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She instantly softened her smile and repeated her question. “Are you Wendell?”

The young man lost his dazed look after shaking his head. “Nay, mistress, I am Gower. Wendell was assigned another task today.”

“Do you work in the kitchen at Clan Ravinsher, Gower?” Leora asked.

Gower nodded. “I do, mistress.”

Leora lowered her voice and let her smile fade some. “I am curious about the woman that Lord Slayer brought to his clan. Her name is Sky. Would you know anything about her? Have you ever seen her?”

Gower lowered his voice as well. “We are not permitted to speak about her.”

“Why?”

“Lord Slayer’s orders and no one defies his orders,” Gower said, a slight tremble in his voice.

Leora continued her pursuit to learn anything she could about Sky, wishing to discover even a scape of information. “So, you have never seen her?”

Gower’s glance darted about as if looking to see if anyone watched them or could hear them and that was enough for Leora to realize the young man knew something about Sky.

“You have seen her?” she whispered.

“A quick glimpse, no more, and I should not even have said that,” Gower said, shaking his head, realizing his mistake.

“Was she all right? Frightened? Harmed in any way?” Leora demanded anxiously.

Gower clamped his lips shut tightly and worry filled his eyes.

Leora silently cursed herself for frightening the young man with her demanding manner. But if he saw Sky only for a moment, she wanted his honest opinion of how she appeared.

She kept her voice calm and low. “I did not mean to frighten you, Gower, and since you spoke when you obviously fear that you shouldn’t have, I will share something with you that no one need know. This way we both will keep what we share here a secret.”

His eyes turned wide. “I am not good with a secret.”

“I am,” Leora assured him and the worry in his eyes faded slightly. “I ask about Sky because she is my sister.”

Gower’s mouth dropped open.

“People tell me she is safe and well, but how do I know for sure unless I hear it from someone who has seen her or talked with her.”

“I did not talk with her, mistress, but I have seen her several times,” Gower said.

“Please tell me how she is, Gower. Please. I worry endlessly about her,” Leora said, not caring that she sounded like she begged.

“From what I have seen of her, which was from a distance, she appears well. No one harms her, nor would anyone dare to. They would suffer at Lord Slayer’s hands if they did,” —Gower shuddered— “a horrible fate for sure.”

Leora was relieved to hear that, but she was not finished yet. “Was she alone each time you saw her? Has anyone in the clan befriended her?”

Gower stared at her, his silence letting her know he was at a loss for words.

Leora understood without him saying a word. The people feared her because of her affliction and, therefore, avoided her. Her heart ached at the thought of her sister all alone, no one to talk with, no one to care about her, and it made Leora even more determined to see that Sky was returned home to her family.

* * *

“All goes well with Lord Slayer?”Noble asked as he and Ross settled with tankards of ale at the table in his solar.

“All goes well at the clan, but Lord Slayer will not rest until he finds out who killed his brother and father and revenge their deaths,” Ross said.

“How does his search go?”