Recognizing that logical excuse for the blessing it was, Egan turned with Oriana still on his arm and walked back into the fortress. With others sure to follow, he led her toward the stairs, but then lacked the strength to climb. Fearing he would be unable to rise should he sit, he leaned against the arched doorway.
“Did you suspect he wanted to fly?” he asked Oriana.
Oriana raised a finger to her lips. “Later,” she promised. “Now, why don’t we eat in the great hall? You need every morsel of food you can get to regain your strength.”
Egan was too anxious to discover the secret she was so reluctant to reveal, and he was also too weak to risk mingling with others. “No, get me to my chamber.”
Oriana had been afraid there might be no return to his quarters, but she wished Albyn were there to help them. Before they could take the first step, however, Yowan came bursting through the door and rushed toward them.
He quickly looked around to make certain no one was lurking nearby, but with everyone so excited by the challenge, even the servants were outside. “I know how it’s done,” he offered in a hasty rush. “The wings were made with the same supple wood a man would use to construct a bow. We’ll need the sinews used for bowstrings too, to guide your wing. I know it all, Egan. It was told to me when I was a boy, and I’ve forgotten nothing. I swear I haven’t. Let me help you, and you’ll surely win.”
Egan had always been fond of his mother’s brother, but he had never realized how useful the man might one day be. “First help me to my chamber, and we’ll make our plans there.”
When Egan released her hand, Oriana stepped aside to allow Yowan to help him up the stairs. The passageway was narrow, and the men’s initial attempts to work together were clumsy, but at last Yowan found a way to take the burden of Egan’s weight without their becoming wedged between the walls. Still worried sick about her husband, Oriana followed a few steps behind.
When they reached Egan’s chamber, Oriana tarried outside in the corridor. She had won Egan the time to heal, but it brought little satisfaction when she blamed herself for his having been wounded i
n the first place. She turned as Albyn appeared.
“Why are you standing out here?” he inquired.
“I know nothing of wings, so Egan has no need of me now. I should just go back to Adelaine’s chamber,” she added absently.
“You saved his life,” Albyn insisted. “At the very least, he’ll want to thank you.”
“He might, but it won’t lighten my burden of guilt, and I don’t want to give him another opportunity to send me away.”
Unable to resist the temptation, Albyn leaned down to lightly buss her cheek. “I’d not send you away,” he promised.
Oriana had not slept well, but her thinking was not too clouded to rebuff Albyn’s subtle invitation. “Kieran may be reckless, but Egan’s flaw is his pride. I’ll not put either of your lives at risk in a foolish contest over me.
“Now go on and tell him what’s been decided. I’m sure he’s anxious to know how swiftly he must have a wing ready to fly.”
Albyn recognized the truth in her warning and reached for Egan’s door with one hand, but dropped his other arm around her shoulders. In one agile stride, he swept her along with him over the threshold. He had not expected to find Yowan present, but greeted him warmly.
Yowan pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Albyn is to be a judge, lad. How much do you want him to know?”
“Everything,” Egan assured him. He was seated in the chair, but leaning at an odd angle to favor his side. “He’ll not betray me.”
Oriana had slipped behind Albyn, but Egan could not understand why she would hide. “Where have you been?” he asked. “I thought you’d gone looking for that breakfast you insisted I eat, but here you come empty-handed.”
At the fortress, others had always brought food to her, and Oriana was not certain where to look, other than the great hall, where she would rather not go on her own. Still, she did not want him to go hungry.
She raised her hem. “I’ll find what I can.”
“Wait,” Albyn ordered. “Oriana is no servant, and I’ll not have her treated as such.”
Egan cocked his head to better assess Albyn’s critical frown. He wanted to make allowances for his friend, but as he saw it, when Albyn had leapt to Oriana’s defense, he had overstepped his bounds. “I’m not accepting challenges until I finish with Kieran, but if you wish to complain of the way I treat my wife, we can settle it then.”
“Stop it,” Oriana cried, and she quickly crossed the scattered rushes to Egan’s side. “Aren’t you in enough trouble without insulting your best friend?”
“Oriana, you’re the one who’s been insulted,” Albyn exclaimed, “when Egan ought to be praising your name to the skies.”
“Perhaps,” Oriana agreed modestly, “but when I’m unable to produce a bowl of porridge, it doesn’t really seem to matter.”
Surprised at the direction the conversation had taken, Yowan was badly embarrassed, and moved toward the door. “I could use some breakfast myself, and I’ll send the first servant I meet to bring all you’d care to eat. Then I’ll take my sons out to the forest to search for what we need.”
“Take care you’re not followed,” Egan warned, “and tell no one what you’ve told me.”