Page 62 of To Ride the Wind

“Nothing, nothing,” her mother said, but the look she cast at Charlotte suggested otherwise.

Charlotte sat straighter, frowning. It hadn’t occurred to her that her parents’ mood might be related to her, but her mother’s expression suggested it was.

“Actually,” her father said suddenly, “your mother and I were wondering if you would come for a walk with us, Charlotte?”

If her father was using her full name, then something was definitely wrong.

“Of course I’ll come,” she said, dreading the possibility that her parents might ask her to extend her stay.

She gathered her cloak with a heavy heart. It would be difficult to say no to them, but there was no question of staying longer. She was already counting the hours until she saw her husband again and was able to finally have the too-long deferred conversation about their future. She wouldn’t delay her reunion with Henry for anyone.

Sure enough, as soon as they were away from the house, her mother cast a beseeching look at her father, and her father cleared his throat. Charlotte held herself silent, knowing it was only fair to allow them to have their say, even if she already knew the outcome.

But her father’s first words took her completely by surprise.

“You seem happy, Charli,” he said, “but your mother and I have some concerns.”

“Concerns?” Charlotte looked between them, bewildered. “About what?”

“In retrospect, I can see that I took the matter of your marriage far too lightly,” her father said. “I made certain assumptions that I have since realized are false.”

Charlotte frowned. Where had these concerns been in their joyous reconciliation the day before? Her obvious well-being had seemed to clear away their lingering worry.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she faltered. “What sort of assumptions?”

“In truth,” her father said, “I took certain hints dropped by the white bear—”

“Henry,” Charlotte interrupted.

Her father exchanged a look with her mother. “Ah yes. Henry. I took certain hints dropped by Henry and combined them with information from your uncle to reach erroneous conclusions. It was on the strength of that understanding that we agreed to part with you.”

“What can you possibly mean?” Charlotte asked, growing more and more incensed. “Henry promised me a life of ease and comfort, and he promised you riches through a large bride price.” She glanced back in the direction of the new house, now hidden by the trees. “Can you deny he’s provided exactly that for both of us?”

Her mother looked pained, but her father’s stern expression didn’t waver. “I admit he has so far stayed true to the explicit promises he made. It’s the implications that have proven false that now concern me.”

Charlotte felt her anger on Henry’s behalf peak and then suddenly abate. She let out the breath she’d been holding. Could she blame her parents for leaping to wrong conclusions about Henry when she had done exactly the same? And just like them, she had been concerned when she first learned she was wrong. But just as she had long ago forgotten her thoughts of the Palace of Light, they would soon realize their daughter had more than she could ever need.

“I’m sure I can ease your minds,” she said softly. “What is it you were wrong about?”

Her father looked at her without any abatement of his obvious anxiety. “When we encountered a talking white bear, naturally we assumed he was one of the mountain people.”

“Naturally?” Charlotte asked, astonished. “Whatever can you mean?”

“At the time I hadn’t met one myself, of course,” her father said, “but since the mountain people who visit these valleys transform into white bears, the connection was obvious. I told you as much.”

“Told me?!” Charlotte stared at him in astonishment. “What are you talking about? I’ve never heard such a thing!”

Her mother looked from Charlotte to her husband, horrified, while he merely looked confused.

“Given I was working so hard to be accepted as one of the approved valley traders, your mother and I were extra careful to maintain discretion about their existence. Even after Henry first appeared, it didn’t seem wise to mention anything in front of your sisters.”

Charlotte frowned, remembering all the times after Henry’s appearance when her father had hinted at something unsaid, or trailed off a thought half finished. Even his response to the arrival of a white bear hadn’t seemed entirely normal.

“I can understand you not wanting to say anything to Elizabeth or Odelia,” she said, incensed. “But how could you not tell me the full truth when I was about to marry one of them!”

“I couldn’t say it in the house with your sisters around,” he said. “But I did tell you out in the forest when we talked about his proposal, remember? Or at least, I started to tell you, but you became furious and cut me off, running back to the house.”

Charlotte gaped at him. The memory of that day was burned into her mind, thanks to the high emotions that had marked it. And now that she thought back to that conversation, she did remember him whispering something that she hadn’t heard, too caught up in her heartbreak to pay attention. How could she have guessed he was imparting secrets of such significance?

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