Page 32 of Dragon Fight

Ada was a perfect picture of good manners as she set the last napkin crown on its plate and then rose to her feet.

“You’re such a good girl.” Kay patted Ada’s hand. “The daughter I never had. It’s the flower arrangements for the bedrooms, dear. The maids have aired them out and set the fires to ward off the chill, but the flowers. I don’t trust the maids—”

“I’ll see to it, milady,” Ada said, squeezing her hand and then turning to me. “It was lovely meeting you, Lady Pippa. Perhaps we’ll chat more about old times later tonight.”

“I look forward to it,” I said reflexively, searching the other woman’s face as she smiled then went on her way. Almost in a daze, I turned my attention to Kay, as if somehow I’d be able to pick up hints of the rest of Ada’s story from her.

Appetites… Ones neither Brom nor I could…Ada’s words echoed in my ears, almost blocking out what Kay was saying to me.

“Pippa darling, I know this is beneath you, both as a lady and a Royal Rider, but…” Kay bit her bottom lip. “Could I ask you to stuff these lavender sachets for me? It’s just a matter of pouring the lavender in and…”

I watched her mouth move, her hands as she explained the task, but she needn’t have. When I was a small girl, Mother had taught me to make lavender sachets to place under pillows to keep a bed smelling sweet. She’d been adept at that sort of household economy, turning old tablecloths and pretty pieces of lacework on otherwise worn dresses into such useful things.

“Of course, Lady Emberly,” I replied and reached for the small pile of fabric and a bag of dried lavender heads.

20

“Now, you will need time to go and have your bath and get ready,” Kay told me. She’d been like a tiny hurricane, blowing through each room and assessing what needed to be done, and enlisting me and a phalanx of maids to help her get everything completed. Finally, she brushed her hands together with an air of accomplishment, before untying her apron and passing it to one of the maids.

Kay smoothed her hands over her hair, then turned to me. “And, my dear, if you need a dress, I can provide you with one.” Her tone was slightly hopeful, although she seemed to anticipate my rejection of the idea.

“I’ll probably just stay in uniform, like the others,” I said, then looked down at the state of my current leathers. “Well, a cleaner, better presented one than this. Soren will have all of us polished and parade ready.”

Kay accepted my answer with a gentle smile. “And we’ll be proud to have the whole wing at our table,” she said, grabbing my arm and giving it a squeeze, before sending me on my way.

However, as I climbed the stairs to go back to our room, I found my feet moved slowly. Ada’s words felt like a millstone around my neck, and it was as though I required added effort that I didn’t have to get my legs to go where I needed them to. That sensation just got worse when I stepped into the room.

All of my men were in various states of undress, as Soren strode around in just his pants inspecting the shine of the insignias on dress uniforms, the polish of each man’s boots.

“There you are,” he said to me. “You’ll need to wash with the commander, but I’ve got a dress uniform that should fit you.”

“When did you find time to get that?” Ged asked.

“Always prepared; haven’t I told you that more than once?” Soren looked back at me with a smile. “I had something in my saddlebag, just in case Pippin needed to strip off that beautiful silver dress the night of the ball.”

“Thank you—” I started to say, but he interrupted me with a growl.

“Thank me by washing the salt and the sand off yourself, cadet. You represent His Majesty’s Royal Riders tonight, so no slacking.”

When I walked into the adjoining bathing room, I saw that Brom had beaten me to it, and was standing under the old brass shower rose, water streaming down his body as he soaped himself up.

Had Draven been where I was, watching the majesty of Brom’s body move as he performed such an everyday routine? Like me, had he hungrily soaked in every detail? Had he pulled his leathers off just as I did, needing to be stripped bare before the wing commander? And had Brom’s eyes cracked open, the finely honed instincts of a soldier alerting him to the presence of another? Had Draven seen that hazel gaze heat up as Brom watched him strip down, just as I did now, with all the fascination of a dragon on the hunt?

I wanted to ask Brom those questions, gods, how I wanted to, but as I stepped closer, naked now and under the water, Brom pulled me in against his body. His mouth brushed against mine, teasing my lips open, ready for a deeper kiss when Soren barked, “Hurry it up in there!”

“Was my mother insufferable?” Brom asked me, ignoring his drill sergeant. “Did Ada behave? She can be a right little gossip when she gets started.”

“About that.”

When Brom had pulled me in against him my hands had gone up instinctively, coming to rest on his hard chest and I moved my fingertips, stealing a caress from my husband, my own, while not being sure how true that statement was. Brom’s smile faded and he frowned as he gazed down at me.

“What did she say? That little minx—”

I cut off his words, lifting my hand from his chest to put my fingers against his lips. The soft prickle of his beard brought memories of it against other parts of my body, and with a pang I wondered again if he was mine. I took a deep breath to clear my mind before I dared answer his question with my own.

I wasn’t going to hold this in. I had no idea why on earth Ada had felt she needed to share that information with me, but I wasn’t going to wonder and worry in silence. I sucked in another breath, ready to ask him, when Soren’s bark had me jumping. Brom pulled my hand away and yelled back, “Go on down to dinner. We’ll be out shortly.” Then he directed his focus entirely back to me, unnervingly so. “Now, Pippin.”

“Were you… in love with Ada?” I asked, hesitantly, but that was really only half the question. I swallowed hard. “Andwith Draven?” He sucked in a sharp breath at that, which felt like an admission, but I continued while I could get the words out. “She told me about the three of you rambling around the moors as children, that she was your queen—” He snorted rudely at that. “And then she said she wasn’t enough for Draven. That he was… possessive of the two of you.”

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