Page 159 of Swordheart
To Halla’s bemusement, Alver actually looked hurt by that. “It’s got nothing to do withyou.”
“If you’re killing me, then yes, I do think it does.” The priest sounded rather tranquil about it, but Halla was getting used to that.
“But…” A line formed between Alver’s eyes. “Look, I’m not a bad person!”
“You’re plotting to murder me,” said Zale, “and you’re kidnapping a woman who doesn’t wish to marry you, to hold her prisoner until she consents to wed you. I feel this does indeed make you a bad person.”
“I have to agree,” said Halla, nodding.
Alver gave her a hurt look. “It was all Mother’s idea!”
“Yes, and you’re going along with it,” said Halla. “If you were a good person, you’ll tell her to do her own dirty work.”
Alver stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“What an odious little man,” said Zale.
“Isn’t he, though?”
“Was your late husband so bad?”
“No, no. He was just very… vague. If Aunt Malva had demanded he do this, he’d have wandered off to the garden and pulled weeds for a few hours until he forgot about it.”
Zale’s lips twitched. “Are you telling me thatyouhad to be the focused and responsible one?”
“Well, you can see why the farm didn’t do well!” said Halla with some asperity. “And I did fine, I’ll have you know. I knew exactly what I had to do every morning and I did it. There was a routine. I do quite well with routines. It’s how I took care of Silas.” She sighed, offering Zale her wrists again. “Unfortunately, things have not been routine since he died and I drew the sword.”
“Well, there is indeed that. If you pull your hand out here, I believe… be careful… oh, very good!”
Halla’s wrists were bloody with bits of hemp stuck to them. She suspected that once she had feeling back in them, it was going to be excruciating. Nevertheless, she was free.
She untied Zale’s ropes. “It’s a damn shame we’re not in my room,” she said. “There’s a knife in the chest at the foot of the bed.”
“Perhaps why they did not use it.”
“That, or…” Halla stopped what she was about to say. It was probably true that the sheets on her bed were rumpled and smelled like sex, and Alver had taken one look at them and turned gray, but she didn’t need to bring it up. “Well, and the lock on that door is broken. Sarkis kicked it open.”
“Ofcoursehe did.”
Halla burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. “Heisquite magnificent, isn’t he?”
Zale shook their head, but they were smiling. “I am very glad that you two have found each other. I fear I am too fond of my doors and my locks to be envious.”
“Havewe found each other? It seems like we made a mess of it.”
“Possibly, but we won’t sort that mess out standing here. Shall we?”
They opened the door and crept down the hall. Halla cocked her head, listening for voices, but heard no one at first. After a few seconds, she gestured to Zale, and they went down the stairs to the second floor.
From there, the voices were audible. Alver and his mother were having a row, which mostly meant that Alver sounded put-upon and Malva sounded furious, punctuated by occasional screams from the bird. Was anyone else in the house? Halla glanced down both halls, but the doors were all closed. Had they been opened recently?
No, they haven’t.The scattering of fragrant herbs on the rush mats were fresh—Halla had hastily spread another basket—but they had not yet piled up in narrow lines as they did when the doors were opened and closed. No one had been in or out since yesterday.
“I don’t think there’s many of them here,” she said. “It’s just Malva and Alver.”
“The fewer family members aware of their deception, the less chance that one will get cold feet.” Zale nodded. “Well. So long as one of us gets out, it should be simple enough. We go out as quickly as possible, agreed? If one of us is captured, the other should go for the constables, not attempt rescue.”
“Mmm.” Halla glanced at them. She knew that she was valuable to Alver alive, but Zale was not. Zale knew it, too.
