Page 44 of First Light
“Duncan?”
“Carys.”
She wrapped a soapy flannel cloth around her cold neck. “Do you think Lachlan really loves me? Me, not Seren.”
There was silence from the other side of the door for a long time, and Carys wondered if he’d left. Duncan wasn’t her friend. If anything, he was more loyal to Lachlan than her despite his anger with his twin.
She lifted another cloth to wash her face. “I’m sorry, that’s not a fair thing to?—”
“How does anyone know another person’s heart?” Duncan’s voice sounded softer. A little. “We can only see their actions. But I think that when you love someone—reallylove them—you’ll cross an ocean to find them again. Maybe even cross a world.”
“Like Lachlan went looking for Seren?”
“No,” Duncan said. “Like you went looking for him.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Carys woke the next morning to a light knock at the door and a voice saying, “The fire, miss.”
She wrapped the heavy wool blanket around herself and walked to the wooden door where she unbolted the bronze lock and cracked the door open.
On the threshold stood the woman from Duncan’s office in Scone, wearing a brown dress and a neat apron.
Carys blinked. “Fiona?”
“No, miss.” The woman frowned. “My name is Bonnie. Can I start the fire for you?”
“Oh right.” She opened the door wider to allow the familiar and not-familiar woman into the room with her bucket of kindling and a lantern. It wasn’t Fiona but her Shadowkin.
What were the odds?
“You said your name is Bonnie?”
“Yes, miss.” The sturdy maid wasted no time cleaning the ash in the hearth, arranging the embers that were still burning, and adding wood to build the fire. “I’m the upstairs maid for the guest wing. You’ll be seeing me every morning if you want a fire.”
The room was freezing cold, and the pearl-blue light of the shadow-dawn peeked through the heavy shutters covering the watery glass of the two windows in Carys’s room.
After the maid fed the fire, she turned to Carys. “Do you need hot water this morning, miss?”
Carys was trying not to stare. “I took a bath last night, but I appreciate the offer.”
The woman cut her eyes to Carys’s hair, which was tangled from sleeping. She frowned a little. “I’ll brush your hair for you.” She motioned Carys to sit at the dressing table. “I’m not a lady’s maid, but I don’t think they’ve assigned one of the girls to you yet. Your hair is a fright.”
Was she supposed to have someone help her get dressed? Did sheneedsomeone to help her get dressed?
“Sure, that’s… It’s kind of you to offer.” Carys didn’t know anything about how this worked, but she felt immediately comfortable with Fiona—Bonnie. Even though Bonnie didn’t have Fiona’s sweet smile, she came across as competent and forthright, which was exactly the kind of person she needed.
“Yes.” Carys glanced at the large wardrobe in the corner, full of clothing she’d never worn before. She looked at the dressing table with an arrangement of brushes, ribbons, and bottles of gold oil. “I think I would really appreciate your help, but I don’t want to hang you up here if you have other work to do.” She pointed to the bucket of kindling and the lantern. “Do you have other rooms you need to cover?”
The woman’s dark brown eyebrows went up. “That’s thoughtful of you, miss, but I left you for last.” The woman fisted both hands on her stout hips and looked Carys up and down. “I thought you might need help. I have the time if you need it.”
The small act of kindness warmed her more than the fire. “I’m Carys.” She held out her hand to shake.
The woman looked at it, and her eyebrows went up again. “Is that the way in the Brightlands?”
“Yes.” Carys smiled, still holding her hand out. “We shake hands when we meet someone.”
“My hands are dirty.” She glanced at the bowl of water and the pitcher in the corner. “I don’t suppose?—”