The Wretched of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler Page A

horse knows you, it probably would not make much noise.”
    “I am not afraid of your hunter.”
    “He has a bow and a gladius and you have nothing.”
    “What, a half-sword? And who trained him to use it?” He grunted with a chuckle and turned to look at her scathingly. “Do you ever stop talking?”
    She wanted to strike the bowl of porridge out of his hand. Instead, she frowned with fury and kneaded the dough. “I have plenty of faults but would rather have mine than yours.”
    “It is not a fault to enjoy a respite from constant conversation. A respite is...”
    “I know what respite means,” she said, slamming the wad of dough and looking back at him fiercely. “Do you understand where you are? This is the Aldermaston’s kitchen. He has eaten many meals in here. I see him every day and serve him his food. Do you think he changes the way he speaks to suit us? No! I have heard him use words that you may struggle with. When I do not understand something, I ask. He answers me for the most part – and when he will not, there are learners who do. I know what respite means.”
    “I have insulted you.”
    “You are very astute, Sir Armiger.”
    “Perhaps you will afford me now a moment to think quietly.”
    She was incensed. “You have had it quiet all night! What do you need to think so quietly about still, if I may ask?”
    He turned back to his bowl and ate more of the steaming porridge, poking it angrily with his spoon. “I may not stop you from asking, it appears, even when I insult you. I am trying to determine your age.”
    It had flattered her that the knight-maston thought she was tall enough to be sixteen. “The man who dragged you to my doorstep was more polite than you. If you desire to know, then ask!”
    He looked baffled. “It would not be proper to do so.”
    “Is it more proper to insult me instead? Why do you care how old I am?”
    As Lia continued to punch the dough, adding the proper ingredients, she spied movement at the top of the loft and saw Sowe rubbing her eyes. That their argument was loud enough to have awakened her was surprising. Quietly, Sowe climbed down the ladder and disappeared behind the changing screen.
    His eyebrows were knotted with anger and he looked at her as if she were a fool – as if his every action should be obvious. “It is inconvenient knowing that my fate and my life is in the hands of a wretched who cannot keep quiet. Your friend is quiet. I find her courtesy and deference admirable. You talk too much for someone who says she keeps secrets.”
    Lia wanted to laugh and she did, under her breath. “Sowe is quiet because she is shy, especially around boys. She hardly says two words when the Aldermaston comes.”
    “I would say that is a proper token of respect.”
    “Then you fear that I will spill your secret? That I might stumble and it will come blurting out of my mouth? Is that it?”
    His eyes were earnest, and something in his mouth was defiant. “I do not fear it, but yes.”
    Her fingers were thick with dough, and she scraped them clean on her apron. She scooped up the bud of dough and began shaping it. Part of her crinkly hair dropped in her face, and she brushed it away with the back of her hand.
    “I am not like the girls that gossip in the laundry,” she said. “Maybe that is what you are used to.”
    “It has been my experience that females in general cannot keep secrets. My life depends on your ability to keep mine.”
    “But I am not like that. You may believe me or not, but I have kept a secret of this abbey for years. A secret that the Aldermaston has forbidden anyone to know. You could trust me with your name, and I would tell no one. Not even the Aldermaston.”
    His mouth tightened. Was he starting to believe her, or did he still doubt?
    “I cannot trust anyone like that,” he said softly. “Except my sister.”
    Lia shrugged. “At least you have a sister. You had better climb up to the loft. Pasqua will be here soon.”
    He