“A hare and two deer,” Atticus replied.
“It’s good to know, even if we didn’t have royal game hunters, my husband could provide meat for our table,” she returned softly, Father grinned proudly and then she turned to me and her face grew serious.
“I’m relatively certain, my Finnie, that you should be at your bath,” she stated bizarrely and I blinked at her.
“I should?” I asked.
“The Gales ball commences in four hours,” she informed me of something I knew.
Therefore I told her I knew.
“I know, but it won’t take four hours to get ready.”
Her lips tipped up before she returned, “Dear, trust me, your maidservants are upstairs fretting that you’ve spent the last half hour pacing the windows while looking out, anticipating your husband’s return and now you’re out here with your husband and didn’t, upon his safe return, retire to your rooms to begin preparations where your maids expected you to be at least an hour ago.”
I felt Frey’s arm tense around my shoulders, indicating he now knew the reason I “burst forth from the Palace” but I ignored that because I was busy blinking again.
Then I asked, “Seriously?”
She nodded firmly, “Seriously, my daughter.”
Wow. Five hours to prepare for a ball? Jeez, I wondered what would take so long.
Looking at my mother, I decided I’d better find out and probably not do that by wasting time with asking.
“I’ll go up right away,” I told her.
“This would be wise,” she replied, her eyes getting soft as I’d noticed they had been doing a lot more these last four days.
I had to say, I liked that.
Then I thought of our morning in town, why I asked her to go with me and what was waiting upstairs. Therefore, I pressed my lips together and bugged my eyes out at her. She nodded her head slightly toward the house then just as slightly jerked out her chin in the same direction just in case I didn’t catch her first hint. I bit my lip nervously. Her eyes narrowed on my mouth then she again jerked her chin to the Palace and blinked meaningfully.
I took her meaning and that was when I tipped my head back to look at Frey.
“Can you come up with me? Just for a minute,” I asked shyly.
And I didn’t know why I was being shy. It was silly. He was, of course, my husband. I did, of course, know him in a biblical sense. I had been getting to know him very, very well in that biblical sense for the last five days, in other words, outside of archery, eating, sleeping and afternoon dancing lessons with the girls (for there were a number of dances they danced at the Gales and Princess Sjofn knew them all and I, of course, did not so I had to learn them tout suite), that was pretty much all I’d been doing. Not to mention, I’d spent a great deal of time with him. Why I was shy now, I had no clue.
But I was.
And Frey, being Frey, and missing less than Mother did (which was to say, not very much), caught it.
And therefore Frey, being Frey, gave me a squeeze and murmured gently, “Of course, my wee Finnie.”
I smiled at him then we exchanged farewells with my parents and he led me up the steps to the Palace.
We were inside and heading to the stairwell when his arm, still around my shoulders, curled me closer into him.
“Is everything all right, wee one?” he asked.
I nodded, my eyes on my feet.
“You’ve had your maids pack your trunks?” he went on and I nodded again.
We were leaving tomorrow to go to his ship.
I was looking forward to wearing my fabulous dress that night. I was looking forward to seeing what everyone else would be wearing. I was looking forward to finding out what we’d be eating (though, if it was only hare and venison, I was planning another mini-princess-fit). And I was looking forward to trying out my newly learned dance moves.
But most of all, I was looking forward to going with Frey tomorrow and finally seeing his ship then being on it and then being with him and out at sea.
And I was looking forward to that a lot.
“They’re packed, they were loaded on the sleigh two hours ago and they’re on their way to Sudvic,” I told him.
“Excellent,” he muttered, guiding me up the stairs.
“Um… if we get to our rooms and the girls are there, just to give you a head’s up,” I warned, looking up at his profile, “they’re not really happy you won’t let me have at least one of them along when we set sail.”
Frey looked down at me. “I understand you’ve grown close to them, Finnie, and I’m pleased you have but a ship is no place for a woman.”
“I’ll be there,” I pointed out.
“And you’ll be warming my bed in my cabin and my men will know this and will know they will earn my displeasure and how that displeasure will be communicated if they do not train their attention to other things when you’re amongst them. Your girls would be distracting and when we are at sail; my men do not need distractions.”