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They ate in companionable silence Jared didn’t want to break the easiness between them, but Lia had only told him the first half--the half, he noticed, that didn’t havehiht The Gray Lady needed to make one more appearance at Raej I understand that Sort of But, Lia, once you’d purchased the slaves, why didn’t you buy passage to a Coach station closer to Dena Nehele’s borders?"

"I was going to but" Lia bit her lip "The ot scared"

He reiven just before she went into the ticket station And the fear in her after she’d read it "What did it say?"

" ‘They’re waiting for you in the west’ "

"Do you knoho sent it?"

Lia shook her head "A ht it ht be a trick, too That’s why" She waved a hand to indicate the wagon, supplies, everything "I didn’t knohat else to do"

"You did well, Lady," Jared said arm approval "But wasn’t there a Coach station near the inn where you got the wagon and supplies? Why didn’t we take another Coach fro this journey?"

Lia turned her face away froers worried the blanket She nibbled her lower lip

Jared felt the warning prickle between his shoulder blades His heart began to pound painfully against his chest "Why didn’t we take another Coach, Lady Ardelia?" he asked softly

"Everything cost more," she said hurriedly, defensively "You have to hire two guard escorts if you’re going to buy slaves so that one can stay with the slaves while the other accoed o into the auction grounds without the escorts, and when I argued about it, that bastard in charge just s went higher than we’d anticipated, always er talking to hi to hiued this with herself

And what, exactly, was she trying to justify?

"I think soainstmore and more desperate "But it was the last time, don’t you see? I couldn’t walk away from the ones we’d been asked to look for I couldn’t I tried to fool the when the price started to clie for the first Coach, there weren’t enoughelse, didn’t I?"

Jared considered the expense of purchasing the horses, wagon, clothing, and supplies for this desperate ga them for this journey probably cost her half the fare for herself and twelve slaves

But that still wasn’t an answer In his youth, he’d given enough explanations at breakneck speed to knohen so to provide a s

He leaned over and covered her hands with his The moment he touched her, he knew

"Howback, Lia?" he asked softly, baiting her His anger was rising again And beneath the anger was grief

Soclose , he thoughtSo close

"We didn’t set an exact number," Lia mumbled

"How many?"

She trembled beneath his hands and wouldn’t look at hi to keep his voice gentle

She sed hard "Eryk and Corry Blaed and Thayne Polli"

Jared’s hands tightened until shehimself, he released her and shoved his fists into his pockets "If you were supposed to bring Polli back, how could you give her to that rogue bastard?"