She felt her breath tighten in her chest at the prospect and her palms began to tingle.
What could restrain her? Fear? Perhaps. Responsibility? Suppose Jeorg were to wake suddenly and need reassurance? And what would be the reaction of Gryss if he returned to find Jeorg abandoned and her missing?
Or her father’s reaction?
‘Your father’s already lost one person that he loved dearly.’ Gryss’s words reproached her.
Marna’s mouth pursed. She knew all about that, she thought, but no one had ever expressed it to her so forthrightly, and it proved a winding blow now, as she contemplated flight.
‘Damn,’ she said, softly and bitterly. She couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not like that; not without any warning.
For some time she sat motionless, her hands resting on the papers and her mind drifting idl
