Back to Harkon Hall spiraling to an even lower circle of hell.

Talya ran through the corridors of Harkon Hall with her little niece Betha, trying to make her laughs sound genuine. Betha had been upset about the cold and glum which had settled over the Hall and Talya decided to play with her to seem happy and normal.

It was hard. Lord Blackwell out of the kindness of his heart had allowed them to stay in the Hall, even with their massive debts. But a roof over their heads was all they had. Papa had been forced to turn over all his accounts and all their valuable possessions to Lord Blackwell.

Dalla had been in contact with her family to get she and Herron and Betha away but that line of communication was suddenly cut off. No member of the family could leave the island. The not-so-subtle guards following them around made sure of that. Even their food and their central heating was strictly rationed. He was squeezing them for every drop.

Talya knew the only reason they were allowed to stay at all was to keep up appearances for the shipwrights so they would work without complaint and Lord Blackwell could reap the profits. That, and Talya and Betha themselves. Any bride price paid for the the Harkon females would go directly to the Blackwell coffers.

"Tally!" Betha shrieked and zoomed ahead of her. "Watch me!"

"I'm watching, Betha."

The little girl attempted a somersault but veered sharply and wound up going around a corner and directly into a wall.

Talya heard the impact and ran after Betha but she was beaten by a deep, male voice. "Oh, don't cry. It's just a bump on the head."

She recognized the voice and her blood went cold. She raced around the corner as fast as she could.

Trevon Blackwell helped Betha to her feet and spoke to her kindly. "Why, I know people who can detach their own thumbs. Do you want to see?"

Betha sniffed. "Uh-huh."

Trevon smiled and indulged her with a quick magic trick that looked like he'd lost his thumb and made Betha laugh. "There we go!"

He turned in Talya's direction and she curtsied politely. "Pardon us. I didn't realize you had arrived for your annual visit, my lord."

"Aye, I was just on my way to speak to your father." Trevon looked at her almost apologetically. "I'd like to get this unpleasantness over for him."

"Well don't let us keep you." Dalla had overheard the conversation and shot out to grab both Talya and her daughter and pull them away.

"Thank you, Lady Harkon."

Talya wouldn't have minded getting the chance to speak to him for a moment longer. She wanted to ask him how his son was doing and Miara, if they had heard anything about his brother.

The Harkons hadn't heard a word from the outside world in months. She would have given almost anything to hear what Sanya was up to. There had been that whisper of a rumor before the siege that Jamos had found her!

"Betha, it's time for you to get ready for bed," Dalla was saying to her daughter.

The little girl pouted, "but Momma it's so cold."

"Well, go see if your Papa will bring you a pup to snuggle with from the kennels."

It surprised Talya that her sister-in-law was willing to break her own rule about allowing cogs in their living quarters but once the little girl had run off in search of her father, Dalla rounded on her. "He's here. What are you going to do about it?"

"He?" Talya took a step back.

"Trevon Blackwell," Dalla pronounced as if she was speaking to an idiot. "Please don't tell me you're going to let everything Miara and I taught you go to waste."

Talya swallowed surely Dalla couldn't mean… "But he's Miara's husband."

"She knows how the game is played. She came from nothing and married a noble because she was supposedly carrying his child, but what proof did she have? Everyone knew he should have been betrothed to you. You should take what's rightfully yours."

"But… I was betrothed to his brother."

Dalla sighed, exasperated. "Exactly. The Blackwells slighted you twice. Those agreements go both ways. You were expected to produce an heir for their house but they never gave you the opportunity. No one ever knew for sure if he had done the deed when he brought her home pregnant from that voyage and she had no family to act as her witness when they stood together at the salt formation. If you could seduce him, he could deny that their marriage was ever legal. He could have a true noble born heir and you could save your family. The time is now."

"Why now though?" Talya was trembling. "You've never… suggested anything like this before."

Dalla took a deep breath. Talya hadn't noticed before how exhausted and worried her sister-in-law looked. "Because... I'm pregnant."

Talya gasped. "I thought you had ways to keep from…"

"Well they're not one hundred percent effective, obviously! And I'm not going to be able to keep it hidden for much longer. As fast as I'm growing, I can only guess... that it's twins."

Talya knew that the Harkon male line had been carried on traditionally for centuries by two pregnancies which resulted in two girls and a boy in some combination.

Dalla rubbed her temples, trying to soothe an oncoming headache. "If the pattern holds true I'm carrying the next heir of Harkon Hall, the heir of... nothing at all, not to mention another girl for them to sell off."

Talya remained quiet.

"If Trevon's marriage is discredited they'll give up all this talk about a match between his supposed heir and Betha."

They both looked down the corridor the way the little girl had run before Talya shook her head adamantly. "I-I can't do that. Besides I… already tried to contact someone who I think might be able to help."

Dalla grabbed onto her arm with a shred of hope. "Who?"

"I got a message out to Bralyk Keep before communications were cut off."

Dalla tightened her grip. "Have you heard anything?"

"Even if the Bralykburns considered it they would probably have to negotiate with the Blackwells for my marriage now and… we wouldn't have any of the benefit."

"You have to find a way to negotiate on your own."

"How can I?"

Dalla began to pace and when she put her fists on her hips and pulled the fabric of her dress tight over her belly Talya could see the evidence of the baby or babies within.

"Maybe we could get a message to Miara."

Talya gaped at her and gave a mirthless laugh. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't try to steal her husband."

"You have to be willing to do anything."

…

There wasn't much to offer Trevon in the way of dinner but surely he knew that. His own father had arranged for the grocery deliveries after all. Still he made pleasant conversation, didn't mention the food, and ate modestly. When the time came for Lord Harkon to hand over the latest payments, Trevon took them without fuss or much comment and went back to the meal.

It was nice to be treated like people instead of prisoners. Still Talya was suspicious. Trevon seemed kind but he was still a Blackwell, there under his father's orders. He had to have something up his sleeve.

Talya's hands shook as she prepared the teapot. She made sure the liquid inside wasn't too hot or too cold, but just right, and carried it oh-so-carefully to the table until her feet tangled together and she sloshed half the contents right onto Trevon.

"Oh my salt gods! I'm so sorry!" Talya grabbed as many napkins as she could grab and tried in vain to dry him off. Her heart pounded in her chest. Trevon had been polite, but this was a nearly unforgivable act.

"It's alright," he said softly while the other family members jumped up from the table and scurried around trying to fix this disaster. "It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault." And then almost too low for her to hear he whispered, "I told Father he should have let me go and fetch Jamos and bring him back to marry you."

She froze and whispered back, "I thought no one knew where he was?"

Trevon looked at her intently for a moment as if wishing her to understand more than he was able to say.

And then someone stepped between them and Dalla grabbed her elbow and pulled her away.

"What are you doing?" She hissed. "Contrary to what you might have read in your romance novels, pouring tea on someone isn't a way to seduce them!"

"I have a plan!" Talya shot back. "Now get out of my way so I can carry it out."

Dalla begrudgingly let her go, watching with a hawk's eye as Talya made her way back to the table.

"My lord," she said with an intentional tremor in her voice. "It's too cold to be wearing wet clothes. Would you allow me to dry them for you?"

Salt gods bless him, it looked like Trevon was about to tell her it wasn't a concern at all until he noticed her expression. Talya looked as if she was about to cry. "I would appreciate that, Miss Harkon."

…

"Well, at least you got him to take his clothes off," Dalla snarked as she and Talya watched Lord Harkon bid farewell to Trevon later that evening.

"It wasn't about that. I never…" Talya huffed. "And I doubt if I did manage to… that he would have ever been allowed to claim any child of mine as his own. There was something he said."

"And what was that, pray tell?"

Talya was still trying to puzzle it out in her own mind, the way he had said it. "He said that he asked if he could go and get Jamos to make him marry me. He said it like they knew where he was and his father let him go."

Dalla was quicker on the uptake. "Like Lord Blackwell never intended to give you to either one of his sons."

"He's only ever wanted the Hall with no Harkons attached."

"So you gave him a tea shower to get back at him?" Dalla scoffed.

"No. I did what you said. I got a message to Miara."

…

"Trev!" Miara practically threw herself into her husband's arms when he arrived home. "I missed you!"

Missed him wasn't the half of it. Miara had done a lot of thinking after Trevon left the harbor and placed herself into Talya Harkon's shoes. Lord Blackwell wanted nothing more than for House Harkon to sink beneath the waves and leave the shipbuilding business to himself, but Talya didn't know that. With her knowledge and if she was smart, she'd be doing anything she could to get a Blackwell baby in her belly.

Trevon was honorable, but Miara knew firsthand he could be … distractible. That's why it was now time to make sure she was his one and only, forever.

But it appeared nothing of the sort had transpired at Harkon Hall from the way Trevon talked as she worked on the buttons of his shirt. "I know Father is trying to bleed them dry, but there's a small child living there. They need to have food and heat for Betha at least."

"Mmm hmm." Talk was cheap. Sex got things done.

"I just can't imagine Alon having to live like that."

"I'm sure you can find a way to convince your father to loosen his grip later." She tore his shirt off and for a second she felt something that didn't belong in his pocket. Was it a piece of flimsi? She'd have to check later. "Now, I want both your eyes on me."

After the deed was done and Trevon lay dozing, Miara carefully located his clothing where it landed and pulled out the suspicious piece of flimsi. She was pleasantly surprised to find her name inked across the seal with distinctly feminine handwriting.

Without hesitation she opened and read it.

Yutton Bralykburn? A secret pickup in the night? A signal?

Well, she thought and picked up her clothes in preparation for the comms she had to make. Looks like Talya Harkon has some brains in her head after all.