Page 45 of Ties of Legacy

“Just a little trip, my dear,” he said guiltily. “You can’t expect a man to always stay in one place!”

Avery laughed. “Well, I’m certainly the last one to expect it, but your daughter might disagree.”

A crafty smile spread over Lorne’s face. “She’s in the capital at the moment. Took the whole pack of grandchildren with her too for some ball or other. So don’t you go giving me away!”

Avery turned to Elliot, who looked even more confused. “He spent so long out of the kingdom that the effects still linger when he’s back in Oakden. But they get better the longer he’s here. The only problem is that he keeps insisting on popping over the border again, which always makes the symptoms flare back up.”

“Now that my grandchildren are all grown,” Lorne said, “my daughter has been traveling more. It gives me itchy feet.”

“Why don’t you travel with her, then?” Avery asked. “I’m assuming she stays within Oakden?”

“Precisely!” Lorne cried. “And what’s the fun in that?”

Avery laughed again, while Elliot shook his head, clearly taken aback at Lorne’s eccentricity. It was rare for anyone in the kingdoms to have such a love for travel, although he had once mentioned his mother being such a one.

Avery gave him a sideways look. Was that the reason for his stiff reaction? He had seemed to resent his mother’s inclination for travel, so did he disapprove of Lorne?

Lorne’s head dropped a third time, and Avery used the chance to sidle closer to Elliot.

“He had already been traveling for twenty years before he met and married his wife. She’s passed away now, but she was a lovely woman. She traveled with him for a year or two, but as soon as she got pregnant, they moved back to Oakden and have been here ever since. He never pushed his traveling ways on his children or expected them to bear the burden of leaving their home kingdom.”

The stiffness in Elliot’s shoulders relaxed, and Avery smiled as she stepped away from him. She had guessed correctly, it seemed.

Lorne woke again with a start, helping Elliot to push the cart out of the way. Elliot tried to protest, but Lorne brushed him off with a laugh.

“I’ve still got some strength in these old arms and legs, young man,” he said. “Don’t try to consign me to a rocking chair just yet.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Elliot said, looking as awed as most people were when they first met Lorne.

Avery unloaded the packs they would need to take inside, and Lorne scooped one up, leading the way through the back door. Elliot took one on each shoulder and went to follow him, but Avery stopped him with a hand on his arm.

He stilled instantly at her touch, looking down inquiringly into her face.

“Lorne has as much experience and knowledge as a roving merchant,” she said softly. “More in some cases. If anyone might know a way to help you break your tie to the lamp, he’s a good candidate.” She hesitated. “What do you think about telling him the truth of your situation and asking for help?”

Elliot stiffened, and she held her breath, waiting for his response. After a long moment, he deflated.

“If you trust him, then I’ll trust him, too.”

Moisture pricked at Avery’s eyes at his statement of trust in her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know how hard it must be for you to start telling people your secret after holding onto it your whole life.”

“I’ve kept it a secret for twenty-one years and nothing ever changed,” he said. “I think the time has come to take a different approach. I’m ready to be free.”

Avery smiled and nodded, but she turned quickly to collect the remaining pack before the expression wobbled. It hurt more than she expected to hear Elliot speak of his eagerness to be free of her and their forced journey together.

Maybe she’d been selfish to travel so slowly the last few days, using the excuse of the smoke inhalation. She was losing focus on her mission, and she wasn’t doing Elliot any favors. She should have been moving northward as quickly as possible.

Lorne reappeared, but halfway through his gesture for them to come inside, his head dropped forward again, a light snore sounding. Avery stared at him, her mind whirring.

They were in Oakden! Why hadn’t she thought of it before? She hadn’t examined the reasons for their slow travel too closely because she had thought they were emotional—emotions she didn’t want to examine too closely. As a result, she hadn’t even considered the likely true reason. With the excitement of the fire, she had forgotten how easy it was to fall into the rhythm of doing everything more slowly in Oakden.

She shook her head. She hadn’t been the cause of their slow progress after all, and neither had Elliot. But she should have realized what was happening and driven them on faster. She would have to do better for the short time they had left in Oakden.

Lorne jerked awake, his smile unbroken, and insisted on taking Avery’s pack from her.

“Elliot has two, you know,” she said with a shake of her head as she relinquished it.

Lorne smiled conspiratorially at Elliot and lowered his voice as he spoke to Avery. “Yes, but he needs the chance to show off those muscles. I couldn’t deprive him of that.”

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