But he would not look at her when he said it, and that alone told her everything she needed to know. He did not want to go, not because the matter wasn't urgent but because he did not want to be away from her.
She appreciated the past few days he had spent caring for her. Still she could not bear the thought that she had become the reason he neglected his duties.
"You should go to the capital," she told him resolutely. "It is what is expected of you. You can even station guards at our door if that would ease your mind."
He only nodded.
She waited for an actual response but none came. Not as he took her on a brief stroll through the fields, staying close enough that their arms brushed with every step, ever watchful in case she grew too tired to walk and needed to be carried back. Not even then did he give her a true answer.
It was only later that night, when they lay together in bed, her body tucked securely against his, that he finally spoke.
