Page 69 of Ties of Legacy

“I just wish I still had—” Elliot cut himself off, leaving Avery to wonder what he had been going to say.

“Are we going to cut northwest directly for Bolivere?” Mattie asked, stopping Avery’s thoughts from turning endlessly around Elliot’s unfinished sentence.

“More or less,” she replied. “We’ll reach the beginning of Glandore’s northern forest soon, so we’ll have to stick to the roads if we want to move quickly. That means we can’t go in a totally straight line.”

“Hmmm…” Mattie gazed off into the distance. “So we’ll go through Thebarton, then?”

Avery nodded since it was the obvious route. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay in the town, though,” she said reluctantly. “Whoever hired Rene might have hired other teams of mercenaries as well.”

Elliot frowned. “Maybe following major roads isn’t a good idea?”

“I can help with that,” Mattie said. “Northern Glandore has a network of old roads that get little traffic. The newer roads are the ones they maintain, so regular travelers prefer them,and the old ones should be deserted. If we had the cart, the old roads might prove difficult, but on horseback we should be fine. They’ve deteriorated, but the trees haven’t reclaimed them yet.”

Avery and Elliot exchanged a look, and Elliot shrugged.

“I usually always have my cart with me, so I’m not familiar with the old roads,” Avery said. “But I’m happy to use them if you can guide us.”

“I didn’t even know they existed,” Elliot said. “My mother and I didn’t spend much time in this region.”

Avery frowned. Exactly what had happened to Elliot’s mother in Bolivere?

Mattie led them unerringly to the closest road in the abandoned network. It was lumpy and full of potholes, but it was also empty.

“Sorry, girl.” Avery patted Nutmeg’s neck. “We’ll be back to the normal roads soon, don’t worry.”

“Better safe than wrong,” Frank squawked, taking off from the back of her saddle to stretch his wings.

“Does that bird ever get anything right?” Mattie asked with a scowl toward the streak of color above her.

“Yes,” Elliot said, surprising Avery by jumping in to defend Frank. “He was the one who rescued you. It didn’t even occur to me to pack your wake up tea.”

“Ugly and foolish,” Frank called from above, apparently not out of earshot.

“I’m not saying he’s not a menace,” Elliot added. “He definitely is. Just that he does occasionally get something right.”

“Well, I suppose of all the times for him to get it right, that was the one,” Mattie said. “But I’m not sure how I feel about finding myself beholden to one of those parrot pests.”

“Are they all so obnoxious?” Elliot asked. “I don’t remember them being so bad.”

“Some are worse than others,” Mattie said. “And Frank is a particularly bad example.” She turned to look at Avery. “I don’t know why you put up with him.”

“Most people assume I saved Frank from something,” Avery said. “And that’s why he’s so loyal to me. But it was actually the other way around. He saved me.”

Mattie’s eyebrows rose. “So he’s appalling in ordinary life but exceptional when it comes to a crisis. I suppose there are worse animal companions.”

“There are certainly better,” Elliot muttered, his new appreciation for Frank only going so far.

Avery just smiled. She would never accept a person behaving the way Frank did, but his mind didn’t work like a human’s. She couldn’t hold him to the same standard as a person when he didn’t have the understanding of one. She’d traveled enough in Glandore to grow used to him, and these days the things he said mostly amused her.

She had hoped that even with Mattie’s company, she would find a way for some proper conversation with Elliot. But it turned out to be even harder to do on the road than it had been in a crowded cottage. With the intimacy of only three of them, it would have been too pointed and rude to attempt private conversation without Mattie. Avery and Elliot might have succeeded at arranging it subtly if they were working together, but Elliot showed no interest in maneuvering their way into a private setting, and Avery couldn’t bring herself to obviously exclude Mattie.

Not that Elliot’s manner was obviously cold or standoffish. He helped with the practicalities of their travel in the same way as always, making it a simple matter to set up and pack down their camp each morning and evening, and to prepare the food. But the old warmth in his eyes had been replaced by flashes ofpain, always quickly laughed away with a laugh that didn’t sound quite natural.

Avery no longer needed to sleep under the cart, so all three of them positioned themselves comfortably around the fire each night. Mattie turned out to be an excellent storyteller, as well as a keeper of written records, and she filled the evenings with tales of the various adventures and misadventures of Avery’s distant family.

She had always loved hearing about other roving merchants. When she had started traveling alone, it had made her feel connected to know they were all out there somewhere and that she could run into some of them at any time. It was a connection she had craved after the loss of her parents.

Between Mattie’s stories and Elliot’s assistance, the travel itself was easy, but Avery still regretted having to bypass Thebarton. A night in a comfortable bed and a hot bath would have been welcome. She was dreaming of a meal from the excellent kitchens of the Mortar and Pestle when the sound of boots and male voices caught her attention.

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