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Farrendel pushed to his feet, even as she started to turn away. Something twisted in his chest. He was supposed to call her Essie, but he could not bring himself to say anything but her full name out loud. It seemed disrespectful otherwise. “Elspeth?”
She froze, then turned back toward him, her eyes searching his face. “Yes?”
Why had he called her back? What was so important that he had to tell her?
His heart hurt inside his chest, aching and full. She had been so trusting, so vulnerable with him so far that morning. He should trust her in return, even if he could not meet her gaze as he did. “I do not regret marrying you.”
A warm smile spread across her face, her eyes lighting. “I don’t regret marrying you either.”
She spun and hurried back the way she had come, disappearing around the corner of his room.
As soon as she was out of sight, Farrendel sagged against the wall, his hands trembling. What just happened? Had that gone well? Or terribly? He was not entirely sure which one it was.
Even worse, he would have to face her all over again in a few minutes.
ChapterNine
Farrendel let the hot water pound into his head and back. He was taking far too long. Essie was waiting, and he was delaying as long as he could.
He could do this. He had to do this. They were just going to talk. Not that scary, right?
Wrong. Terrifying. Utterly terrifying. If he did not get a hold of his stomach, he was going to lose the little breakfast he had managed to eat.
When he finally admitted he could not make her wait any longer, he dressed and walked down the stairs, his heart pounding harder with each step. Stomach churning, he pulled open the door to the main room.
Inside, Essie sat on one of the cushions, bouncing a little. Her gaze snapped up to him, and she stilled, a smile on her face.
Do not panic. Donotpanic.
He forced himself to cross the room and sit on one of the cushions a few feet away from her, his back safely to the wall. It took all his self-control to keep his churning stomach in place, and he hid his shaking hands by clenching them against his knees.
Essie would have to start the conversation. Farrendel was not about to.
“Um, well, do you have any questions? Because I have a lot of questions.” Essie’s gaze flicked over his face. “Don’t let me ask all the questions, all right?”
She paused, as if expecting something from him.
He forced himself to nod.
That seemed to satisfy her. “My favorite color is dark green. Mostly because of this.” She picked up her long braid and waggled it. “Green always looks good with my hair. Blue too. But the other colors can be iffy, depending on the shade. It makes it difficult when picking out fabric for dresses. But green is my dependable color. What’s your favorite color?”
Why did she want to know his favorite color? Of everything they had to talk about, why was she starting with something so trivial?
Yet trivial was easier to handle than something personal and vulnerable. It took a moment, but he managed to get the single word out. “Blue.”
Essie leaned against the wall behind her, all of her muscles relaxed. As if this was not difficult for her in the least. She faced him with that easy smile. “How old are you?”
“One hundred and five.” Farrendel was not sure what she would make of that information.
She grinned, giving a smothered sound that might have been a laugh before shaking her head. “That makes you something like nineteen or so years old in human years.”
By the tone of her voice, she found that terribly young. How old was she? Farrendel had not thought her much older than him, but what if Weylind was right and she was?
Farrendel ducked his head, unable to meet her gaze. “One hundred and five is scandalously young for an elf to marry.”
“Nineteen is somewhat young for humans as well. Not scandalously young, though.” Essie’s voice still held a trace of a laugh. “I’m twenty. Does that make me a hundred and ten or twenty or something like that to you elves?”
Oh, good. She was still younger than two hundred and within what would be considered an acceptable age gap for married couples. Weylind’s fear had been unfounded, even if she was indeed older than Farrendel.
