Chapter 6 #2
“Alaina says that they talk all night when they’re outside her room,” Sophie sighed. “They make bawdy jokes and burp. It drives her mad. She’s told them that she can hear everythin’ that goes on outside the door, but they daenae seem to listen. I am nae sure that they care very much.”
“Nay, I imagine nae,” Megan agreed. She glanced at the still-closed door and lifted her eyebrows. “Shall we knock, or does Alaina ken that we are here?”
There was a quiet screech on the other side of the door, the sound of a bolt being pulled back, and the door opened.
A girl of sixteen stood there, tall and thin.
She had a pale oval face and a relatively long nose, exactly the same as Ryder’s.
Her face reminded Megan of the old paintings, of white-faced beauties with long, impossibly beautiful dark hair floating in clouds around them.
Alaina was beautiful in an almost tragic way.
Her eyes were green, whereas her sister’s were brown, but both of them had large eyes, fringed with long, dark lashes.
There was a gawkiness about her, the sort of awkwardness one might find in a teenage child, and she had two spots on her chin which were probably currently the bane of her life.
“I see that ye have met me lovely guards,” Alaina said, with just a hint of contempt in her voice.
“They are here day and night. They arenae supposed to stop me from comin’ and goin’, but me braither has ordered me door barred at night.
He says I only have to knock and ask when I want to leave, but they often pretend nae to have heard me.
I think they just daenae want to stop their card game or conversation or whatever they are doin’. ”
Megan frowned. “That is terrible. Have ye told yer braither of this? He wouldnae approve.”
Alaina gave a short laugh. “Aye, and ye ken him well, do ye?”
Her gaze dragged up and down Megan’s frame again, and she pursed her lips.
“Me braither is nae good at listenin’ to reason,” she added at last, with a finality in her voice. “He thinks that he is, but the only advice Ryder listens to is the advice he gives himself. He listens to Ewan sometimes, but that’s all. And for what it’s worth, Ewan agrees with me being locked up.”
“Well, ye are in danger,” Megan pointed out.
That was the wrong thing to say. Alaina’s eyes flared, and color rushed across her cheeks.
“And how would ye ken? I bet I am safer than Ryder makes out. Besides, the Keep is safe. A couple of useless guards at me door willnae save me if somebody does come to carry me away. Even ye two managed to sneak up on them, I’ll wager.”
This was, unfortunately, a very valid point.
Megan filed the point away in her head to discuss with Ryder later.
For now, she had a teenage girl to charm into friendship.
Alaina had made no move to invite them into her room, and instead stood in the doorway, arms folded, squinting at Megan with obvious suspicion.
“Did I hear right?” she said at last. “Are ye betrothed to Ryder?”
Megan offered a faint smile. “Aye, I am.”
Alaina gave an amazed huff. “I daenae ken what surprises me more, the fact that Ryder lowered himself to wed, or the fact that somebody accepted him. I have nae met ye before, so I daenae imagine this is a great love match.”
Megan wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. She supposed that it would be clear to everybody that their match was one of convenience. It was too sudden, and there was no known relationship between her and Ryder.
Anyone who looked deeper into Megan’s past would discover her mother and father, infamous and terrible, along with her sisters and their influential husbands. It would appear that Ryder was making a smart match by aligning himself with a powerful family.
Nobody would think twice about it. Judging by the curl of Alaina’s lip, however, she was not pleased to think that her brother was entering into a marriage of convenience.
Lying about it, however, would only push the girl further away.
“I am fond of yer braither,” Megan said at last. “We have a great deal of respect for each other, and we want to be happy. We think that we’re just as likely to be happy with a partner we have chosen so carefully for ourselves, rather than just choosin’ the first person our heart fixes upon.”
Alaina sniffed. “That’s nae very romantic.”
“I’m nae a romantic person, more’s the pity.”
The younger girl’s expression softened a little at this.
“Ye wish ye were romantic, then?” Alaina asked somewhat uncertainly. “Ryder always laughs at me and says that romance is silly. Of course, he means that I am silly.”
“I’m sure he doesnae mean that,” Megan responded cautiously. “Ye daenae much like being laughed at, do ye?”
Alaina pursed her lips. “Nay, of course nae. Nobody does.”
“That’s fair. Well, I am nae laughin’.”
Alaina eyed her curiously. “Perhaps nae, but ye did agree to marry me braither, so I am nae sure how good yer advice might be.”
Megan let out a snort of laughter at that. “I cannae argue with ye there.”
Sophie, clearly annoyed at being ignored for so long, approached Alaina quietly and wrapped her arm around her waist. Alaina casually placed her hand on Sophie’s head, running her fingers gently through her hair.
It was a tender gesture, and Megan immediately thought that if Alaina could show such kindness to her sister, there must be some good beneath her tough teenage exterior.
“Well, I am marryin’ yer braither, which will make us sisters,” Megan said, offering a wry smile.
Alaina did not smile back. “Sisters-in-law.”
“Aye, same thing.”
“Nae quite. Ye have yer own sisters, do ye?”
“Aye, I do.”
Alaina nodded. “Then ye ken that it is nae the same thing. Sophie, will ye stop squeezin’ me? It feels as though ye are pinchin’ me in two.”
Sophie pouted, but reluctantly released her sister. “Sorry,” she mumbled, not sounding sorry at all.
Further down the steps, Megan heard the shifting of boots on stone. She met Alaina’s eye and lifted her eyebrows.
“I think perhaps that yer useless guards are getting’ antsy,” she commented. “They’ll come up and join us in a moment. So, unless ye fancy havin’ an audience to our conversation, ye might want to invite us into yer room.”
Alaina scowled. “Or ye could just go away, and I could entertain meself.”
“Very sharp. Ye have a fine wit, I’ll say that for ye. But I ken from experience that spendin’ yer days and nights in the same room is a tiresome thing. Ye must be bored. And,” she added, almost off-handedly, “it’s nae as though I’ll be goin’ away anytime soon.”
Alaina stared at her for a long moment, her expression suddenly closed and unreadable. Megan stared back, fighting to keep her face smooth.
Abruptly, Sophie stiffened beside her sister, sniffing the air like a hunting dog.
“Do ye smell that?” she breathed.
Megan blinked down at her, frowning. “What?”
“Bannocks,” Sophie gasped, her face lighting up. “Fried bannocks. The kitchen is just beneath this tower, and sometimes the smell crawls right up here. Can ye smell the bannocks? Should we get some bannocks, Alaina? Should we…”
“Why daenae ye fetch us some bannocks, dear?” Megan suggested hastily. “I am a wee bit peckish.”
“Ye are right,” Sophie agreed, beaming. “Wait here. I’ll fetch some. And some jam tarts. And some cheese. And there was some chicken…”
She hurried down the stairs at a quick pace, listing foods under her breath.
She let out a yelp of annoyance as she presumably pushed past the guards lingering on the stairs.
As Megan watched, one of the guards peeked around the corner of the stairs, only to back away quickly when she caught his eye.
She stifled a sigh.
I estimate that we’ll have five or ten more minutes before those guards come struttin’ pompously back up here, full of newfound confidence.
Alaina will retreat to her room, and I’ll be obliged either to humiliate meself by knockin’ again and tryin’ to get her to talk to me, or I’ll have to go downstairs, havin’ failed.
She glanced back at Alaina and found the girl watching her with narrowed eyes, presumably thinking the same thing.
“I suppose ye can just come into me room at any time ye want, anyway,” Alaina remarked suddenly. “Ryder does.”
Megan crossed her arms. “Well, he should nae. I’ll talk to him. Ye are a growin’ girl, and ye need yer privacy. I certainly did at yer age.”
Alaina tilted her head. “And ye think he’ll listen to ye?”
She shrugged. “I’ll try, at the very least.”
There was another long moment of silence, then Alaina heaved a sigh, jerking her head.
“Very well. In ye come, then. We might as well talk inside.”
She retreated into her bedroom, and Megan followed her, trying to bite back a smile of triumph.
Part one of our plan is completed. I’m already half in her confidence.