Chapter 26 #2
“Nay,” River confirmed. “Only us, Archer, Jenson, and Finlay.”
“It will be better to keep it this way for as long as possible,” said Keir. “Though I doubt the secret will be kept a secret for long.”
River understood Keir’s concern. With a killer on the loose, it was better if no one knew about the pregnancy, but how long could she hide it?
Even if she ended up not showing for a long time, even if she covered up with different gowns, the word would spread eventually and everyone would know she was pregnant.
Still, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to try and keep it a secret.
“The people will be glad to ken their lady is with bairn,” Layla pointed out. “And there is nae protection better than that of the servants. If ye have them on yer side, they’re better than any guard.”
“That may be true,” said Keir, “but I’d rather keep it a secret from whoever is after Archer for as long as possible. Ye never ken…ye never ken what may happen.”
A knock on the door signalled the arrival of the one man who would protect her no matter what.
Finlay entered the room, but the moment River’s eyes found him, she saw that there was something clearly wrong.
He wore a sour expression, the one that spoke of rage—not the quiet kind, the one he usually reserved for certain people who had provoked it, but something bigger, stranger, deeper.
He looked to her as if he was ready to snap, as if he was going to kill the object of his ire with his bare hands.
“Finlay…what’s the matter?” she asked, and Finlay’s gaze snapped up to her as if he didn’t even expect her to be there, as if he didn’t know in which room his feet had taken him.
He glared around the room, taking in every person there, and then shook his head, his expression mellowing out ever so slightly.
“Naethin’,” he said. “It’s naethin’ important.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Then, Keir took a deep breath and made his way to the door.
“I will leave ye to it, then,” he said, bowing once with a stiff back. “River, Finlay…Layla.”
Layla’s name was spoken on an exhale, and once again, River had to stifle her laughter as Keir left the room. But when she glanced at Finlay again, any trace of humour was gone from her mind.
She had only seen him like this once before—when her mother had been killed. Now that he was like this, she didn’t know what to do about it, especially if he refused to tell her what was wrong.
With a sigh, River came to sit on the sofa and Finlay threw himself down on the chair across from hair, glaring. A cold dread coursed through her and she could only imagine what it was like for the person with whom Finlay was furious.
“Me lady…Keir is right,” said Layla. “If word comes out, even with the entire castle protectin’ ye, this place will be dangerous.”
It was more than that, River thought, but she didn’t share that with Layla and Finlay. Danger was not the only thing making the castle uninhabitable for her. Archer’s behavior was something that was driving her away, too, and she didn’t want to be there for a second longer.
“Perhaps I should visit me brother,” she said after a few moments of silence. “I would take ye and the bairns with me of course, but I think it would be best for me to be there.”
Finlay snorted, the sound full of venom. “Aye run away,” he said. “First ye let that bastard in yer bed and now ye think ye can run away from all this until it fixes itself.”
It was as if River had been struck in the face. She had never expected these words from Finlay, let alone hear them spoken with such bitterness. Her cheeks burned at the implication, embarrassment flooding her body, and for a moment, she stammered, not knowing what to say.
What could she ever say to this? She had never expected him to say something so cruel.
“That isnae very nice,” said Layla, and it was the first time River had heard her speak so sternly, all gentleness and sweetness gone from her voice.
She sounded older, almost, something motherly coming through her tone.
“There’s naethin’ wrong with a woman sharin’ her bed with her husband.
What is the matter with ye, accusin’ her in such a way? ”
River was thankful for Layla defending her, as she didn’t think she could have done it on her own, not when the shock of Finlay speaking to her like this was still so fresh.
But she didn’t blame him. He was clearly in a terrible mood, and whatever he was saying was just because of that. He didn’t truly mean it.
With a huff, Finlay pushed himself off the chair once more, For a moment, he stood there, motionless, staring at River as if he was looking at someone else, someone he hadn’t raised himself, someone he didn’t know. That stare chilled her to her core, and she froze, unable to say a single thing.
Then, he turned that hateful stare to Layla. “Daenae presume to speak to me like this. Ye’re naethin’ but a servant.”
Before either River or Layla could respond to him, Finlay was gone from the room, slamming the door behind him, and River was left to stare at the void he had left behind, a shadow clinging to the room.