Page 24 of Romancing the Throne
We bought lunch from one of the many food stalls and went and shared it with Rowan and Teon. Teon was still helping Rowan out at her stall. They said they liked to be useful, but I knew Teon too well for that. What they really liked was to critique other elves’ fashion sense.
“Careful,” I said as we shared a plate of egg and cheese tarts. “Or Rowan’s husbands will get jealous!”
Teon laughed. “If those boys can’t handle the competition, that’s their problem.”
Sparrow’s jaw dropped, and he asked, “How many husbands do you have, Rowan?”
“Two,” Rowan said, her smile fond. She loved the market, and it was a wonderful opportunity for her business, but I knew she missed her husbands. Unfortunately, both Aran and Finhad were stuck in Emberleigh with the bookshop they ran.
Teon gave an exaggerated leer. “But if there’s a position open for a third spouse, I’m always happy to apply. Elowin could give you an excellent testimonial.” They blinked at the looks both Rowan and I gave them. “Too far?”
“Too far,” I agreed, and Rowan snorted with laughter. Even Sparrow laughed.
Later, as we walked through the streets of the market, Sparrow said, “Is it very usual to have more than one spouse?”
“It’s notunusual,” I said, remembering he’d asked a similar question the morning in the tavern when Celeradona had stripped off her shirt in front of him to wash.
He chewed his lower lip for a moment and nodded seriously. “I think that the world is very different than my parents told me.”
“I think that things have changed a lot since the Fyreham Lathian was introduced,” I agreed and added, in what I hoped was a diplomatic way, “And that maybe it takes a while for that change to become known in places like Hillstowe.”
“That is a very kind way of saying that I’ve been very sheltered,” Sparrow said, his mouth quirking wryly before his expression became serious again. “There are a lot of times you could have made fun of me, but you haven’t.”
“Why would I make fun of you?” I asked him.
He gave me a rueful smile. “The way I wear my hair, the ruffles and velvet on my clothes, and how I blush as bright as a scarlet tanager when I see breasts?”
“Is that a type of bird?” I asked him and he nodded. “So, those things aren’tyou. Well, perhaps the blushing part, but that’s part of what I like about you. You weren’t rude to Celeradona when you saw her washing, and you weren’t offended because you thought she was doing something improper. You adjusted what you thought you knew with what you know now, and then you barely blinked at a stream full of naked elves. You are clever, and kind, and open to learning new things. Why would I make fun of any of that?”
“You say that like I’m special,” he said, his brow creasing.
“Youarespecial,” I said. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Sparrow.”
He blinked rapidly, his eyes shining. “You’re special too,Elowin, and kind. I would have been lost without you to help me. I couldn’t have asked for a better companion to bring me all the way here from Hillstowe.”
“Even if I didn’t bring a carriage?”
“Especially,” Sparrow said. “If we’d been in a carriage, I wouldn’t have seen so many birds and animals along the way, and I wouldn’t have gotten to spend as much time with you.”
I reached forward and tugged his braid. “Wouldn’t have got your hair caught in a bush either.”
“Worth it,” Sparrow said and went up on his tiptoes to press a quick kiss to my mouth. When he moved back again, his cheeks were pink. “I know it’s forward of me to ask, but it’s not just kissing that’s allowed before marriage, is it?”
My throat felt dry. “No.”
“I like you, Elowin.” His hand found mine, his thumb skating over the skittering pulse in my wrist. “Can we do more than kissing? I want to make love with you.”
“I thought we were going to look for that stall you saw yesterday that sold the purses in the shape of animals,” I said stupidly.
Sparrow wrinkled his nose and blinked up at me. “Those were nice, yes, but I’d rather make love with you.”
He was naive in so very many ways, but there wasn’t a shadow of artifice in him. And I discovered that for all the reasons this was a bad idea—my fast-falling heart foremost amongst them—there was no power in all elvendom that could allow me to refuse him anything he wanted that was in my ability to give him.
I nodded and squeezed his hand. “I’d like that too, Sparrow. More than anything.”
We headed back toward the inn.
CHAPTER 11
