“I’m a very, very deep sleeper. I bet you guys could make all sorts of noise, and I’d never wake up.”
The door closes, and I turn a sheepish expression toward Paige.
“Ah, I’m sorry about her,” Paige said with a shrug. “She’s very young yet and doesn’t understand how things work for grownups.”
I can tell by the light in Paige’s eyes that she doesn’t believe what she says about her sister. I’d say that Laney knows a lot more than her youth would otherwise indicate. She certainly understands the complex dynamic between her big sister and me. Maybe more than I do.
“I greatly appreciate what you are doing for me, Paige,” I say slowly. “But perhaps you should have thought it through a bit more?”
“What do you mean by that?” Her eyes clouded over with worry. “Are you angry with me?”
“No!” I cleared my throat and spoke with a bit less vehemence. “That is, no, of course not. I worry about you being uncomfortable. After all, we will now have to keep the ruse going indefinitely.”
Paige shrugged and then glanced around my domicile.
“That’s okay, I don’t mind. I really don’t. Besides, it looks to me like you have plenty of room for both me and Laney.”
She’s not wrong. I do have more space than I need. The chief’s hut is meant to house the chief, his mate, and his family. As I have none of those things, except for pretending, it’s room I don’t need.
But Laney and her sister need it. I realize now how much it means to me to have helped them both.
“By the way, in the morning, you should thank Laney, too.” She stifles a yawn.
“Why?”
“She used her ventriloquism talent earlier to help you out, or didn’t you hear?”
“The voices,” I say with a gasp. “The voices of the crowd, supporting me. Is she a witch?”
“Not hardly,” Paige says with a laugh, her eyes shining. “Ventriloquism is a learned skill. It’s throwing your voice, so it sounds like it comes from someplace else.”
“A useful ability. I’ll be sure to thank her.”
“I’m sure she’ll get a big kick out of that.”
I built a fire in the hearth, and then we ate the smoked salmon and drank cold water from the cistern. Our conversation is mild, and mostly centered on practical matters, but the ease I feel with her makes the whole affair astonishingly pleasant. I feel like it’s easier to talk to Paige than anyone I’ve ever met.
The hour grew late. Paige yawned first, and then I joined in, and soon neither of us could go more than a few sentences without doing so.
“All right,” she said, her voice distorted by yet another yawn. “Let’s just admit that we’re both exhausted and need to sleep soon.”
I nod and rise from the rug where we’ve been sitting.
“You may take my room,” I say. “And my bed.”
“You want me to take your bed?” She cocks an eyebrow. “And where will you be sleeping?”
Her tone is light and casual, and yet there was an intensity in her gaze when she asked the question. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Why was it suddenly so hot in here? The fire is hardly a raging one. In fact, we’ve talked so long that it’s died to mere embers.
“I can sleep in here on the floor. The bearskin rug is soft enough for an orc's body. It’s really no trouble.”
Paige rose from her seat, tawny limbs uncrossing as she stood next to me.
“I’ll take your bed, Noble Chieftain,” she said with mock severity. “But as far as where you’re going to sleep, well … that’s up to you.”
She turned from me and walked toward the door to my bedroom. Was it a trick of the light, or was she shaking her bottom more than necessary?
Paige paused at the door and then gave me a deep, meaningful look ... if only I knew which meaning! ... and then she went inside, closing the door softly behind her.