Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Martin
Ford watched as the adults exchanged looks of surprise.

“Never thought I’d hear that name again,” Trace shook his head. “He did say he was going to get a job in a mine, didn’t he?”

“I believe so,” Trace’s wife looked at him with mild concern.

“You… knew him?” Ford asked, looking around the table. Other than Mia, who looked like she was trying very hard to remember something, the rest of the adults seemed suddenly less inclined to share freely.

“If it’s the same man we’re thinking of, we’ve met,” Anaisa finally answered. “How much do you know about your foreman Martin?”

Ford looked at the redheaded woman. Her blue stare was even and probing. As if she could look into him and discover everything he knew. Were all nobles like that? He considered what he could safely say. He imagined he wouldn’t get away with lying, since they apparently knew the man.

“He told me… that people in this country will kill to protect their secrets,” Ford looked around, for the first time wondering if the friendliness of these people were merely a facade. He’d known some good manipulators, and had decided that this family wasn’t amongst them.

Maybe he was wrong. They could even be so out of his league with their craft that he hadn’t even detected the layers of deceit and secrets they hid.

“I suppose that’s true,” Anaisa tilted her head and continued to stare at him. “Are you afraid of being killed for secrets he told you?”

Ford began to sweat. “Has anyone ever told you that you’d make a skilled interrogator, Ma’am?”

Trace suddenly laughed, and then coughed into his napkin while his wife pinned him with a glare and smacked him on the shoulder.

“She’s the most skilled interrogator in the whole kingdom,” Trace said after a sip of water, “Once, she even got me to reveal secrets even though magical compulsion prevented me from doing so.”

Anaisa colored, and Trace grinned at her before turning back to Ford.

The young man was still contemplating their interaction. Did all married couples in this country flirt so openly? Other than the doxies who sometimes advertised their services near the mine entrance, he’d never seen women try to catch a man’s attention. The wives of the miners usually seemed exhausted or worried.

“You avoided the question,” Trace observed. “You don’t need to be afraid of us, we have no ill intentions towards you. Even if you admitted to being a Foundrel spy here for kingdom secrets, the most we would do is take you to the authorities and turn you in.”

“He’s not a spy!” Mia interrupted vehemently. Trace turned on his niece with one raised eyebrow. She turned a little pink under his scrutiny, and Ford frowned. Were his attempts at trying to gain her trust already so effective?

“What I mean,” Mia bit her lip and spoke more softly, “Is that if he’s a spy, he would be either quite terrible or overly committed. He was half-dead when I found him at the edge of the property. He wouldn’t have made it another day of walking, I’m sure. And what secrets have we here that would be worth a spy spending a week in our company?”

Mia’s parents and grandparents remained notably silent. Ford’s eyes flickered from person to person, trying to put the pieces together.

They knew Martin, and lived here, and seemed eager for him to reveal the secrets that Martin may have told him.

So, did they already know about the tree, and were keeping it secret? Or did they only know that Martin had knowledge of it, and wanted Ford to reveal everything to them? He couldn’t quite tell, but there was clearly more to this family than met the eye.

“You’re far too open to have any secrets worth such extreme efforts, Mia,” Grandma teased with a smile and a wink. “Me? Now, I’m a woman full of subtlety and intrigue after a long and mysterious life of adventure and danger.”

“Subtlety’s right.” Grandpa agreed. “When I met her she was downright inscrutable.”

“Only to you, Dear,” Grandma smiled affectionately.

“What kind of adventures and danger?” One of the children, maybe Daniel, as Ford couldn’t remember all their names, asked from the floor.

“Oh, all kinds, of course,” Grandma smiled. “Those old fairy tales of dragons, chimeras, and ladies and warriors… Who do you think those were about?”

“I knew you were old, but not that old!” the child said in amazement, causing Grandpa to spit out his drink and quickly cover his mouth with a napkin to hide his laughter. Grandma shot him a warning look, but smiled at the little boy.

“Maybe those stories aren’t as old as you think,” She said to her grandson. “Maybe the monsters are waiting to come back, but they’re too scared of me to come out just yet.”

The boys giggled at her silliness, and asked to be excused to play before bedtime. When Trace and Anaisa agreed, the boys scampered off, and the thundering of running feet echoed through the house.

“I love that sound,” Grandma sighed contentedly. “Thank you for bringing it to me.”

“Oh, there’s a lot more noise where that came from,” Anaisa touched her forehead with her fingertips as if she had a headache.

“Grandma, why didn’t you tell me that before? I could have been running and stomping around if I knew it made you so happy,” Mia put in.

“Thank you, dear, I would appreciate that,” Grandma teased.

“You love noise?” Ford tried to clarify. This conversation didn’t make sense.

“I love the sounds of life,” The old woman fixed her gaze on him. “I’ve known people that grew old, all alone. I love that life here is never lonely, that the little ones I raised grew up and made more little ones. Maybe someday our descendants will be numerous enough to be their own nation. I hope they all feel as loved and cherished as I want them to.”

Grandpa reached over to take his wife’s hand.

“Now, don’t get me all emotional.” She chided. “I can see in Trace’s eyes he wants to talk to Ford more now that the boys are out of earshot. Ladies, shall we clean up while the men talk?”