to sleep. He read in bed for a bit, but didn’t hear any sounds, certainly didn’t feel any shift in the warding, before he drifted off himself.
Chapter26
MARCH 28TH
Annice woke up the next morning, unsure where she was. Then her eyes snapped open, and she realised that first, she was on Griffin’s sofa, and second, it was definitely morning. There was light coming through the curtains, she could hear some sounds from the courtyard. She was nestled on her side, back to the back of the sofa, with a blanket draped over her.
He must have done that. She didn’t remember anything about a blanket, anyway. But she also didn’t remember even realising she was falling asleep, or him going to whatever it was he was doing. Annice pushed herself upright, contemplating the feel of her mouth - and the taste. And then what to do. Politeness, caution, sense, they all suggested leaving. Only she knew he set wards, and she wasn’t sure how to undo them. And while it might be horrible to still be here when he woke up, it was even more horrible to wake him up by setting them off.
In the end, she got up and went to the loo, doing her best to comb her hair with her fingers. She rinsed her mouth out and got herself together, washing up a little. Once that was done, she found herself with nothing to do. She was hungry. He’d need to eat something. Presumably, everything in the cottage was things he was willing to eat or knew were here. She could make something.
Investigation found her bread for toast, eggs, and butter. That would do. And some cream, of course, though not a lot, and probably meant mostly for tea. And there were some sausages there, in butcher paper. She set to work figuring out where the pans were, and then getting started. She knew how to keep a meal warm with a charm, so no reason not to have it ready.
Before she had got started properly, there was a sound from the hall to the bedroom. “That you, Annice?”
“Who else would it be?” It was rather rude, as a response, and she swallowed, then added. “Good morning?”
“I’ll be out in a minute. Morning!” He sounded remarkably bright; not someone who hated mornings, then. She was about to do something about the eggs in the rendered fat from the sausages when she heard the loo flushing. Then he was wheeling himself out in the chair. “That smells excellent. Did you sleep all right? You were deeply asleep when I tried to wake you.”
“Surprisingly comfortable sofa.” That was true. Both the comfort and the surprise. “You don’t mind that I started cooking?”
“Goodness, no. First, I’m starving, second, it smells grand. And third, I’m glad you felt like you could.” Then he tilted his head. “And fourth, were you worried about the wards?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Oh, well. Fair. I’d be glad to tie you into them, if you like. Though I suppose if we’re going to be in Trellech in the next day or two, it’s a bit silly.” Then he looked at her again, like he was reconsidering. “No, I’ll show you after breakfast. And besides, that’s good practice, making sure you can get out of a place.”
Annice did not know what to do with that, and so she went back to focusing on the eggs. A minute or two later, she slid the fried eggs onto the plates waiting with the sausage and toast, a little butter melting on each slice. “Is there jam somewhere?” She had the tea, too, in comfortable mugs, nice and strong to get going with.
