Maertn moved his duties to his quarters, and stayed with Quinn until she woke. Torran was wary of him now, after being thrown out of his own workshop by Elias. Maertn didn’t suppose he had to report to his old master anymore. The way Vance had spoken of him, Maertn would probably be the master before long.
When Quinn stirred Maertn was ready with the water this time. After he had allowed her to silently drink her fill, he grabbed a bowl of soup he had been keeping warm in a bracket over a candle flame he usually reserved for heating his poultices. She took the liquid gratefully. He was slow and gentle, not wanting to give her so much that she took ill. It had been two days since she’d eaten.
The pair of vipers, Yvette and Grainne, had been past a number of times. They had been shooed away on each occasion, but like a bad odour, they kept coming back. It had been a few hours since their last visit. They were due another one, in and around their duties. Let them come. If they thought they were enhancing their embittered little lives by poking fun at Maertn and Quinn, and if they thought their blunt little barbs were causing any damage, they were severely mistaken. After he was sure Quinn had both drunk and eaten enough, he helped her to sit up. Only then did he let her speak.
“What happened to you?”
His question was simple. It should have been harmless. She took one look in to his big, open, caring eyes and burst in to tears.