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Hannah told me that, other than Truett, the others had been peasants. He probably had to clean his own clothes on occasion.
I sighed. “Okay, you found me. I’m doing housework. What do you want?”
He handed me the pants, and I started to scrub at them. The concoction I used—a tiny amount of vinegar mixed with water—got the wrinkles out, so that when it hung to dry, it came out better looking. I would rinse with a scent my father liked, to hide any lingering trace of the vinegar.
“Well, right now? I want to help you and then I want to talk to you. We would all like that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk to you. We really have nothing else to say to each other. I can tell you what I think, I guess, but I can’t imagine you would even disagree with me.”
He blinked. “That remains to be seen. We rarely agree on anything, ever, but please go ahead.”
“You don’t want me. I get it. I do. You had a wife. She died. I am so sorry that happened to you. Plus, it was clear the other night, none of you think very highly of the process. My visions aren’t something you want or value. Fine. That is really all there is between us. Everything I can offer you is something you don’t care to have, so leave me here. Go on your way. When I have visions, you’ll get them anyway, so it shouldn’t matter. If in some way they are helpful, then that’s great.” I rose to hang the pants on the wire strung for drying clothing.
Frederick started to clean a shirt. “Are these just your father’s?”
“He doesn’t like how anyone else cleans his stuff.” I stared at him. Wasn’t he going to answer me? Did he agree so completely that we could just go our separate ways?
He shook his head. “You’re a lady. Your father is a Baron. You have the gift of sight. Why are you scrubbing clothing?”
I shook my head right back at him. “Despite your proclamation the other night, I’m not gently raised. My mother believes in hard work, and our city-state is not genteel. We have to be tough to survive here. I can survive, and I can contribute.”
“Well, Sloane…” He sighed. “I’m afraid it can’t work long-term the way you’re describing .”
“Hey!” Oliver appeared, rushing over to join us. “Is this where you got off to, Freddie? I thought you wandered into the stable.
Frederick shook his head. “You thought wrong, Ollie. This is our wife, Sloane. I am just becoming reintroduced, and I’m helping her. Make yourself useful.”
“Of course.” He took the shirt I was just about to hang up and clipped it to the wire easily. “You need to spread these out more. They’ll dry faster.”
I would have argued, but he was right. Instead, I thinned my lips before saying, “Thank you.”
“Sure.” He held out his hand and I handed him the next garment. “What are you two talking about? Is it why she ran away from Hawkseye? Or did you ask her what she intends to get out of this?”
Frederick sighed. “No, actually. She was sharing her plan, and telling me how she thinks this should work going forward. After I heard her thoughts, I was just about to give her the bad news about why it can’t work.”
The wind blew, lifting tendrils of my hair, and I looked up at the clouds. They moved quickly in the way they did right before a storm. That was bad enough, but it was also the time of year when we sometimes got twisters. Where did the bad weather come from all of a sudden?
I stood up, and the men copied my motion. Their heads tilted back and they both stared skyward. “What do you see?” Oliver asked. “I don’t see anything of note, and you haven’t had a vision in days.”
I shrugged. “There are plenty of things that scare me. Most of them have nothing to do with monsters.”
We’d almost finished the basket of clothes, so I placed it by the back door of my home. Hopefully, I was wrong about the change in weather. My family isn’t home yet.
“What are you worried about, then?” Oliver touched my arm again. “Sloane? I can fight just about anything that frightens you.”
I wished it was true and he was the kind of man I might ask to slay my demons, but I would never want Oliver to do a damn thing for me. “I fight my own battles, thanks. And what I’m afraid of is the weather. I think we might be getting a tornado. The clouds are rushing, and there’s a green hue to the air. I saw rotation in some of the clouds.”
Frederick looked around, his eyes widening. “You’re right. I didn’t consider, we’re in that part of the kingdom. We might get tornadoes here.”
“Go get your friends and go back to wherever you’re staying before it hits. I would estimate you have about an hour. That is, unless you’re staying in tents somewhere. If you are, you should find some shelter for the night. It’s going to get nasty out there.”
Frederick shook his head. “Sloane, if you think there is any chance in hell we would leave you alone with a tornado coming, I think you have misjudged us more than I feared.”
I blinked at him, surprised. “I’m not alone. There are servants inside who help us. They’ll stay with me. My parents are probably on their way back, and if they notice the sky, they’re going to be here before the weather hits.”
He sighed. “Well, I’m afraid you’re stuck with us, so you’ll either let us in or doom us to our deaths by tornado.”
I glared at him, and he seemed sort of amused. Oliver looked between us, his blond hair blowing in the wind.
