Elliot placed a hand on hers, and she realized she had been
babbling to her skirt, not looking at him. He was smiling softly, his eyes
warm. “I believe you. Out of everyone here, you are the last person I would
expect to lie about that.”
Ivy returned his smile. “I try to tout the joys of equality,
while at the same time I’m unable to truly escape my station. I didn’t know you
or Devon’s positions, but I know Samuel’s, because he is courting Meredith, and
I know hers. I knew you both were of some breeding, from the fact that you had
gone to a school together, and the cut & quality of your clothing.” Ivy
looked down at their hands, still touching. She turned his hand over in hers,
slowly tracing his calluses. “I had actually assumed on first impression that
Devon was of a higher station, because of the detail in his doublet, and the
calluses on your hands. His hands are soft, but yours, you could possibly work
for a living.” She raised her gaze, to hold his eyes. “Now that I know you
both, I know that isn’t true. He’s a show off. His sense of honor is borrowed,
not ingrained. You hold yourself different, more confident. Your clothes are
well made, but simple, like mine. Are you wearing your traveling clothes? Is
that how your hands got this way? While traveling?”
He nodded, tucking some of his wavy hair behind his ear with
his free hand. His eyes were a piercing blue, like the ocean in autumn. They
held the gaze for a moment, then it was his turn to look at their hands, gently
touching her back. “I was working as a kind of diplomat, traveling trade
routes. I insisted, if I was going to spend 3 years traveling, that I travel with
a trader’s caravan. Lived their life.” He laughed softly to himself. “I think
most of them thought I was just another one of the mercenary guards. I liked
doing my fair share, being just another person in the caravan, seeing the world
with only what my horse could carry. It felt right.”
“No wonder you like it here.”
He smiled. “You can tell?” He looked up, and found her face
so close to his that he nearly startled. Her eyes were an impossible green- a
deep jewel tone that was close to the color of the plant that shared her name.
Her long dark lashes framed her eyes, making them stand out in sharp contrast
to her skin, as smooth and pale as an egg shell. He raised his free hand to her
cheek, stroking the softness under his thumb, and took a moment to marvel in
the contrast between the roughened, tanned skin of his hand, and her face. She
didn’t take her eyes off of his, not even to blink.
“Ahem”
The two of them nearly leapt out of their chairs, quickly
pulling away from each other. Ivy instantly started blushing, which Elliot had
decided was endearing. Samuel was leaning against the door jamb, arms crossed,
looking for the entire world very casual, and like he had been standing there a
long time. Ivy stood, curtsied in silence to both of them, and retreated to her
room, resisting the urge to run. Elliot went to go to his room as well, but
Samuel blocked his way, grinning like the trickster of old.
“What is so funny?”
“You”
“What about me?”
“You’ve fallen for her hard, haven’t you?” Samuel stood
back, letting Elliot into the bedroom. Elliot could not meet his eyes as he
passed.
“How can you tell?”
Samuel kept his eyes on the door to the girls’ room as he
closed their own. “Because I never thought, in my life, I would see you even
hold a woman’s hand without your father’s written permission.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The lights were out in the girls’ room, though Ivy knew her
friends would still be awake. She untied the laces on her dress, draped it
across a rung on the bunk, untied the drawstring on her overskirt, and draped
it as well, all in silence. She stood there in just her chemise, staring at the
windows. The ivy growing over the glass was backlit from the nearly full moon,
and the lights of the festival grounds to the south. They seemed to glow from
within, green and silver. She sat on the edge of her bunk, waiting.
“Did you tell him?” Meredith’s voice was barely a whisper
from above, easily missed if Ivy wanted to ignore it.
“About me, yes. Somewhat, anyway.” She tried to keep her
response just as quiet, in an attempt to keep emotion out of it, but doubted
she succeeded.
“You’ve fallen hard for him, haven’t you?” Adina shifted
above her. Ivy knew she would be leaning over the edge, looking down, but could
not see them in the dark.
“Possibly. Yes. Maybe. I’m not sure.”
“Well, this makes things easier, yes?”
“How?”
Meredith shifted on her bunk. Ivy could hear the creaking of
the ropes and wood, louder than their conversation. “Your father will let you
make a love match. You’re not the oldest, you have more options. He told you he
would give you time to make your own choice.”
“I’ve known the man less than two days, and you are already
talking marriage. I knew…”
Adina finished for her. “You knew Jareth for months, and he
hurt you. We know, dearest. He is scum, but he is a long, long time ago.”
Meredith’s voice was soft, but stronger than before. “I know
your father is giving you time, but he cannot wait forever. Someday you will
have to choose.”
Ivy wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. She
pulled her knees to her chest and pulled the blanket around her like a shawl, as
she did as a child when she wanted to hide. “I know, Meredith. I know.”
No comments:
Post a Comment