Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,43

possible before they took it upon themselves to have you.”

“I didn’t notice.” I shook my head wearily, falling onto the bed. “I look a mess.”

Wolfe sighed and looked away, provoking the fire to life. “Wearing rags, you would still carry yourself like a lady.”

Ignoring the silly flutter in the pit of my belly, I tried to force our old dynamic and retorted stupidly, “I’m not a lady, Captain. I’m a farm girl.”

Wolfe stood and strode toward me, his eyebrow arched. “You are a lady, Rogan. Even if you’d remained on your farm, it’s just who you are.”

I desperately wanted to say something droll to quell the sudden tension between us but his compliment flustered me. His strange behavior struck me mute, and I was grateful when our supplies arrived to divert our attention.

The barkeep’s wife and two barmaids brought us food, clothing, and hot water, and then quickly departed, but not without the girls throwing come-hither looks at Wolfe. Dear haven, it was ridiculous how much female attention he garnered wherever we went. Ridiculous and irritating.

He didn’t seem to notice and as soon as the door closed behind the women, he locked it again. Without so much as a glance in my direction, he picked up the dress they had brought and threw it at me. “Get cleaned up and dressed. There’s a screen behind you.”

I tried not to blush at the thought of stripping naked in the same room as Wolfe. Pretending the same indifference he seemed to feel about the situation, I strode, head held high, across the room and disappeared behind the changing screen.

“There must be some stationery in here,” Wolfe muttered, and I heard him pulling at drawers and rummaging. At his sound of triumph, I was relieved to realize we would get word to the Guard. It had been a number of days since we’d been taken in Ryl, and I missed the comforting presence of Lieutenant Chaeron and the rest of the men.

A crash sounded from downstairs and I jumped, my dress falling to the floor. “What on Phaedra …?”

Wolfe grunted as yells followed more crashing. “Tavern brawl.”

A tavern brawl? My goodness, we were far away from home, weren’t we.

The noise below made me tense, and I tried to concentrate on the sound of Wolfe’s quill scratching against paper. If he didn’t seem too concerned, then I gathered I shouldn’t either.

My undergarments were in need of a wash, and I peeled them off with a sigh of relief. I’d just have to leave them here and make do with the rough blue dress the barkeep’s wife had brought me. It would scratch my skin but I’d rather that than have to put dirty undergarments back on. I draped them over the top of the screen, vaguely aware that the scratching of quill against paper in the background had paused.

With the cloth and hot water the barkeep’s wife had provided, I gave myself a quick scrub, trying to be fast so the water wouldn’t be too cold when Wolfe used it. After a moment or so, I thought I heard Wolfe make a strangled sound and then the scratching of quill against paper resumed.

“Nearly done,” I told him, thinking perhaps he was getting impatient. I drew on the blue dress, a demure, work-worn thing, but it was clean and not too rough against my skin. Without my undergarments I’d feel the cold, but perhaps I could get Wolfe to procure a cloak for me.

When I stepped out, Wolfe was staring at the screen as if in a daydream.

“You better hurry,” I said, taking my undergarments off the screen and rolling them into a ball. “The water’s getting cold.”

He nodded, his lips pinched tightly. He brushed past me, barely sparing me a glance. I arched an eyebrow at his behavior but said nothing, having now given up on trying to understand anything about the man.

Speaking of which …

I tucked into the food that had been left, my trembling stomach glad for it, and waited as Wolfe, once clean and changed into a rough-looking pair of trousers, shirt, and waistcoat, ate his meal. Then I couldn’t stand it anymore. We were both sitting by the fire, enjoying the tranquility of the moment, and I couldn’t stop myself from ruining it.

“So, you’re a Glava?” I asked, even though there really was no question of it.

Wolfe stiffened. When he made no reply, I grew irritated.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I don’t want to talk about,” he dismissed, standing to take