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“I appreciate that.” She gives me a low incline of her head and rushes off to fetch me some tea.
“Hey, she didn’t leave the pitcher,” Noé protests, then narrows his eyes at me. “What’s wrong with the bloody ale? Not good enough for you?”
Bron guffaws. “No, Noé, it’s not the ale that’s not good enough for her.”
A soft giggle escapes me, igniting the combined suspicion of Luka and Noé. “Clueless, right?” Bron says, sending me a wink, while Ion, who’s settled himself across from him, smiles.
“Clueless about what?” Noé is definitely cranky, but before he can force an answer out of anyone, a girl I’ve not met yet sets plates of food in front of me and Luka.
“Eggs! I haven’t had eggs in . . . I don’t remember how long. And sausages!” I take up my spoon and groan at how good the first bite is.
More plates have been delivered, but no one is eating. They’re all staring at me. I swallow what’s in my mouth. “What?”
“Nothing,” Luka says, his glare making a round of the table, forcing everyone’s attention to their own plates. “Just make sure you eat it all.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. Lorna returns with my tea and the pitcher of ale, and something about her sparks an idea about Kata. “My deve,” I say in between bites. “Is it all right if Kata joins Bron’s lessons?”
“What? Why?” he asks dismissively, scarfing down a piece of sausage.
“Isn’t it obvious? She’s mute. She has no other way to communicate.”
“What lessons?” Noé grouses.
Ignoring Noé, Luka tells me, “She’s your maid, do with her what you will.”
“She is?” Delight infuses the question. “I’ve never had a maid before.”
“As long as she gets her work done.”
I can’t stop myself from half-rising to kiss the side of his mouth. “Thank you.” I turn to Bron. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all,” he says, reaching across the table to take Ion’s hand. “Ion can learn, too.”
“Learn?” Noé sets his mug down hard. “Lessons? You are asking for trouble. If Kharon finds out –”
“How would he find out?” Luka challenges. “Besides, our scribe is dead and Kharon hasn’t seen fit to replace him.”
“That doesn’t excuse –”
“You’ve made yourself clear, Noé. When Kharon comes to kill us all, I’ll be sure to let him know you voted against me.”
Noé has more to say on the subject, but Eldon arrives at the table, crabbiness written into every line of his body language. There must be something in the air this morning. “Here you are. We have shit to do before mediation this afternoon, Luka.” Then he notices me and his voice warms. “Rina.”
“Hi, Eldon.” I gesture to the open spot on the bench beside Noé. “Would you like some ale while you wait for Luka to finish breaking his fast?”
He grumbles something under his breath, but takes the seat. I signal Bron to pass me his unused cup, so I can pour the ale.
“Did you know about thislearningthing?” Noé demands of Eldon.
Taking a deep breath, Eldon turns to him and very seriously asks, “When are you going to pull that stick out of your ass?”
“Fuck off. It’s my job to be the voice of reason.”
“Yeah, reason, not constant, nagging disapproval.”
I can feel Luka becoming agitated beside me, like he’s preparing to use his dagger on his men instead of his breakfast. Placing my hand on his thigh under the table, I distract them all. “What’s mediation?”
Eldon swings his head my way and raises a brow, telling me he knows exactly what I’m doing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know the answer to my question.
