Thirteen - Mina
Thirteen
Mina
???
I reached the stream well before I expected to see Alan. After supper, waiting became too much of an effort, so I slipped out of the Wrison home. Alan likely couldn’t get away so early, I knew. Still, it was a disappointment not to see him waiting for me when I walked down the rough steps to the bank of the stream.
I settled on the boulder and waited.
The sun sank lower, and I stood up. It was nearly the same time he had arrived the evening before. I looked upstream, but didn’t see anyone walking along the banks.
“Mina!”
I spun around before I processed that the voice calling my name wasn’t the one I wanted to hear. Hannah stood at the top of the steps, looking down at me.
“What are you doing sneaking around here?” she asked, giggling.
Keeping my posture relaxed took effort. “I’m not sneaking around. I enjoy listening to the sound of the water.” I raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing sneaking around?”
Her smile turned impish. “I’m not sneaking around, either. Yet.”
My smile smoothed out, becoming genuine. “And where will you be sneaking later? ”
She came down the steps and gestured for me to lean closer.
“I’m meeting Phillip for a walk,” she whispered.
I looked at Hannah in surprise. Not because she was meeting a man for a walk in the moonlight, but because the man she was meeting was one of Kayla’s suitors. Then again, according to Kayla, every unmarried man in the village was one of her suitors. I tried to remember seeing Phillip interact with her and decided that perhaps I had misjudged his interest. Between Kayla’s confidence that every man was paying attention to her and Hannah’s habit of disappearing into the other woman’s shadow, it would be easy to miss if a man was actually courting Hannah.
“Is this your first walk with Phillip?” I asked, hoping Hannah hadn’t misinterpreted my surprise.
She bit her lip. “No. We’ve been meeting up for almost a week now. I think he might ask me to go with him to the Midsummer Festival.”
“That’s wonderful!” I studied her expression. “Unless you don’t want to go with him?”
Her eyes went wide. “I do. I really do. It’s just...”
In a flash, I understood. Hannah had teased me about sneaking around because she had wanted to have this conversation. Needed to have it. I took her hand and squeezed. “You are worried about how Kayla will react.”
She nodded.
“Are you afraid Kayla will be mad or make fun of you?”
“Both,” Hannah whispered. “She says horrible things about him, then turns around and brags that he is chasing after her. He isn’t, though. But if I go to the festival with him, she’ll say he had to settle for me because she said no.”
She sniffled, and I drew her into a hug. I was only a few years older than Hannah, but those years had included plenty of experience with barbed words and backstabbing courtiers. “Phillip isn’t settling, and you know it. Don’t let Kayla rob you of happiness. ”
Until this moment, I would have said Hannah was as superficial as the other woman. I hadn’t realized Hannah was loyal to Kayla not out of a shared mindset, but fear. I had assumed that Kayla wasn’t as nasty as some of the ladies I knew because she was polite to me and because Gemma spent time with her. But Gemma didn’t spend much time with her, and I wondered now if her interest had been more on providing Hannah with a buffer. Kayla’s attitude toward me was most likely due to who she thought I was.
She didn’t know I was the princess, but in her mind, I was still the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Haiwella.
I hugged Hannah a little tighter. “Have you told Gemma about you and Phillip?”
“No. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, and since then I haven’t seen her when I wasn’t with Kayla. Plus, Kayla’s been in such a mood these past few days. I’m worried she already knows and is planning something horrible.”
I had completely forgotten Kayla’s mystery conversation with Jeff and subsequent odd behavior. I hadn’t asked Sam if he had any ideas yet, but I doubted her mood had anything to do with Hannah. She wouldn’t delay any cruelty if she meant to make fun of the other woman. Saying as much to Hannah probably wouldn’t help.
“Tell you what, tomorrow you can come over to the Wrisons’ house for the noon meal, and I’ll invite Gemma, too. You won’t even have to walk past the tavern.” Hannah’s family lived in the row of houses behind the Wrisons. “And tonight, all you are going to think about is how much you like sneaking out with Phillip.”
She hugged me tight. “Thank you, Mina.”
We each stepped back, and I gave her hands one last squeeze before letting go. “Thank you for trusting me with your secret.”
Hannah climbed the steps away from the stream. I watched her go, wondering at the fact that she had confided in me. I’d talk with Gemma privately before we met for a meal and see what we could do to help her.
Once Hannah was no longer in view, I turned around, but there was no sign of Alan. I settled back on the boulder to wait, but feared he had seen me with Hannah and turned around. After the sun sank completely below the horizon, I gave up and returned to the Wrison home.
???
The next day , I thought of visiting the forge, but wasn’t able to make it. Talking with Gemma swallowed my morning. Then, Hannah needed far more support and reassurance than I had expected and we both spent the afternoon helping her plan how to reveal her relationship with Phillip to Kayla.
After all that, I wanted to escape to the stream directly following supper, but Sam intercepted me.
“Going for a walk?”
“Yes. It is so pleasant in the evenings; it would be a crime to stay cooped up indoors.”
“I’ll join you.”
It was still early enough that I doubted Alan would be at the stream. Pushing down my frustration, I took Sam’s arm and led the way toward the village square. With any luck, he’d strike up a conversation with someone and I’d be able to escape to the stream without company.
Sam didn’t speak at first, and I allowed the silence to stretch, aware that I might give away my impatience if I spoke.
As we neared the main square, Sam turned us down a side street and finally spoke. “I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Oh?” The words were enough to divert my attention from the stream. “What kind of favor?”
Most people I knew wanted favors of some sort, whether they asked outright or not. A connection to the throne wasn’t easily overlooked, but I hadn’t expected Sam to seek preferential treatment. It made me wary.
He didn’t look at me, and I got the impression he was uncomfortable asking. He cleared his throat. “It’s a favor for Jeff, actually. ”
That made more sense. Sam would do things for his friends that he’d never consider for himself. Now I was curious. What could I do to help Jeff without betraying my identity—for I trusted that Sam would not reveal that secret without my permission. I patted Sam’s arm. “Ask, Sam.”
He grimaced. “Jeff is convinced he is in love with Kayla.”
Maybe I would learn what he had said before leaving without needing to ask. This would be interesting. “You doubt his feelings?”
“I doubt that the Kayla he is in love with really exists. She’s a figment of his imagination. But I can’t force him to accept that. I’ve told him my concerns, and he has ignored them.”
“I’m not sure why you think I can help with this. He’s hardly going to trust me more than you.”
Sam sighed. “That’s not the favor I want. I’ve accepted that I’ve done all I can. Jeff will either see the truth on his own or he won’t, and if I push any more, he’ll just get mad at me.”
“So, where do I come in?”
“He plans to bring Kayla to your ball. It’s part of his grand plan to win her over. I’d appreciate if he didn’t end up in trouble for bringing a woman who is not his relative.”
I laughed. This was the big secret Kayla was keeping?
Sam scowled. “It’s not funny, Mina. I figure you can edit the guest list or something, and you won’t even need to tell Jeff your identity, though obviously he and Kayla will recognize you once they are at the ball. But that would have been true, anyway.”
I tried to muffle my laughter. “Sam, the ball is open to every eligible commoner in Nemya. There isn’t a guest list. I mean, there will be a few special guests, but anyone can attend.”
“Yes, but each man is only allowed one female guest, and she is supposed to be a sister or cousin.”
“And who do you think will be checking that?” Another burst of laughter snuck through. “No one expects that rule to be followed. It didn’t make sense to fill a ballroom only with men, and since the men are supposed to be attending because they want to marry me, it would be silly to say they can bring their lovers, but no one cares. If anything, it will help me eliminate people from consideration. Jeff can bring Kayla without any risk of getting in trouble, I promise.”
“Oh.”
“I should mention something along those lines to Gemma and Cole, too.” No doubt Cole didn’t plan to attend the ball because he was not only betrothed, but besotted. But he and Gemma shouldn’t miss out on the fun if they wanted to go. I’d certainly prefer to see them over Kayla. I’d have to tell Hannah and Phillip, as well. “Do you think I can convince them before I’ve revealed my identity? I want them to have time to plan for the trip if they want to go.”
“I’ll talk to Cole. I’ll make it sound like it is common knowledge in the city.” His eyes narrowed. “So common, you laughed at me when I mentioned only bringing a relative.”
“Sorry,” I said with a grin. Looking up, I realized we had circled around the village and were now on the same side as the stream. The sun was sinking lower, and if I didn’t want to miss Alan, I needed to go soon. I slipped my arm free of Sam’s. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Where are you going?”
I turned around, walking backward as I spoke to him. “I’m not done with my walk.”
He followed. “Then I’ll stay with you.”
“I want to finish it alone.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
I shook my head. “You asked a favor of me; now I’m asking one of you. Go home, Sam.”
“But my favor didn’t require you to do anything, it seems.”
“And my favor doesn’t require you to do anything, either. Good night, Sam.”
He shook his head, but stopped following me. He’d have questions for me later, but I’d deal with his curiosity so long as I could get to the stream alone soon .
I was currently at the other end of the village from the Wrisons’ home. When I made my way over to the stream, I discovered that it ran level with the surrounding area. As I followed it north, the bank began to slope, the stream dropping lower, until I reached the steps I usually used.
No one was waiting there.
I sat on the boulder, watching for Alan. Even if he had come earlier, then left before me, I should have passed him walking next to the stream. But I didn’t think it was late enough that he would have come and gone already.
Still, I expected him soon.
If he was coming at all.
But when the darkness deepened past the point anyone would call twilight, I had to admit that Alan was not coming.