Chapter 9: Will he keep her?

Anaisa waited nervously for Trace's response to her suggestion. Would he be willing to just send her away to fend for herself? His face radiated his thoughts in an open and frank way. It was strange for a man to be so readable.

He was hurt by her words, but she wouldn't take them back.

If he sent her away, she could find Katia, and make sure her sister was all right, and then move on to revenge and getting her rightful place back.

Katia.

At the last town, only the two of them had been left. The soldier there had switched his gaze between them thoughtfully, waiting for the assignment to be announced.

He was young, and sober, which was already a vast improvement over most of the prospects. Anaisa had been relieved that Katia was given to him. She had been sure the last man would be worse, and that Katia was getting the better man.

Had she been wrong? Her new husband, while they were still strangers, had given up his sleeping place for them at the inn in the city. If only they weren't already married, she could trade places with Katia and give her this man instead of the other.

"Are you so eager to leave? I thought the brides were volunteers," Trace asked after a moment. "Maybe I read the poster wrong, or maybe it changed since I left…"

Anaisa cringed. "Circumstances beyond my control led to my sister and I being in an untenable situation."

"You were fired." Trace made the statement instead of asking. "When you didn't serve breakfast, I asked the innkeeper. I was afraid he'd tossed you out instead of letting you have the room…"

"My sister and I spent the night comfortably." Anaisa said quietly. "Thank you for that."

"But he told me the two of you had been fired for assaulting his wife."

"A misunderstanding," Anaisa ducked her head.

"Am I liable to find myself on the wrong end of such a misunderstanding?" He asked lightly, and she blinked at him.

On the one hand, he seemed to be teasing her, but he also hadn't known her for a full hour put together. That might be quite a legitimate concern, that she would try to murder him in his sleep.

"No," She said evenly, "Unless you start it."

He burst out laughing, and Anaisa's mouth twitched. He had a pleasant laugh, unguarded and full. Disarming.

Which was exactly what she didn't want. She didn't want to like him too much. She wanted to get her life back.

"Tell me why you're eager to leave," He requested suddenly. "Is it because you never wanted to be a soldier's bride, or have you already found me lacking in some unforgivable way?"

Anaisa eyed him. His question was light, but its contents heavy. Did he always invite severe personal insult in so easy a tone?

"You are the least objectionable groom of all the ones I've seen," She replied seriously.

"Thank you for the glowing compliment," He grinned, "but that didn't quite answer my question."

"Katia was more eager to become a bride," Anaisa admitted. "I had no real interest in getting married, only in being fed and not winding up in a brothel."

Trace's jaw clenched for a moment before a smile returned to his face. "I can accomplish both those goals for you."

"You asked why I'm eager to leave, so it seems fair to reverse the question. Why are you eager for me to stay?" She asked pointedly.

"That's entirely fair," He nodded and looked into the fire for a moment. "There are several reasons."

"Several?" Her voice rose with surprise. He said he'd forgotten about the marriage edict entirely, how could he already have more than one reason for wanting her to stay? How hard would he try to keep her here?

"Yes. Firstly, now that I'm reminded of the marriage edict, it seems foolhardy to disobey it. I have a particular interest in not giving the crown or royal family any reason to cast aspersions on me," There was a darkness to his tone that Anaisa took careful note of.

"Secondly, it's lonely out here. My neighbors help some, but since I've been home, I realized how nice it might be to have someone around more than that. I'm unlikely to find a wife so far out here, so should I so quickly discard one delivered to my doorstep and royally decreed to be bound to me?"

She didn't know what to say to that. Anaisa didn't consider herself to be a particularly good companion, but if he was completely starved for company, maybe he really would take just anyone.

"Thirdly," Trace pursed his lips and looked into the fire for a moment before turning back to her, "I can't speak much to your character. As you pointed out, we hardly know each other, so I can only say what I think. From watching you in the inn, I think you're a hard worker. From talking to you, I think you're quick-witted. From your allusion to putting your sister's desire to be a bride above your own, you must be kind. And I can plainly see that you're the prettiest woman I may have ever met. So, no, I can't say that I'm particularly eager to be rid of you. I'm rather interested in knowing you better."

Anaisa felt a strange sort of panic rise in her. Had he really formed so many opinions on her after so short an acquaintance?

"You seem to think you know me rather well." She said after a moment.

"Not at all." He admitted. "These are all guesses, except for the last."

"Hm." She hummed noncommittally, not sure how to take the compliment on her appearance.

"So where do we go from here?" He asked, though he seemed to be talking more to himself than to her.

She watched Trace carefully for several moments. His eyes were clear, and open. He was a handsome man, and if he was even half as kind as he was pretending to be right now… it seemed worth the risk to stay for a time. At least until she could figure out how to take Barnabas down and restore herself to her rightful place.

Anaisa straightened her shoulders and addressed him frankly.

"You were right about one thing. I am a hard worker. If you give me food and a place to sleep by the fire, I'll cook and help you keep your farm the best I can. If you provide money for fabric, I'll sew you all the clothes you want and only use the leftover cuttings for myself. If you take me to visit my sister… I will stay with you." for now she added mentally, feeling a little guilty about the deception.

"That's the most words I've heard from you in a row," He smiled.

She nodded, but remained silent while he thought over her offer.

"Where is your sister?" He asked.

"She was married to a soldier in the town of Droth this morning, I think his name was Jin." Anaisa supplied.

"That's not far." Trace nodded. "I'll need to get more supplies there to provide for the two of us anyway. We can go tomorrow and maybe we'll have time to track them down."

Anaisa was struck by the easy manner in which he agreed to take her, but the thought of needing more supplies caused her some anxiety.

"I have no money to contribute." She said quietly. She was about to be further indebted to this man.

"I wouldn't ask it of you if you did," He frowned. "I may not be rich, but I have enough to provide for our needs."

Our needs. He said it so easily, she almost missed the word. He was strange, definitely. She'd appeared with no warning, and now they were legally wed, and he accepted it as readily as the rain!

"Thank you," She said, having nothing more to offer except her labor. "Shall I make dinner?"

Her clothes were drier now, and she stood to get her bearings in the small home.

"Oh, that would be wonderful, but are you sure you're not too tired?" He stood as well and gestured to the roughly hewn table. "Let me show you around… not that there's much here to show until the rain is gone."

He grimaced and she almost smiled. She couldn't trust this. It was too good to be true. Something was going to go terribly wrong, she could feel it. Perhaps he would expect more than he implied come nightfall.

Perhaps he was not all he seemed. The best way to get to the bottom of lies was to invite him to talk until he slipped up.

"Tell me about your farm," She invited as he showed her where things were stored in the homemade kitchen cupboards. "You said you built the house?"

"I had help," He shrugged, "but yes, I had a hand in building everything you see, from the root cellar–I'll show you the entrance to it later–to the ceiling, and all the furniture. I should have made a second chair a long time ago, but I never get visitors, and of course I've been away at war for months, so there wasn't a chance."

"What was your role in the war?" Anaisa asked innocently as she began to select and chop some preserved vegetables. His strange statement about the king earlier made her curious, but when his hand froze for just a moment, she knew she must have hit a nerve.