Twilight Magic by Shari Anton Page A

decided their names did not matter so long as they performed in the field.” He stood abruptly. The wolfhound looked up at him excitedly, her long tail whipping back and forth.
    “Outside” was all the command necessary to send Rose racing to the door.
    “Going hunting?”
    “Merely for a run. Only William and Gar are allowed to hunt with them.”
    Emma watched him leave, supposing she should be pleased they hadn’t argued. But then, their talk had been short because he’d left so abruptly. Because of the hound? Or because he simply couldn’t wait to be rid of her?
    “Rose should be Darian’s.” Maura’s terse statement startled Emma from her melancholy musings.
    “Oh?”
    Maura held out the cup, which Emma took. “I mixed the herbs with broth instead of ale this time. Kinder to the stomach.”
    “My thanks. Darian said the wolfhounds belong to William.”
    Maura eased onto the bench opposite Emma. “They do, but only because Darian refused to accept Rose as his own. Two summers ago, Darian rescued the hounds as pups from an unappreciative owner. Rose chose Darian as her master from the start, and one has only to see the two of them together to know who possesses Rose’s loyalty and affection.”
    She sighed, sorrow mingling with anger. “William insisted Darian should own Rose, but he refused. Stubborn man.”
    Emma could understand why having a hound underfoot might not be the best of situations for a mercenary.
    “A mercenary’s life is an unsettled one. Perhaps he fears he could not properly care for her.”
    “To claim Rose as his own would be no burden. Darian could leave her here, as William leaves the other two hounds. Certes, my father might extract a stipend for her food, but Darian could well afford the payment. He does not spend his pay on fancy rings or other fripperies, as do some of the other mercenaries. I swan, the only costly thing Darian owns is his dagger, which he highly prizes.”
    Emma well remembered Darian’s forlorn expression in the antechamber when he’d feared he wouldn’t get the dagger back from the king. What Darian owned, he obviously prized—and all he owned fit in one small satchel.
    Did Darian hoard his coin, or did he merely shun possessions?
    Maura placed her hands on the table and pushed herself upright. “Time I saw to my duties. Are you in need of aught before I go?”
    For only one need could Maura be of aid. “I should very much like to be of help to you while I am here. Is there some task or chore you are willing to trust me with?”
    Maura looked horrified. “You are a guest, my lady. And you are ill and should rest!”
    “I promise to rest when the need arises, but I also dislike the thought of becoming a burden. Pray, Maura, surely there is something I can do to help the time pass more quickly, keep my hands from idleness.”
    Maura hesitated, then smiled softly. “Perhaps there is. Are you feeling well enough for a walk out to the kitchen?”
    Darian heaved the stick as far as he could throw it. Rose trembled with anticipation, but sat beside him as commanded. The stick landed near the kitchen door. With a small hand signal, he turned the wolfhound loose, admiring her gait and speed.
    Then he saw Emma and Maura about to step into the hound’s path. Intent on the stick, Rose wouldn’t see the women until too late to veer around them.
    “Halt!”
    The hound’s big paws dug into the ground, spewing dust as she skidded to a stop barely an arm’s length from Maura and Emma. Emma halted so abruptly she spilled some of the headache potion from her mug. All around him sound and movement ceased, the buzz of the bailey reduced to silence.
    He’d intended to stop one hound from barreling into two women and managed to bring several people to a halt. Amazing.
    And embarrassing. Darian wasn’t one to draw attention to himself. The accomplishment of his missions, and sometimes his survival, depended upon his stealth. Now everyone looked at him with wide-eyed