Two hundred cord wasn’t enough for this.
“I didn’t say Ilikedtallying numbers, only that I could do it. I’ve never been able to sit still for long, especially not inside.”
He considered that for a moment, and then said, “You’re smart and resourceful. You could start your own business. That wouldn’t necessarily keep you inside once you were able to hire someone to keep your books.”
She narrowed her eyes, searching for the trap in his words, but there didn’t seem to be one.
“I could start a business selling charms,” she said. “I’d like using the crown’s money for that.”
His lips twitched, but he didn’t take the bait. “You could be a soldier, like your father.”
“No.”
He nodded as if he’d expected the rejection. “A sailor, then. If you’re brave enough to step into the Black Woods, you’re brave enough to take to the sea. Lasrians have entirely female crews if you’re not interested in the royal fleet.”
“I’ve never even seen the ocean.”
Not a city larger than Sulen or the ocean or…anything except for Jarn and Toam and the wild woods and the cursed mountains looming over it all. How was she to know what she might like out there?
“You could always marry.”
She groaned. “For fuck’s sake.”
“You’ll have to work on the cursing. But once we clean you up and dress you in fashionable clothes, I think it could work. I’ll introduce you to some suitable men.”
“I don’t even want to think about the kind of men you’d think were suitable.”
He turned his head, regarding her with mild amusement. “You’d be a fool not to consider it. If you marry a wealthy man willing to accept your mother into his household, you’ll never have to worry about money again.”
“I can’t do that.”
Shewouldn’tmarry for money. Maybe it was foolish, but she still harbored the smallest spark of hope that one day she might meet a man who would love her as she was, not for her face or the children she could bear, but because he actually liked her as a whole person.
“It would be the easiest thing in the world to find you a willing partner,” the witch hunter went on, misunderstanding her objection. “You must know what you look like.”
What did he mean by that?
His gaze lingered on her for a moment before abruptly turning away. He rested his hands lightly on the saddle’s pommel. “Even with your tongue, I won’t have trouble finding you a husband. Some men might even prefer it.”
“What kind of men?”
“Men who don’t like to be bored. The ones who don’t want a meek and silent wife.”
“All men want a meek and silent wife.”
He huffed a soft laugh. “What sorry excuses for men you must know.”
Men were men everywhere, she imagined. Even in the capital.
“I’m not letting you pick out a husband for me.”
Good Lord, who would that even be? Some pious fuck who would look past her apparently many, many shortcomings and see only her youth and her face, that’s who.
No, thanks.
“Governess?”
She just stared at him. She didn’t think he was mocking her. He wasn’t that kind of asshole.
