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Except Vienne’s voice entered my thoughts, warning me to go easy.
You have a habit of diving right off into deep issues that most people need to ease into, my dear. You scare some off with your intensity and drive.
I had no idea if Farrow could be scared off by an onslaught of personal queries about himself, but I didn’t want to risk it, so I stroked the neck of the horse I rode and blurted, “Does she have a name?” because I needed conversation like I needed breath in my lungs, and that seemed like an easy, trivial enough topic.
“What?” Startled by my voice, his outline twitched before he turned my way.
“My mount,” I clarified. Damn, I sounded crazy, didn’t I, by just deluging him with randomness without any reference at all? Not even I would’ve known what I’d been talking about if I’d posed the question to myself. “The one I’m riding,” I went on. “Does she have a name? Or is it a he?”
“Oh.” He swallowed audibly. “Uh…” After a stilted moment of thinking, he ruefully admitted. “Yes. You’re on Caramel. She’s female. I’m riding Mint, a male.”
“They have food names!” I cheered in delight. “How appetizing.”
But then I had to ignore the twinge in my stomach because, speaking of food, I could certainly go for a midnight snack right about now. Or a drink. My tongue felt about two sizes larger than usual. Once we’d left the oasis around the castle, the dry desert air had attacked with a vengeance, almost immediately dehydrating me.
“Aye. The, uh, the stable I borrowed them from,” Farrow said, his voice trembling slightly, “has a tendency to name their mounts after food.”
Forgetting about my thirst, I furrowed my brow and repeated, “Borrowed?”
Did he not own the animals himself?
But as quickly as I pondered the thought, I flushed, embarrassed for assuming he actually had enough funds to own horses.
And, you know, so what? He wasn’t a wealthy man. Maybe Far Shore soldiers didn’t get paid well. That was fine. I wasn’t one who needed fine things or extravagant luxuries, even as I wondered how poor one had to be that they couldn’t even afford two horses, because I’d never actually lived without fine things or extravagant luxuries before.
I’d never gone without anything before, come to think of it. Or worked for a living.
Oh, dear. Would I need to work now to help support our family?
If we had to rely on me for income, this might turn disastrous. I couldn’t sew a stitch to save my soul, and I’d never even tried to cook or clean. I was going to make a terrible wife, wasn’t I?
Dear Lord, what if he shipped me back to Donnelly as soon as he discovered how truly inept and worthless I was? Should I confess now that I didn’t have a useful skill to my name before he put any more effort into taking me into his household?
My nerves grew unstable. Suddenly unsure about the entire notion of running off and leaving the only home I’d ever known—forever—and cleaving myself to a complete stranger, I shook my head and silently ordered myself to just calm down already.
I merely needed to learn more about him; that was all. Maybe he didn’t need me for manual labor. Maybe he would be perfectly content with the love and companionship I could offer. All I had to do was figure out what he was looking for in a partner. Then I’d realize I was worrying about nothing. This man was meant for me. Of course, our situation—whatever that might be—would work out for the best.
So, screw going easy. I needed reassurance. Now.
“Tell me about yourself, Farrow.”
“Me?” he repeated, sounding wholly horrified by the suggestion.
I winced. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t the same, dive-right-in type of person I was. Oh, well. He might as well learn now that I was.
“Yes. Do you have a trade?” I asked, since most people who couldn’t afford horses did. “I mean, I know you must be a soldier since you were in the army that was captured by my—” Cutting myself off, I cringed again. It was probably best not to mention how my kingdom had completely annihilated his. “But do you do anything else when you’re not training? Do you have a large family? Live in the country or a village? What have you always wanted to do? Are you a fan of music? Why did it take you so long to return for me? Is your—”
“Princess,” he cut in, sounding rattled.
Damn. I’d gone too far, hadn’t I?
“Sorry,” I rushed out, cringing some more. “It’d probably be best if I actually waited for you to answer a question before I posed the next, wouldn’t it?”
At least he sounded amused when he agreed, “That would be most helpful, yes. Thank you.”
I flushed. “Of course. Or…” Dash it, I was messing this up epically, wasn’t I? “Maybe I should just tell you about me,” I said. “Then you wouldn’t feel as if you were being harangued with so many inquiries. Would that suffice?”
“That—that would be fine, princess. Whatever you wish.”
