Page 40 of Ruthless, But for Her

Yet, she was not afraid.

Her last thought, as sleep finally came to her, was that perhaps she ought to have been.

CHAPTER 23

Ashton

“She’s sleeping. Let her be,” Margot said.

Ashton and Sorren sat in the Map room, quietly discussing the evening’s events.

That Margot knew Ashton had planned to go to Cassia meant that she saw what he hadn’t admitted, even to himself.

But of course, she had. Margot had come from nothing, built an empire, and did it by herself. A woman such as that would be able to see through others easily.

“Leif?”

It was no secret that the Jarl was the only man Margot refused coin from. There was a complicated relationship there, one Ashton tried not to unwind.

“He returned with Ryker to the ship,” Sorren said. They’d just finished a modest meal of cold fowl and ale. Sorren lifted his mug and drank deeply.

“What do you believe they will do?” she asked, without taking a seat. Margot rarely sat in one place for long.

“It’s not clear. Not one of them attempted to save their master,” Ashton said, repeating what he and Sorren had just been discussing. “But the question is, who will they blame for his death?”

The three of them went quiet, contemplating the situation.

At best, Roland’s men would recall the event as accidental. At worst, they’d claim that Cassia was to blame. Ashton cared little if they marked him the deputy warden’s murderer. But he did worry that they might paint Cassia a villainess, for refusing Roland’s bid to join him.

“I would prefer she doesn’t understand the implications,” Margot said. “She has endured much already.”

Ashton disagreed.

“Protecting her is admirable, but she’s endured having others decide for her for too long.”

Ashton was certain he knew better than Margot in this instance. Typically, they deferred to her when women were concerned.

But not this time. With Cassia, it was different.

“Either way,” Sorren interjected. “We must be prepared.”

Preparation meant the watch doubled along the bluff. It meant the crew had to keep close and The Einar kept ready to slip her mooring on a word. It meant every man who had been at the landing telling one tale, or none.

“De Grey has been a thorn in our side since taking up his position. This will do little to quell his thirst for vengeance.”

Margot sighed deeply, saying nothing. Uncharacteristically, she held back an opinion and left as quickly as she’d come.

“A vengeance that should be ours.”

Ashton uncurled his fist. The past was the past, and dwelling on it would do little for their current circumstances.

“Should be, will be… It matters little. One of us should also go to the Wild Boar, preferably for an extended stay. Whatever de Grey intends for retaliation, we will learn it there.”

The Wild Boar was one of the only inns along the eastern borderlands with a reputation for drawing both English and Scottish patrons. It was a place where whispers from both sides of the border could be heard.

Ofttimes, word came late to this corner of the world. And while Mere’s End was a fine place to launch their operations, by land as they had before de Grey became warden and now by sea, it was no place for fresh information.

“Agreed. Leif and Ryker mean to take The Einar out after first light on a cargo run down the coast. That will keep them at sea two days at the least. So it is you or I.”