Page 114 of The Pumpkin Bride

The frisson rippled over him.

He swung his gaze to the north—the direction of Brambleton Castle.

No falcon. Which should mean no Kevin.

If Coby delivered the letter and Garrick agreed to the scheme. Before becoming Jask, he’d trusted his fellow guards implicitly. Time and again, the world had shown him most people were good. But the knights he’d been with that night broke that trust.

Please, let him not have granted them misguided trust.

In case he had . . . He ran toward the cottage. His orc speed was another point in this body’s favor. As Bram crossed the meadow, the frisson rippled over him again.

Blood and bones, was an army invading? Still no falcon, though.

After trampling through the sunflowers that lined the meadow, Bram leaped over the larger pumpkins at the back of the field. A quick hectare later, the cottage was in view. A palfrey stood tethered to the maple in their front yard, and Marigold was speaking animatedly to a tall, trim man in black whose pauldrons reflected the bright fall sun.

Oh, sweet saints.

A knight.

Chapter 34

Joyful tears sprang to Marigold’s eyes. This was no stranger who’d thundered down the path on horseback. This could not be the Leshy, for he was anchored to his patch of forest.

“Rowan!” She flew down the stairs and into her twin’s embrace. He was the best hugger, arms fully wrapped around and squeezing tight. “Please say you believed what I wrote in my letters?”

“How could you ask me that, sister?” He released her and searched her face. “Of course I did. The devil take him and all of Harvest Hollow for his evil plans.”

She tangled her fingers together. “Not the people—they’re lovely. Don’t blame them for the prince’s villainy.”

“Fallen in love, have you?” He hooked his thumbs into his belt.

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. She certainly hadn’t written that in either of the letters to Rowan. “How . . . how do you mean?”

“With the people of Harvest Hollow, naturally.”

“Ah, right. Yes, I have.” She fidgeted with the tail of her braid. “Have you told our parents of Crispin’s plot? With the possibility of an intelligencer lurking in the castle, I didn’t feel safe sending a letter. And how go the battles with the sprites of the Gildfall Mountains?”

“No, I came here straightaway.” Rowan turned his signet ring, which he’d inherited when he’d been elevated to prince of Cliffward. “Your first letter arrived during a rare calm. Beckett had already left for a respite in Thornwick, so I had none with whom I could confer. I boarded the Orvale to set sail and round the Horn of Rashemba, and I came north through their port and Mareval. How do you fare, though? You’re well? He did not hurt you? You do not appear sickly like the kingdom’s criers and broadsheets claim.”

Her throat tightened. She had no armor against kindness and concern. She swallowed.

A smile bubbled her cheeks. “I’m sound. Tales of my illness have been greatly exaggerated. More of Crispin’s deceit to explain the stalled wedding. I’m more than sound. Happy, content, well fed. Better than I’ve been since Papa’s ascension. It’s all due to this farm.”

“Clearly it suits you. I’m glad you’ve had a chance to escape for a bit and clear your head. Where are your harborers? I’d like to thank them.”

“In the fields. We’re hosting a festival in a few days, and there’s much to be done. It’s just one harborer, though. Did you ask the townspeople about Grimroot Farm’s proprietor?”

He shook his head. “No. As soon as we docked, I flew here like a longbow’s loosed arrow. I’ve not spoken to anyone in Harvest Hollow.”

It might’ve been easier if someone had spilled the beans.

She beckoned to him. “Come inside. Let’s catch you up on—”

An angry, galloping Bram sprinted directly for Rowan. Too late, she yelled, “Bram, no!”

Rowan’s whirled around, and his eyes widened. “Bram?”

A green blur collided with her brother, sending up clouds of dust as they tumbled through the yard. Rowan’s palfrey whinnied and pranced away from the wrestling cluster of arms and legs. Barnaby crowed nearby, because that was all Barnaby knew to do.