Free Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken Page B

small, old woman was sitting at a desk by the entryway. Owain introduced her as Mrs. Pemberly, whispering as wewent upstairs that her kindness was the only reason he could afford his room. Apparently, there was some sort of trade between the two of them. He cleared out any “bad sorts,” and she let him live there at an extremely discounted rate.
    “Bless the lady’s heart,” Owain said, fumbling with the lock on the door. “Cleans my room and everything. You can go to her for anything you need, lass.”
    “Thank you,” I said, dropping my bag to the floor. “Will you tell North where I am?”
    “Course! Poor ol’ lad is probably tearing out his hair with worry, thinking I’ve stolen you away for myself!” Owain laughed.
    “I sincerely doubt it,” I said, settling down on the corner of the small bed.
    “Ahhhh…,” Owain sighed. He leaned up against the wall. “You know, lass, the reason I was surprised to see you was because I thought that a pretty, delicate thing like yourself couldn’t possibly be there with Wayland North. He doesn’t bring many girls round unless they’re part of a job—but also ’cause his smell can sometimes kill kittens.”
    A laugh bubbled up inside me. Encouraged by this, Owain continued, “North kept looking at you out of the corner of his eye. It’s not proper to speak with ladies if they haven’t spoken to you first, or I would have asked you what you were doing with him.”
    “I didn’t know that,” I said, wondering where he could possibly have heard such a thing.
    “I read it in my knighthood guide.” Owain pulled a small book out of his pocket. It was old, maybe from the time of my grandfather. “Anyway, lass, if you’re with North, you must be something special.”
    “I’m not with him by choice,” I said, idly playing with the strings on my bag. “I’m only with him for as long as it takes to get to Provincia, and then I’m on my own, regardless of what he wants.”
    Owain laughed again. “That’s good news for me! Maybe I’ll steal you away when he’s finished.”
    I had to smile at his enormous grin.
    “All right, lass. I’ll grab the wizard and bring him back here. Then we’ll be off.” He patted my head, and I was glad to have made him so happy.
    “Are you a knight, Master Owain?” I asked as he reached the door.
    Owain’s face rearranged itself. For a single second, it was devoid of any of his former cheerfulness—a blank slate of fiercely withheld emotion. Then his muscles relaxed. “Perhaps in another life, lass,” he said, shutting the door purposefully behind him.

CHAPTER FOUR

    I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling above my head and a floral bedspread beneath my cheek. Blinking at the early-morning light, I wiped away the last remnants of sleep and said my prayers. My muscles ached from the cramped position I had slept in. The bedsheets beneath me were perfectly tucked in. It was as if no one else had been in at all.
    I sat up straight. No cloaks, no bags, no boots—no men. I had been left behind.
    A sharp knock on the door startled me from my thoughts. The small face of Mrs. Pemberly appeared in the doorway.
    “Oh, bother!” She opened the door wider. She was carrying a heavy tray of food. “I thought for sure Owain had come back last night….”
    “He didn’t come back at all?” I asked.
    Mrs. Pemberly shook her head and set the tray down on the small table.
    “Hungry, my dear? I wouldn’t mind some company for breakfast….” After not eating the night before, I was ravenous. As we chatted, I couldn’t shake the image in my mind of Owain, hunkered down next to the little old woman, sipping tea and eating eggs. She asked me where I had come from and where I was going and, when the opportunity presented itself, counted off her ten grandchildren on her fingers, pausing when she momentarily forgot the sixth one’s name. When we were finished, she went about her day, and I was