fine labors?â
Falaire snorted. Léirsinn reminded herself of all the reasons why she couldnât sack the man standing in front of her, then held out the lead rope she was holding.
âSee if you can come to an understanding with him. Heâll talk to the rest of the ponies about you, you know. Iâd be worried about what heâd say.â
Acair looked at Falaire warily, then approached him hesitantly.
âHeâll bite you again if you do it that way.â
âDamn it, woman, then what am I to do? Tell him I will do a half-arsed job on his stall if he refrains from biting me?â
Léirsinn would have suggested that he might want to be mostly concerned that Falaire would kick the life from him, but she decided that was likely something she didnât need to say. Besides, she was suddenly distracted by the sight of Acair facing off with her favorite horse. He drew himself up and sent Falaire a look that . . .
Well, it almost had her backing up a pace. She wouldnât have said she was frightened, but she realized immediately that whatever else Acair from nowhere understood, he understood how to intimidate. Falaire, however, merely snorted at him, leaving him a small gift of drool on the shoulder of his tunic, then he stretched his neck and snuffled Acairâs hair.
Acair cursed, but didnât move.
âFirst Horse,â Léirsinn said pointedly, âwhich you are most definitely not.â
âHeâs trying to win me over.â
âBelieve that if you like,â she said. She leaned against the wall as Acair led Falaire back into his quarters. Falaire had a look at his surroundings, then expressed his opinion on the work done in the form of a deposit upon fresh straw.
Acair looked at her in surprise. âDamn him to hell. Whyâd he do that?â
âWhy donât you ask him?â
âI think I wonât,â he said. He looked at the lead rope in his hand, then handed it to her. âHeâs all yours.â
She would have happily made that so, but even if she could have afforded him, her uncle would have kept her from buying him out of spite. Sheâd watched him do it to souls he was far fonder of than he was of her. She took off Falaireâs bridle, promised him his supper in an hour, then shut him into the stall. She looked at Acair.
âOnly twenty more to see to. Perhaps more. I lose count easily.â
âI imagine you donât lose count of anything,â he said. He walked off, muttering something she didnât understand.
Well, as long as he did what he was being paid to do with any success at all, she didnât care what language he cursed her in.
She leaned against the wall and watched him work on the next stall. Falaire was hanging his head out his window, watching as well. Even horses needed their amusements, she supposed.
âTwas blindingly obvious that the man hadnât a clue how to properly do barn work, which left her wondering why heâd sought work in a stable. She had to admit Doghail had judged his appearance aright at least. He was terribly beautiful in a rakish sort of way that she was certain had left more than one woman in a state of incapacitation. Fortunately, she was not swayed by a pretty face and there were still two dozen stalls left to see to before the day was over.
âMistress Léirsinn?â
She turned to find one of the housemaids standing there. The girl looked so out of place in her starched uniform, Léirsinn had a hard time believing she wasnât a specter of some kind.
âAye?â she said carefully. âIs there something wrong?â
The girl looked around as if she expected someone to leap out of the shadows and fall upon her. Léirsinn nodded toward an empty passageway. The girl trailed after her, but Léirsinn could tell it wasnât willingly done. She looked to make sure they were alone, then turned to the servant.
âWhat
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