“Are you alright, Tyr?” Lady Salamar asked. “You look a little pale.”
“I was just wondering where Lia went,” he said.
“Maybe she got lost,” the lady answered. “Shall I send Martha to look for her?”
“No! Um, no, not yet, thank you,” Tyrell smiled. “I’m sure she’ll be back by and by.”
“Tell me, who is her father?” Lord Salamar asked.
“Yes, and how did you meet?” his lady added.
Tyrell looked back at the old couple and blinked.That’s right.They had somehow decided that Tyrell and Lia were married. Tyrell bit his lip wondering whether or not to correct this assumption. If he did, it would probably lead to more questions, the kind that were probing for a scandal. The last thing Tyrell needed was to be known as the kind of young nobleman who went traveling alone with the female servants.This was exactly why he didn’t want Lia following him!Well, that and because he didn’t want her to die.
“I’ve . . .” he started. When did hemeetLia? Did he ever really,officially?He supposed he knew her as long as he’d known Princess Tavia. She was always with the princess, ready to do her bidding. Until very recently, Tyrell didn’t think of Lia as a woman who existed in her own right.
“Princess Tavia introduced us,” Tyrell explained. “I don’t remember exactly when.”
Lady Salamar squeezed her husband’s hand more tightly. “Oh, how lovely! You two seem so well suited to each other.”
“Yes . . .” Tyrell answered. “She’s very caring and . . .” he glanced back toward the hall. “Incredibly brave.”
The Salamar’s leaned in, expressions begging for more of the story, basking in the second-hand romance.
“She’s very pretty,” Lord Salamar pointed out.
Tyrell felt his cheeks flush. “Yeah . . .” he realized. “I suppose she is.”
His anxiety was reaching its peak—he didn’t know how much more of this he could endure.
“But you still haven’t told us what family she’s from,” the lord pleaded.
Tyrell opened his mouth, wondering how he could possibly dodgethisquestion. Then, like the answer to a prayer, Lia appeared in the doorway.
The tension left Tyrell’s muscles so quickly, he almost immediately dissolved into a puddle.
As she took her seat on the sofa beside him, he asked her a thousand questions with his eyes. She responded with a very subtle nod. She knew something, something she was going to tell him as soon as she could.
“There she is!” Lord Salamar exclaimed. “We worried you got lost for a moment.”
“I apologise,” Lia smiled kindly, taking her seat beside Tyrell. “I got lost.”
“Tyr was just telling us all about how you met!” Lady Salamar exclaimed.
“Yes, and to which family you belong,” her lord added.
She raised her eyebrows at him, so Tyrell very subtly shrugged.
“Um, yes, Lia,” he begged. “Tell Lord and Lady Salamar all about how we met.”
“Oh,” she breathed, understanding sparkling in her eyes. “I’ve known Tyrell for years.”
She reached over and took his hand with a tenderness that almost fooled him into believing her love. His heartbeat quickened as he forced a broad smile on his face, hoping whatever Lia said next wouldn’t contradict his story.
“I’ve known Tyrell all my life,” she smiled. “He used to come to the palace with his brothers and sisters and play with the children there.”
“So you’re Princess Tavia’s cousin!” Lord Salamar exclaimed. “I never could keep the whole royal family in my head..”
Tyrell hoped he wasn’t starting to sweat. If the old lord asked too many questions about Lia’s family, everything was going to fall apart. Luckily, Lia didn’t give him the chance.
