“A remarkable hour to start issuing wishes,” he said, keeping his tone mild on purpose. “You chose to sneak out at this hour, and then somehow think that the action will not yield any sort of consequence? I am not sure if you are thinking properly, let alone thinking at all.”
He glanced over at what they were carrying. The tops of some vegetables and bread peeked out from the sack they were carrying, and Duncan shook his head at the sight. Their youth was showing, and it could not be clearer that they did not know what they were doing.
“You have packed provisions as though you intend to cross a continent. Do you even know which direction you are heading?” he said after a moment.
“That is none of your concern,” Augusta snapped, though her fingers tightened around Matilda’s wrist. “We are leaving, and you cannot stop us.”
Matilda sniffled behind her sister’s skirts, peeking at him with wide, wet eyes. The sight did something deeply uncomfortable in his chest.
“I am not certain I wish to stop you,” Duncan replied after a moment.
Augusta blinked, startled. Yes, that was the reaction that he was hoping to receive.
“What?” she asked after a moment.
“If you are determined to wander into the dark with a sack of bread, I can only disapprove but I will not go as far as stopping you.” He lifted the lantern slightly. “I will escort you.”
There was complete silence after his remark, and he wanted to smirk at how predictable they were. Even though Duncan much preferred to keep to himself, he understood how people worked. It was all rather predictable, he thought to himself.
“You…” Augusta frowned suspiciously. “Escort us? Why would you do that?”
“Aye.” He inclined his head toward the path leading away from the castle. “Lead on.”
They stared at him as though he had grown a second head. Then, slowly, Augusta turned. She pulled Matilda with her and began walking down the narrow road that wound away fromBlackstone. Duncan followed at a measured distance, lantern swinging at his side.
For several minutes, there was only the sound of gravel beneath small boots and the whisper of wind over the moors.
He watched them carefully.
Augusta walked stiffly, chin high, and Matilda clutched the sack of provisions with both arms now, occasionally stumbling over stones. Both of them… well, he knew that Charity was right to be concerned about them. They were too young, but the dangerous kind. Especially Augusta.
At her age, youth makes one believe that one is invincible, and that is precisely why she must be protected. But Duncan was not in the business of giving out sermons, so instead, he was going to let them arrive at their own conclusions.
They reached the first fork in the road, and it was the first time that Augusta hesitated. It was subtle, but Duncan saw it.
She looked left, then right. Then left again.
“Well?” he asked mildly.
She squared her shoulders and chose the right, and they walked another ten minutes before the road began to narrow.
Matilda’s steps slowed, but Duncan merely observed what was happening.
“Augusta…” Matilda whispered.
“Hush,” Augusta muttered, stubbornly. It was clear to Duncan that she was not going to give up without a solid fight. Duncan’s lantern light caught the uncertainty creeping into the older girl’s expression. Her pace faltered again at a second split in the path.
“Are we nearly there?” Matilda asked in a small voice.
“Nearly where?” Duncan asked.
“Do not mock us!” Augusta stopped abruptly and spun around.
“I am not mocking you,” he said calmly. “I am asking a practical question. Where are you going? You seem not to have answered that for me, and I am sure that your sister would like to know it as well.”
“I do not know!” she burst out. Her composure had finally cracked, and Matilda began crying softly again.
“This is your fault!” Augusta whirled on him, fury blazing in her eyes.
