The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(27)

She did not reveal the truth about their marriage, feeling the friendship was still too new for her to share such an intimate secret. As it was, thoughts of Collier haunted her sleep and made her worry during the day. She dreaded meeting him again, dreaded seeing the accusatory look in his eyes. Yet she desperately wished for a way to explain herself to him. She still labored over perfecting her letter to him.

They walked arm in arm away from the garden, watching in the distance as Thewliss pushed a cart of tools back toward the kitchen. They followed in his wake slowly, their heads bent low in conversation.

“I understand you much better now,” Suzenne said, smiling with genuine affection. “I will admit I have been harboring fears. I knew the Aldermaston trusted you. I knew your grandmother was the High Seer and that if she trusted you, so should I. But I worried that during the night, you might talk in your sleep or groan or make noises that would frighten me.”

“You did?” Maia asked, smiling. “My nightmares ended when my grandmother saved me. I fear they will return once I leave the abbey.” Her look hardened. “I must prepare myself in case they do.”

“Then I will go with you,” Suzenne said, patting her arm. “The men you traveled with. You could not be your true self with them. I know your secret; although a binding sigil prevents us from talking about the particulars, it is enough. I am grateful the Aldermaston trusted me. Thank you for sharing what you did.”

“I have never had a friend before,” Maia said. “I am sorry you had to lose one to gain one.”

Suzenne shook her mane of golden hair. “The only true friend I have had is Jayn Sexton. With her, I could share my secrets. I have been cordial and respectful to Maeg, but that is all. She honors me because of my rank.”

“And your beauty,” Maia said, nudging her.

Suzenne smiled demurely. “My father once said that beauty is a test that most fail. He said his Aldermaston once taught him that the most unhappy couples he ever knew were the handsomest pairs.”

“Is that so?” Maia said, laughing softly.

“Indeed. Things come easier to those with beauty. Respect and attention are more freely given. Is that respect earned? Is that attention worthy? Often not. No, my father said to be plain is more of a blessing, though I could tell, as my father, he was proud of me. But he always praised me for my character, not my accomplishments. I love my father deeply. He is very wise and once served faithfully as one of the king’s advisors. Your story about your own father’s cruelty cuts me to the quick. I should not have behaved as well as you did, I think.”

“Thank you,” Maia said. As they drew closer to the kitchen, Maia heard someone call out her name from the shadows of a looming oak tree. She recognized the voice instantly. It was Dodd Price. Suzenne’s body went rigid next to hers.

“Yes?” she answered, stopping.

“I was looking for you after the music lesson,” he said, approaching them. He nodded briefly to Suzenne, his mouth quirking into a smile. “I heard about the rebuke you gave Maeg, Suzenne. Well done.” He turned his gaze back to her. “Maia, I need your help.”

“What is it?” She could hear the sound of pots clanging and the voices of the two kitchen helpers streaming out from the small building. Thewliss finished stowing his cart and walked through the kitchen doors, doffing his cap and nodding briefly to Maia and Suzenne. The light and smells caused her stomach to growl.

“I will not detain you long,” Dodd said, glancing at the door, “but I was hoping you would introduce me to your hunter tomorrow?”

“He is the abbey’s hunter now,” Maia said.

Dodd shook his head. “They call him Maia’s hunter. He arrived with you, and everyone knows he is here to protect you. I wish to speak to him. Will you do it?”

“Of course,” Maia said, “but what do you wish to speak to him about?”

“He has been spending every day in the Bearden Muir with his hound. I want him to take me with him. To show me the land.”

“Why, Dodd?” Maia pressed.

Though he attempted to conceal it with a smile, she could tell Dodd was nervous. “Because I may need to leave rather suddenly.”

“No!”

It was Suzenne who had gasped it. He looked at her, his brows furrowing.

Maia squeezed her arm. “You are worried about your father and your brothers,” Maia said firmly.

“Of course I am,” he answered. “I may be the only one who can save them.”

“Do not leave,” Suzenne said, her face flushing. “Dogs bark to frighten the hare into running. That is when they snatch it.”

“Am I a hare?” he snapped, sounding offended.

Maia keenly felt the awkwardness of the situation. Part of her wanted to save Suzenne and Dodd from an embarrassing moment, but she felt she should hold back. The two had not spoken to each other since Suzenne’s parents had ordered her to spurn him. Defying her parents was not something she was used to doing.

“I did not intend it to sound that way,” Suzenne said, her voice trembling. “What I meant was that they are attempting to frighten you into action. Never do something out of fear. That is not the way of the Medium.”

“Now you are lecturing me about the Medium?” he said with a choked breath. Maia could almost hear his thoughts—part of him was straining to tell her that he was the one who had passed the maston test already. He did not say it.