Page 13 of The Stag & The Owl
As far as Roark could tell, their only reallosses had been those of their elderly mother and infant sons onthe journey to find a new home.Hard losses, true, but losses bothmen griped less about than their banishment.
Listening to Alina’s version of her father’sascension to his family’s throne, Roark had been struck by twoparticular coincidences.One was the stable hand who had confessedhis lies at the trial, and the stable hand Pavel, who’d told Roark,unasked, about some trouble he’d gotten into twenty years ago dueto Jerrik’s uncle, and how he’d learned his lesson about lyingbecause of it.
The other was Jerrik’s brother, King Bard,dying from a wasting sickness, which had actually been a slowpoisoning by Fenrir’s orders if not his hand, which soundeduncannily similar to how Ronald, the old laird of North Shore Keep,had died six moons after naming Roger his heir.
A hand clapped him on his shoulder frombehind and he stopped his pacing.
“What are you thinking so hard on?”Leifasked.
“I was thinking on how well our plan tokidnap the princess worked out,” Roark told him.“Wondering howit’ll turn out.”
“It’ll turn out with our father ransoming theprincess for enough coin to set all of us up for life,” Leif said.“For you and Gwyneth to start your married life in a grand fashion.That was the plan, wasn’t it?As you yourself said, it’s goneamazingly well.”
“So far.”
“So far?”Leif spun Roark around by theshoulder to face him.
“Any number of things could happen betweennow and when the ransom is collected.If the ransom iscollected.”
“What do you mean if?”
“King Jerrik could kill Murtaugh when hepresents the terms of Alina’s ransom and send his warships toattack the North Shore and take the princess back rather thanpay.”
Leif shook his head.“My father will make itclear in his demands that Jerrik’s precious daughter will die atthe first sighting of any warship.Jerrik wouldn’t dare chanceit.”
“He could pay the ransom, retrieve hisdaughter, return to his home, and then send his warships toattack.”
Leif snorted.“You worry too much,” he said.“I’m sure my father has thought of any and all possibilities andmade plans to deal with them.”
“If he has, he hasn’t mentioned them tome.”
“He doesn’t tell you everything.As smart andimportant as you think you are, there are some things he keeps tohimself or tells only Donald or me, his true son.”
Roark let the insult slide, but not the pointhe was trying to make.“If Jerrik is the vindictive bastard yourfather says he is—”
“If he’s what my father says he is?”Leifspouted.“What sweet poison was the bitch pouring into your earsdown there?”
“She only complained about the porridge.”
“She took her sweet time complainingthen.”
Roark shrugged.He’d have to be morecircumspect in his dealings with Alina for the rest of the voyage.Leif may have been a hothead who sometimes did stupid things, buthe wasn’t a stupid man.“Your mother and aunt will be pleased withthe bolts of worm weave you’re bringing home,” he said, changingthe subject.“Gwyneth will look pretty in the blue.Did you promiseEdna a gown?”he asked about the neighboring laird’s daughter, whomLeif was generally known to be courting.
“I did.”
“What about Jenny?”
Leif grinned.Jenny was the maidservant hewas not so secretly spending time with.
“No gown,” he said.“I did buy her a nightshift of sheer worm weave from an innkeeper’s harlot.”
“For her, or for you?”
“Now why would I wear… Oh, I get it.”Leiflaughed and slapped Roark on the shoulder.He continued to laugh tohimself as he walked away from Roark and toward the ship’sprow.
CHAPTER 4
At Sea
