Molly craned her neck to look at me, and I caught a glimpse of her face, thin and pale but kind. She said something more, and it must have been enough, for when Curly rose, he crossed to the door and passed by me without even a glance.
Regardless, I sensed I hadn’t heard the last from him. He still didn’t trust me, and I had no doubt he’d find a way to threaten me again. In the meantime, it was clear he was attempting to respect both Molly’s and Lady Gabriella’s wishes.
A moment later, Molly peeked at me again and then whispered something to Lady Gabriella that embarrassed her. Or at least from the way the beautiful noblewoman smiled before ducking her head, I assumed it was something more personal.
Outside, the first pinkish orange of the rising sun tinged the eastern edge of the Gemstone Mountain Range. Low clouds hovered below the tips of the peaks, reminding me of the home I’d left behind over three weeks ago.
Thankfully, the sea voyage to the Great Isle had been uneventful. When the longship had reached a secluded cove along Warwick’s central coast, Ty and I had waded ashore and begun our journey by foot to the mountain range at the heart of the country. We’d avoided roads and rivers, opting instead for secluded trails until we’d reached our contact, Lord Kennard, a longtime friend of my father’s who’d once been an ambassador to Scania. He’d then made arrangements for his guards to escort us the rest of the distance to the mine.
Since arriving, I’d been too concerned with surviving to pay much attention to the surroundings or to think about home. But now, with the beauty of the dawn sky, I felt at peace with my Testing. I’d survived the beginning difficult days, the uncertainty of the work, the danger of everything that lurked in the depths of the mountains. I’d made friends with the other new slaves. And I hadn’t made an enemy of the leader—or at least I prayed Curly wouldn’t slit my throat tonight in my sleep. Things were going better than I could have predicted.
“You need not wait for me,” Lady Gabriella murmured as she exited the infirmary.
I guessed she would have ignored me as Curly had, except Molly was watching. Instead, she paused, allowing me enough time to offer half the roll I’d saved from breaking my fast.
She glanced away from the roll, but not before I caught sight of the hunger in her eyes. She had fed the last of her rations to Molly, leaving none for herself. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed her giving her food to others. Whenever anyone failed to make their quota, Lady Gabriella was always the first to share with those in need, eating something only at Benedict’s insistence.
Of course, I could do nothing to change the system of exchange that kept the slaves digging and thus too exhausted and weak to revolt. I hadn’t come to the mine pits to try to right the wrongs or eradicate slavery. All I could do was ensure I was learning to serve others and live out my challenge to be the slave of all.
“Take it, my lady.” I thrust the roll into her hand.
With Molly’s gaze still upon us, Lady Gabriella was left with no choice but to accept it.
“You could try smiling at me,” I whispered. “A smile might convince our audience that you like me more than the glare will.”
Forthwith, her lips lifted into a smile, one that nearly rendered me speechless with its beauty. Had I yet seen her smile? Surely, I would have remembered it if she had. For someone who brought so much joy to others, she deserved to be happy every day and all throughout each day. What could I do to give her more to smile about?
From the sad slant of her eyes, she obviously hadn’t had much happiness here or before she’d arrived. What had her life been like?
As we made our way to the hatch, she nibbled on her roll. “You need not spend every moment with me,” she said when we were out of earshot of others.
“We must put forth some effort at being seen as a couple.” I leaned closer so our arms brushed. “Or people may suspect other motives for our being together.”
She chewed and seemed to contemplate my words. “What do you suggest we do to convince everyone?”
At her naïve question, I stumbled. Was Lady Gabriella so innocent that she didn’t know how to pretend to fancy a man? Hadn’t she witnessed other women flirting, even if she’d never done so herself?
I was tempted to tease her by encouraging her to express lavish compliments or use other such feminine wiles. But I wasn’t at court, and this was certainly no game we were playing.
“Perhaps,” I replied, “if we work near each other and engage in conversation, that will suffice.”
She angled her head at me. “Very well. I shall endeavor to do so.”
“Endeavor? Let us hope my company isn’t overly distasteful.”
Standing at the ladder protruding from the top of the hatch, she smiled, then bit off another piece of roll, effectively hiding all traces of humor. She tucked the leftover wedge into her pocket before she descended into the shaft.
I watched her climb down, and for the first time since arriving, I found myself eager for the long day of work ahead.
Though Gabriella was impatient to begin her weapons training, I convinced her to delay a week until the other slaves had the chance to see us together and conclude we harbored mutual fondness.
Most of the time we worked side by side, close enough to converse above the pinging and tapping of hammers and chisels. The first day, she was reticent to share much about herself. But as the hours and days passed, she opened up and divulged more.
I learned that her father, Lord Haleigh, Earl of Rockland, had once been an important advisor to King Alfred the Peacemaker. When the king had been on his deathbed and had divided his kingdom between his twin daughters, he’d beseeched Lord Haleigh to reside in Warwick with Queen Margery and advise her. Since Lord Haleigh already had a vast estate near the city of Kensington, he’d moved his young family to Rockland Castle where Gabriella had lived most of her life.
She’d been but a wee lass when her mother died giving birth to a stillborn brother. Crushed at the loss, Lord Haleigh hadn’t remarried. But from how Gabriella spoke about her father, he’d been a devoted and adoring father, pouring out his attention and love upon his one remaining child. When I pressed her to tell me more about how her father died, she always changed the subject.
Of course, with her kind nature, Gabriella never talked about herself for long before she turned the discussion around and asked about my past. With the warnings about the volatile nature of the Great Isle and Queen Margery fresh in my mind, I’d hidden my true identity and told people I was a distant relation to Lord Kennard, that I’d fallen out of favor with my family, and as a result, I’d been relegated to work in the mine for six months as punishment.
To assuage my guilt for deceiving Gabriella, I tried to be honest in relaying all the other information about my family and my past. Leaving out a few minor details about my royalty and the Testing wouldn’t matter, not in the long term when we parted ways.
Our charade seemed to be working, at least with Farthing, Ernie, and the other new slaves who jested with me mercilessly about Gabriella every night when we retired to our hut. And though I kept up the façade with them, I found it increasingly easy to do. The truth was, I enjoyed being with Gabriella. Her presence made me forget about the drudgery of the work and caused time to pass quickly.