Peasants and Kings

by Emma Slate

  Ingrid linked her arm with mine and took it upon herself to be my shadow. The pack of Ingrid’s family began to walk across the beach. The shore disappeared into a tree line and a path cut through to an area I couldn’t yet see. We strolled through foliage until we came to an open clearing. Homes that looked like cottages one might see eight hundred years ago dotted the glade. They didn’t have straw thatched roofs, but they were built from stone and massive wooden timbers.

  “Was this island inhabited before Hadrian bought it?” I asked Ingrid.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Oh,” I said with a frown. “The homes… They look…”

  “They’re completely modern on the inside,” she said with a wry grin. “But Hadrian wanted this land to appear untouched. So he had the homes constructed to resemble an old Scottish village. They’re well insulated and we have modern amenities. On the other side of the trees behind the homes, you’ll find the farm with all the livestock and the greenhouses.”

  The wind changed, and I wrinkled my nose when I smelled proof of the animals.

  Hadrian jogged over and interrupted my conversation with Ingrid when he wrapped me in his arms and lifted me off the ground.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded, embarrassed by his show of affection, and even more embarrassed when everyone fell silent.

  “Kiss me for good luck,” he commanded.

  “You don’t need luck,” I whispered.

  “Then kiss me because you want to.”

  I was smiling when our lips met, and even though we had an audience, Hadrian kissed me like we were alone.

  When he set me down, I wobbled. His arms quickly steadied me and then he chucked me gently under the chin. After a wink and a grin, he sauntered back to the field and to the kids who were impatiently calling for him to start the game.

  I glanced at Ingrid who looked like she was about to say something.

  “Please, whatever you’re going to say, don’t,” I begged, hiding my head in mortification.

  “I was just going to say that I enjoy seeing Hadrian happy.”

  Ingrid’s family finally stopped gawking at the display they’d just witnessed. The men of the family brought out folding tables and chairs. A few of the teenage girls who had seemingly deemed they were too cool to play the game hung back and helped the adults cover the tables with tablecloths.

  “We weren’t ready for a get together,” Ingrid explained, “but between all of us, we have enough refreshments and food for the afternoon.”

  “Can I help with anything?” I asked, hating that I was standing by, doing nothing.

  She flung her hand in the direction of the stone wall that encircled the glade. “Go watch the game, and cheer for Hadrian every once in a while. It’ll make him feel good.”

  The children surrounded Hadrian in the center of the big field. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. Hadrian flipped it and when it landed on the ground, Bran and his teammates yelled in excitement.

  A smile floated across my face when I looked at Hadrian. He laid his mock disappointment at the coin toss on thick, but then he turned to the few kids near him and said something which caused them to shout in a sportsmanlike war cry.

  I wasn’t a sports enthusiast by any means, but even I could tell that Hadrian was skilled. He wove and dodged, but he held back and mostly toyed with the kids to make them feel like they were beating him because otherwise there wouldn’t have been much of a game.

  “Eden,” Ingrid called as she strode toward me with two clear plastic cups in her hands. She gave me one and then leaned against the wall to watch her grandchildren.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a sip.

  “Who’s winning?” she asked.

  “I think Hadrian’s team, but I’m not sure. Sports aren’t really my thing.” I was spending more time watching Hadrian than following the game.

  She gestured with her chin to the field. “Bran is really good, actually. I think he might be able to play professionally one day.”

  “Is he on a team now?” I asked. “I mean, he lives here. You all live here. How do you handle the isolation?”

  “We take the helicopter,” she said easily. “Anytime we need to go to Lerwick. We’re not as isolated as you think. Besides, this is something of a paradise. If you haven’t already noticed.”

  She called out to a weathered looking man who wore a cream-colored fisherman’s sweater. He sauntered toward her and came to stand by her side. “This is my husband, Elgin. He doesn’t speak a lot of English.”

  He was tanned from the sun, with crinkle lines at the corners of his eyes. The affection between them was obvious, and when Ingrid looked at him with love and devotion, something in my heart caught.

  Elgin kissed his wife’s cheek and then wandered toward the table laden with food.

  “He’s Hadrian’s fisherman,” Ingrid explained. “And more comfortable with fish than with humans. Don’t take his lack of interest in talking to you personally. We’re married, and though I know he loves me deeply, he hardly says more than a handful of words to me on any given day.”

  “I won’t hold his tacit greeting against him,” I assured her. “How long have you been married?”

  “Forty years.”

  “That’s—wow. That’s not the norm.”

  “I know.” She smiled at her fortune. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of patience, and a lot of humor.”

  I shook my head. “And being married to the right person.”

  “Yes, that does have something to do with it.” Her gaze roamed back to her husband and she stared at him, seemingly lost in the feelings of a shared life.

  “How did you meet Hadrian?” I asked suddenly. “I never thought to ask—and your whole family is here, living and working on his islands. It’s got to be a good story.”

  She paused for a moment and then said, “Elgin and I used to own a fishing business in Norway. We only had three boats, and we were one bad storm away from losing everything. My children, their spouses, we were all dependent on good weather and a good haul year after year. Some years that didn’t happen and profit was thin. We were a small, family run business. Over time, we simply couldn’t compete with the bigger companies. We didn’t have the capital to pour back into the business and buy more boats unless our prices went up, and since we couldn’t produce like our competitors, we couldn’t keep prices low. The profit margin was simply too small to stay afloat, let alone to turn a decent profit.”

  She stared at the field where her grandchildren played, her smile soft and dreamy. “Hadrian was dining at the nicest restaurant in Bergen when Elgin was trying to get the head chef to buy fish on contract to save the business. Hadrian was seated at a private table in back and overheard enough to ask Elgin to sit and speak with him. By the end of their conversation, Hadrian made him an offer to come here and work for him doing what he loved to do. When Elgin explained about the rest of the family…” She shrugged and smiled. “Hadrian told him to bring everyone and placed no restrictions on Elgin. As long as Hadrian has fresh fish to eat, Elgin can do what he wants. Sell the rest, trade it, whatever. My children didn’t know anything about livestock or growing food when we came here. We were fishermen at heart, but we learned. We all learned. We were about to lose everything we had ever worked for. He saved us and gave us a new life.”

  “I know what that’s like—to constantly be worried about money. You get a pit in your stomach. Right here.” I pressed my fist to the spot below my ribs. “You wake up in the middle of the night, wondering which utility you’re willing to have shut off until the next pay day.”

  She looked at me. “You’re not what I expected.”

  “What were you expecting?” I asked with a smile.

  “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Something else.”

  We fell silent and continued to watch the game. When Bran scored a goal, Hadrian dropped to his knees and gave a dramatic yell of defeat.

  Bran ran arou
nd, high fiving his siblings and cousins as he crowed his triumph. When he was within range of Hadrian, Hadrian moved quickly and scooped up the boy and turned him upside down, causing Bran to shriek with laughter.

  “He’s good with them,” Ingrid said.

  “I never would’ve thought that,” I confessed. My grin was so big I felt it take over my entire face.

  Hadrian let out a booming laugh at something Bran said to him and then his gaze found mine. The air teased his hair and even across the field, I could see the passion in his eyes.

  My heart fluttered in my chest and my smile softened. Hadrian let Bran down to the ground. Bran immediately scrambled back up and demanded they get back to playing.

  “He needs a family,” Ingrid said, not taking her eyes off of Hadrian.

  “Subtle,” I said to her.

  She let out a laugh. “I’ve never seen him like this, Eden. He’s…different with you than he is with us.”

  “Different how?”

  “He jokes and talks with us, but he still holds himself back. But with you…it’s like he wants to be open but doesn’t know how.”

  Her words made the shield around my heart shudder. Seeing him play with kids had already softened me toward him.

  “Do you know how Hadrian and I met?” I asked her, pinning her with a stare. “Did Hadrian tell you?”

  She paused for a moment and then replied, “He said Ramsey Buchanan introduced you when he was in the States. They’re good friends, but I’m sure you know that already.”

  I clamped my lips shut. Ramsey had said he knew Hadrian personally, but I hadn’t realized they were friends.

  “Yes. Ramsey introduced us.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t my place to be honest with her about the rest of it.

  A rumble sounded in the distance and Ingrid looked at the sky. “Storm is going to blow in soon. We should pack up.”

  “Too bad. I was having a perfect afternoon,” I protested. “It was really nice…” I shook my head, unsure of what I was trying to say. “It was nice to be around a family.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  The game broke up, and Hadrian jogged over to me and Ingrid. “Storm is coming,” he said to me.

  “I’ve been told.” I took his offered hand.

  “I’ll come in the boat with you,” Ingrid said. “I have to prepare dinner.”

  “Not necessary,” Hadrian said. “I’ll cook for Eden.”

  I raised my eyes in surprise. “Oh, really? You’re going to cook for me?”

  He winked.

  Bran and the other kids ran to say goodbye to us. “Next time you come over, you have to wear better shoes so you can play,” Bran said, bouncing his ball from one knee to the other.

  “Only if you’re on my team,” I said with a grin. “Because you totally thrashed Hadrian.”

  Hadrian wrapped an arm around my shoulder and hauled me to his side. He bent down and whispered in my ear, “You sure you don’t want to be on my team? I can make it worth your while.”

  With one final wave, we headed down to the beach. We got back to Hadrian’s home just in time—the sky opened up and unleashed one hell of a storm.

  “You looked like you were having fun,” Hadrian said as we walked into the den. He flipped on the gas fireplace and then turned to stare at me.

  I plopped down on the couch and covered myself with the blanket. “Not as much fun as you.”

  He grinned. “I let Bran win.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Hadrian laughed and then took a seat on the couch. He placed his arm on the cushion above me and draped his fingers so they grazed my shoulder.

  “They really love you,” I said softly, gazing up at him.

  He studied me for a long moment. “Why do you say that?”

  “Just the way Ingrid talks about you. And how the kids hang on your every word.”

  “She told you,” he stated. “About how she and her family came here.”

  I nodded.

  Something in my expression made his jaw clench and his eyes turn flinty. “Don’t look at me that way.”

  “What way?”

  “Like I’m some kind of savior. I’m not, Eden.”

  I placed my hand on his muscular thigh and felt the coiled tension just waiting to be unleashed. “Who are you trying to convince? You know what I noticed when you were with Ingrid and her family?” I met his gaze. “You were relaxed in a way I’ve never seen.”

  “What else did she tell you?” he demanded, his expression dark. “Aside from how she came here. I know she said more to you.”

  I hesitated. I doubted he’d appreciate Ingrid’s honesty about what Hadrian needed. So I settled for a partial truth. “She mentioned Ramsey Buchanan. I had no idea you were actually friends.”

  “Aye, we’re friends. Why does that matter?”

  “Because he watched my interview with Genevieve,” I explained, my heart hammering in my temples. “Did he—tell you about me?”

  “No. Ramsey wouldn’t do that. You’re a Rex girl, remember? They don’t bend the rules for anyone, not even me. Didn’t Ramsey tell you that?”

  “He did, but I—”

  “Don’t trust him?”

  I nodded confirmation.

  His smile was savage. “You don’t trust anyone, do you? You fall into the trap every time, Eden. The more you attempt to keep me at bay, the more I want to know everything. Every secret, every desire. And Eden?” He leaned forward, his lips a mere whisper from mine, “I always get what I want.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It felt like I’d only just fallen asleep, sated and safe in Hadrian’s arms when a hand pressed tightly over my mouth, instantly jarring me from a deep slumber.

  I didn’t relax, even when I realized it was Hadrian.

  The storm that had threatened us in the afternoon had become an evening squall, and it continued to scream, battering the glass of the balcony doors with rain and wind.

  It was almost completely dark in the bedroom, but there was enough glow from the moon beating its way through the storm clouds that I could see.

  Hadrian loomed over me, and I could faintly detect the outline of him.

  Without removing his hand from my mouth, he managed to drag me out of bed and then lowered me to the ground, shoving me beneath the raised platform.

  No moonlight pierced the darkness under the bed. My naked body quickly chilled with fear even though I was pressed against the heated wooden floor.

  The tempest raging outside had been muted due to the double paned balcony doors, but suddenly the storm became a near deafening roar as the doors were thrust open.

  Through the scream of the wind and the onslaught of rain, I could hear the smack of a fist meeting flesh. There was a hiss of pain and then a grunt.

  I quickly covered my mouth with my hand and forced my terror down, refusing to let it escape.

  Somehow, Hadrian had known an intruder was coming, though I hadn’t heard a sound over the storm.

  His home had been invaded.

  How? Who was here? Who was Hadrian fighting?

  My fear for him eclipsed all other emotions.

  I hoped Hadrian’s brute strength and the fact that he hadn’t been caught by surprise would be his saving grace.

  A boom of thunder echoed in the room and the resonance of rain hitting the stone balcony filled my ears.

  There was another grunt, followed by a roar which resounded in my bones.

  Hadrian had been injured.

  I shivered and tried to keep silent when all I wanted was to go to him. But it wasn’t safe yet.

  All I could think about was the fact that he had protected me. The first thing he did was get me under the bed, shielding me from what was coming.

  There was a crash, followed by rapid footsteps on the hard wood floor.

  And then nothing.

  Even after the echoes of the fight ended, I didn’t move from underneath the bed.

  A light turned on
and black spots danced before my eyes. When my vision cleared, I could see Hadrian’s ankles in my line of sight, but I still didn’t budge.

  I pressed my cheek to the floor, willing my heart to stop racing.

  “Patrick,” Hadrian clipped, “I had an intruder on the east side. He’s escaped. Aye, I’m fine. No, don’t bother. The storm… I think the bastard was waiting for something like this.” He paused and then said, “Check the systems, though I doubt you’ll find anything. If I had to guess, I’d say we’re dealing with a professional. Let me know what you find… Yes, I injured him before he got away. Call as soon as you find anything.”

  I heard him set his phone down on the bedside table.

  His tone when speaking to Patrick had been unlike anything I’d ever heard. It wasn’t angry, but cool. Methodical. Like he was playing through the entire situation in his mind. Like he’d been giving a briefing of facts and hadn’t just fought hand-to-hand combat with an intruder.

  “Sterling, you can come out now.”

  My heart tripped in fear for an entirely different reason.

  Hadrian had called me by my given name.

  “Sterling,” he said again but with barely leashed control, nearly yelling over the sound of the storm outside, “I’m not going to ask you again.”

  Swallowing my confusion, I crawled out. Adrenaline spiked my blood. Refusing to meet his gaze, I hastily pulled on the blue silk robe that rested on a chair in the corner of the room.

  Hadrian sat on the side of the bed, his profile turned slightly toward me.

  I was shocked to see a swollen lip, his bloody nose, and a crimson stained sheet he held pressed to his ribs.

  My thoughts locked, and at that moment, nothing except tending to Hadrian’s wound mattered.

  “Hadrian,” I shouted, going to him and kneeling down.

  “It’s just a scratch,” he said, trying for a smile. It gave him a Joker-like appearance and caused me to flinch.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t sure what questions I wanted to ask first.

  “Is he gone?” I asked, gesturing with my chin to the balcony.

  “Aye.”

  Nodding, I got up and went to shut the balcony doors. The sound of the storm faded immediately when I did. I latched them closed, but it seemed like a paltry defense after what had just occurred.