The Brigand's Bride (Treaty Brides) by Samantha Cayto

Author:Samantha Cayto [Cayto, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBTQIA Romance Fiction
Publisher: Totally Entwined Group
Published: 2023-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The sudden silence around the camp told Rory that he wasn’t the only one hearing this revelation for the first time. It wasn’t all that surprising. Evan was clearly an educated man who had grown up with some privilege. The fact that he was of the nobility was the part that was hard to swallow, let alone that he was part of the royal family.

He asked the obvious question. “How in the name of the gods did you end up a brigand?”

“It’s a long story.”

Rory frowned. “I think I speak for everyone one when I say we have time to hear it out.” There were general murmurs of agreement from the others.

“Well, then.” Letting go of Rory, Evan stood and walked outside the inner circle by the fire to speak. “I do owe all of you an explanation about who I really am and how I came to be here. We all have pasts that we want to keep to ourselves. Unlike most of yours, I’m not running from a terrible past. Quite the contrary.

“I am the second born of the old duke. When our father died, my older sister took his place and her marriage to Prince Soren meant she needed to spend most of her days at court. She asked me to be her castellan, an honorable profession for the second born but,” he heaved a sigh, “it was a role I was ill-suited for. I never paid much attention to farming or managing accounts. The thought of arbitrating squabbles among her people seemed grim, as well. I am not a patient man and more suited to outdoor pursuits than pouring over ledgers. So I regretfully bowed out, something that infuriated my sister. I was…indifferent to her demands. It was not well done of me, but I was young and selfish enough to do as I liked. I set off to see the world, have some adventures and make my own fortune. I didn’t do as much with either of those goals as I would have liked.”

“So what, is this life a form of entertainment for you?” This from Nemo, and their eyes spit fire. Many of the others echoed the sentiment.

“No.” Evan shook his head. “I hope you all know me well enough by now to understand that I am driven to do all of this because I cannot bear seeing people suffer.” He paced away, then returned. “I came back to this part of Moorcondia because I was homesick and I had coin in my pocket to live an independent life. It was the baron’s land that I passed through first, and my gods, the beaten-down and starving faces of the villagers I saw was like a punch to my gut. My father would never have allowed people under his domain to suffer like that. And I couldn’t believe that my sister would, either.”

Not liking the scowls he still saw on some of the band’s faces, Rory interrupted. “You went to your sister then to tell her?”

“No.

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