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“Farrendel, before you go.” Julien hurried forward. “I’ll be here first thing in the morning for a training session.”
“Training session? Really, Julien?” Essie stepped between Farrendel and Julien. Couldn’t her brother see that Farrendel was in no shape for training?
Julien crossed his arms, his gaze focused over Essie’s head to stare at Farrendel. “Yes. It will be good for him.”
Farrendel turned to face Julien, raising his head.
“What do you say, Farrendel?” Julien held his gaze, unflinching.
Farrendel nodded. “I will be there.” With that, he spun on his heels and all but ran into Buckmore Cottage. He had apparently reached the end of his tolerance for people that day.
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing, Essie.” Julien patted her shoulder before turning to Iyrinder. “I’ll introduce you to the other guards and show you where you’ll be bunking.”
Iyrinder gave a small nod and followed Julien around the side of Buckmore Cottage, probably headed to the small guardhouse that stood by the gate in the surrounding wall that serviced Buckmore Cottage.
Mother gave Essie another hug as she passed, then she waved to Taranath. “And I’ll show you to your room on the ground floor of the Cottage.”
“Let me know if you need anything.” Paige gave Essie another hug. “And when you’re both up for it, the boys will be excited to see you again. We didn’t even tell them you were coming yet, since they would just beg to see you if they knew.”
“We’ll try to have a family supper just as soon as we can.” Essie hugged Paige back, then leaned into Averett’s side hug. It felt so good to be hugged again. While Essie had appreciated the support of Farrendel’s family, none of them hugged the way her family did.
When she finally could convince herself to pull away, Essie entered Buckmore Cottage, the memories she had with Farrendel here enveloping her. Things had been so right, before it had all gone so wrong.
Inside, Essie glanced around, then headed up the stairs. As expected, she found Farrendel in the turret bedroom that they had claimed last time. The walls were covered in a light blue wallpaper with white wainscoting. Windows were set into each wall, looking out over the garden and the large forested parkland that made up the grounds of Winstead Palace. The bed sat beneath one of the windows while a small dressing table and a mirror filled one of the spaces along the inner wall.
Farrendel sat cross-legged on the bed, staring down at his hands. His ragged hair flopped across his forehead.
Essie sat on the bed facing him. “Are you all right? I know my family was probably overwhelming. They’re just happy you’re safe.”
“It is not that. I love your family.” Farrendel still stared at his hands. “Tonight...I am not sure if I am safe to be near.”
“You didn’t have any nightmares last night, on the train.” Where he had slept on one bench and she on the facing one. Since neither of them were using it, she’d let Taranath use their private car.
Farrendel gave a small shrug. “Taranath’s sedative kept me sleeping deeply. But we cannot assume that it will always prevent me from lashing out in my sleep.”
Now Essie was the one staring at her hands. She didn’t want to offer to sleep in another room here. While it had been bad enough back in Estyra, they had slept in separate bedrooms there before, when they had first been married and had been strangers.
But here in Buckmore Cottage, this had always been their room. Together. It seemed wrong to do anything else.
The bed was bigger than the one in Estyra. If they each slept on the far side from each other, they would probably be fine, even if Farrendel flailed in his sleep.
But Essie knew he wouldn’t want to risk it.
“I have an idea.” Essie patted Farrendel’s knee, then rolled off the bed to her feet. “Come on. I’ll need your help to carry all the pillows.”
“Pillows?” Farrendel trailed after her as she strode out of the room.
With the housekeeper and Taranath sleeping on the ground floor, Essie and Farrendel had the upper floor all to themselves. Essie went from room to room, stripping the beds, settees, and chairs of all the pillows she could find.
When she and Farrendel returned to their room with their arms piled with pillows, Essie built a wall of pillows down the center of the bed, then lined the wall for good measure. Might as well protect Farrendel from another set of bruised knuckles.
When she finished, she stood back and gave a nod. “There. How’s this?”
Farrendel crawled onto the bed, then sat in the center of the nest of pillows. His nose wrinkled as he frowned at the wall of pillows. “I now have my own padded cell.”
Oops. That wasn’t what she meant it to look like. Essie sat on her side of the bed facing him. She didn’t really like the wall between them either, even if it was only pillows. But she forced cheeriness into her voice. “No, you have your own pillow fort.”
She took one of the top pillows from the wall and swung it at his head, though she did it slowly to avoid startling him.
