Page 52 of Pawns of Fate
She hastily transcribed Ava’s reply. Though it wasn’t nearly as long as York’s letter, Ava’s was also full of annoying, romantic drivel. She was happy for her sister and brother-in-law. Truly. Rose just wished she didn’t have to sit in a front-row seat to their romance while she’d never felt more distant from Nicholas.
While Rose transcribed the letter, Lyla returned, most likely drawn by the aroma of the hearty stew or fresh bread Ava had made for dinner.
Before she sat down to eat, Lyla snatched the letter out of Ava’s hands. “I’ll take your letter to him as quickly as possible. Lady Rose, are you writing a reply to Lord Nicholas?”
Rose considered her words for a moment. “Oh, no. His letter did not require a reply,” she said nonchalantly.
Lyla seemed to ponder this momentarily, almost opening her mouth a few times. But ultimately, the shadow mage must have decided not to dole out romantic advice to her newly married client, since she stayed silent. Rose thought it was probably for the best.
NICHOLAS
Nicholas stared atthe battle map until his eyes lost focus. No matter how long he poured over it, there just weren’t any quick solutions to this campaign, no decisive encounters to turn the tide in one fell swoop. They’d have to hunt and kill the monsters one by one, claiming the swamp mile by mile.
At least until they could find the source of the strange runes decorating every monster corpse they’d encountered. He desperately needed more information about those. Creatures that normally avoided human interaction were charging into a camp of over a hundred men. Someone was pulling strings… dangerous strings. But who? And for what end?
York opened the tent flap and plopped himself down in a chair. He looked over the map, then shook his head. “Have you figured it out yet?”
“Figured what out yet, York?”
“How we’re going to win this thing. Quickly. So we can get home to our wives. You’re a married man, too. I thought you’d understand.”
Nicholas suppressed the urge to smack his brother on the back of his head. “No, I haven’t figured out how towin this thing quickly.”
York shrugged in response as a feminine voice requested permission to enter. Lyla pulled back the tent flap, then stepped through. The flap had barely closed when Syzman snaked in behind her, which didn’t surprise Nicholas. Wherever Lyla was, Syzman tended to follow. Not that Nicholas was in a position tojudge others for their unmet desires.
“Before I begin the daily report, I brought something from your wife,” Lyla announced and lifted a small parchment toward York. “She was thrilled to receive your letter.”
“What about Rose?” Nicholas asked.
Lyla’s smile faltered as she faced him. “Lady Rose has been doing well. Ava has been teaching her how to cook, and she enjoys reading romance novels and treatises on magic from Uddedin’s library.” Lyla shifted her weight back and forth uncomfortably, as though she wanted to talk about anything but Rose.
“Did she write me a letter? Perhaps she needed more time?” Nicholas heard the pathetic hope in his voice and internally cringed.
“Errr.” Lyla stared at her feet. He’d really gone and done it now, if he’d managed to make a shadow mage feel bad for him. Nicholas’s stomach bottomed out. Rose must hate him for Lyla to react this way. He had been an ass when she departed, so he supposed that her feelings were warranted.
“My Lord, she said that your letter did not require a response.” Lyla sucked in a deep breath, probably for courage, then added, “Lord York’s letter was three pages long and quite—,” Lyla ran a hand through her hair, then cast an imploring glance at Syzman. Nicholas wondered if the two were communicating telepathically about him and felt even more pathetic.
“It’s fine,” he snapped.
“What I mean to say is, perhaps if you send Lady Rose a longer, more thoughtful, moreheartfeltletter, I think she wouldbe inclined to reply.”
Nicholas reflected on Lyla’s words and let them sink in. Perhaps she had a point. He’d been in the wrong when they parted a month ago, and he hadn’t expressed that at all in the hastily scrawled note. He’d just been desperate to send her something when he realized it was a possibility.
“Lyla, can you come back tonight?” he asked, a plan forming in his mind. “I’m going to write the best damn letter Rose will ever read.”
Once again, Lyla sent a sideways glance to Syzman, who nodded as if encouraging her.
“It isn’t wise for me to make a round trip this far twice in one day, but I could certainly come back tomorrow.”
Nicholas felt his stomach climb back into its usual place. Relief flooded his chest. He leaned over the battle map with a newfound intensity. He’d get a strategy worked out quickly now that he was motivated. He had a letter to write.
Chapter 18
ROSE
Ava wasn’t a terrible pupil. She picked things up slowly, but she was making progress nonetheless. It made Rose wonder if York could read or was just that terrible at teaching others.
“Ava, you told me that York thinks you can read.”
