In Which Lettie Finds No Trouble

March 12, 1180

"Ma-ma!" Arkon whined, dropping his toy horse to the floor of his castle and flopping back onto the rug in frustration. "Alina keeps chewing my toys!"

"What do you expect?" chided their older sister from the couch. "You know she's going to wreck anything you let her play with, so why do you keep sharing? Hide your toys like I do, dummy."

"Rennie, don't call your brother a dummy." Lettie lifted little Severin to her shoulder and took to rubbing his back. Was she a horrible mother if she hoped he never learned to speak? "Alina, take that out of your mouth. And Arkon, you know you have to share."

"But--"

"No buts." God. Whenever Searle got back from wherever he was--the inn, no doubt, for all it was barely noon--he was in for the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. The children were rambunctious at the best of times and today had been the worst of them. And while neither she nor Searle were noted disciplinarians on their own, none of the children were stupid enough to not to listen if they both had something to say.

Or shout, as she would have preferred right then.

Someone knocked. Finally. "Searle, I swear to God, if I smell wine--"

"I'm not Searle."

Lettie frowned. No... that was Sparron's voice. But what was Sparron doing here? He'd called on her a few days after Severin's birth, just to see how she was, which had been kind of him... but with that in mind, it didn't add up that he'd risk a run-in with Searle again so soon. "Sparron? Uh... come in, I guess."

And without a hint of his usual hesitation, he did just that.

He wasn't alone.

As early as that evening, Lettie would look back on that moment and marvel that she hadn't dropped the baby in her shock. She'd seen her middle son--for all she shouldn't have thought of him as such--whenever she'd dropped by Tetran Keep, but it was the first time he'd been at her castle since his birth. And it was the first time all five of her children had ever been in a room at once. "Prior!"

Prior gave her a toothy smile. "Leddie!"

"Yes, that's Auntie Lettie." Sparron hoisted the boy a little higher as he started toward her. "What about the children? Are you going to say hello to them?"

Prior nodded. "'Ello."

"Hello, Prior. Hello, Uncle Sparron," chorused Lettie's older two as Alina waved and even Severin stirred.

"Kids." Sparron's gaze fell to each of them in turn--but lingered longer on Alina, Lettie noticed. "How have things been around here?"

If only he knew. Not that any good would come of telling him. "To be honest, they've been better. But you wouldn't be here if you didn't have other business--would you, Champ?"

Sparron shrugged and glanced down at Prior, who was in turn eyeing Severin with... whatever interest toddlers could have in babies. It might have been a nice idea, but it was irrational to think he somehow knew that the infant in her arms was his little brother. "I'm going fishing with Isidro this afternoon, so since I had to ride by here anyway, I thought I'd see if you wanted to take Prior for a couple hours."

Lettie blinked, all thoughts of her absentee husband and her children's unruliness gone at the very suggestion. As if he'd needed to ask. But-- "You don't think it would be--?" She caught herself just before the word 'suspicious' slipped out of her. Rennie knew that word and Arkon might have too, and at least one of the two would be curious.

"No, it's fine." And, as if to confirm his father's words, Prior smiled at her. "Camaline and Thallie are out of the house and my father is busy and the nurse is preoccupied with my niece. I'd feel better if I knew you were keeping him out of trouble."

"He'll be no trouble." As far as Lettie was concerned, that was a certain as two and two were four. "Actually, he might keep the rest of them out of it--won't you, Prior?"

Prior nodded, grinning all the while. His hair flopped away from his face, granting her a view of his freckles. He hadn't gotten those from his father.

He kept looking up at her even as Sparron set him down. "You be good for Auntie Lettie, all right?"

Another nod. Sparron kissed him on the top of the head, then eased himself back up. "Have fun playing with Alina and Arkon. Papa will be back soon."

Prior scooted over to the other two and picked up a discarded doll--and didn't put it anywhere near his mouth, just as much to Arkon's relief as to Lettie's, no doubt. Sparron allowed himself another quick glance at Alina, then flashed a smile for the baby before meeting Lettie's eye.

"Thank you for this. It means a lot to me."

Lettie sniffed out a small laugh. As if it were just him. "No. Thank you."

NEXT CHAPTER: