The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(28)

“I was just trying to remind you,” she said imploringly.

“Thank you,” he said flatly. “Maia, will you help me?”

“I will talk to him,” she answered, keeping her tone neutral. She agreed with Suzenne and did not think it wise to leave the grounds in a hurry. “Meet me by the laundry after studies tomorrow. I will arrange it if I can.”

“Thank you,” he told her, with much more warmth. He gave Suzenne a confused look, then wandered back into the darkness, muttering something under his breath they were not meant to hear.

The iron grip from Suzenne’s hands finally loosened. There would be bruises.

“What did I do,” Suzenne said miserably, “beyond making everything even worse?”

Maia patted her hand, feeling the blood beginning to return to her fingers. “You must come too. I think the two of you are overdue a long talk,” she said.

The look of pain in Suzenne’s face convinced Maia she was right.





CHAPTER TEN




Resentment



The wind tossed their hair as Maia and Suzenne left their learner studies. The air had a pungent smell of soggy leaves and wet grass. The ground was a bit mushy as they tramped together toward the laundry, moving through the brisk and cutting wind.

“If I was ever under the sway of delusion before,” Suzenne said with a low voice, “it is over now. Maeg will have her revenge and today was just the first taste of it.”

“I am sorry,” Maia said, trying to comfort her.

“Do not apologize,” Suzenne responded. “I have seen the lengths she has gone to belittle others. I have never been the recipient before. Did you see how quickly Clara stepped in to fill the void? I suspect she has hated me for some time.”

Maia patted her arm, brushing away the strands of hair that blew in front of her nose. It had rained earlier in the day, but thankfully the rain had paused before the studies were over.

“My stepsisters are like that,” Maia said. “Ignoring them is the best possible remedy. Though the snubbing smarts.”

“I do not regret speaking up. The truth is, my stomach is a hive of bees right now, and not because of Maeg and Clara.” She sighed sharply. “I do not know what I am going to say to him.”

“Jon Tayt is really friendly. He is easy to talk to.”

Suzenne butted her with an elbow. “You know that is not who I meant.”

“Oh, you mean Dodd? The young man watching us over there?”

“Is he? Oh, Maia, why am I so nervous?” Her voice wrenched with dread.

The young man stepped away from the shelter of an oak and approached them through the squishy grass, his boots spraying flecks of water. He really was handsome, his tawny brown hair a little damp from the wet. He looked about as uncomfortable as Suzenne, his expression a mixture of anguish and delight.

“Hello, Dodd,” Maia greeted.

He nodded to her, but his eyes were on Suzenne’s face. “Hello,” he said softly. “Are you unwell?”

“I am well enough,” she replied, flushing darkly.

“You wanted to see Jon Tayt,” Maia said, steering them across the grounds toward the hunter’s lodge. “The clouds look as if they might burst any moment. We had best hurry.”

“Of course,” Dodd replied, falling in next to them. He deliberately walked alongside Suzenne.

The silence between them was fraught with unspoken emotion. “How is your Family?” he finally asked her. “Is your sister ready to become a learner?”

Suzenne looked at him sharply. “You remembered.”

“I knew there was a gap between your ages. Is she going to study at Muirwood as well?”

“Yes,” Suzenne replied. “I love this abbey. It is like home to me. I will be sad to leave it . . . after Whitsunday.”

The words added another jolt of tension to the moment.

“Yes, I may be leaving as well from the look of things,” he said angrily. “Potentially in chains.”

Suzenne bit her lip. “I am sorry, I did not mean to—”

“Of course not,” he interrupted. “Maybe I should leave the abbey before I am compelled to do so. This is not a home to me. It is a prison.” He raked his fingers through his tousled hair. “The moors oppress me, but perhaps I will grow to like them. In the past, when the king’s army was defeated at Winterrowd, soldiers skulked in the Bearden Muir for months. Perhaps I shall do that, if Jon Tayt will teach me. I can live off skunks and weeds.” He chuckled tonelessly.

Suzenne frowned, her forehead furrowing. “Do you really think the abbey’s sanctuary will be revoked? Surely the High Seer will do something.”

“What can she do?” Dodd said. “No offense, Maia, but your grandmother does not have an army at her command.”

“Armies are not the only way to change things,” Maia said softly.

“But they are the one sure way,” he answered stiffly. “Did not Winterrowd change the destiny of men and kings? The mastons did not just lie down and die that day . . . they rallied under Garen Demont, and not a single man who fought with them was killed. Would that I had been there.”

Maia could see the restlessness teeming inside of him. He was weary of biding his time, of waiting for outside events to dictate the course of his life. She could see the impetuousness of his character, his hunger for action.