"I'm not going to lie to Katia," Anaisa told Trace seriously, and he grimaced.
"I didn't ask you to," He responded, "but the more she knows about what's happening, the more danger you may be putting her in. Simply encouraging them to go home is safest for everyone."
Anaisa paused, and Trace thought she might lose her temper, but she took a deep breath and measured her tone.
"Now that I know about the danger you and I will face in the city, I will keep her as informed as I see fit."
He noticed she said 'you and I' instead of 'we'. He was disappointed that her trust in him seemed to be waning just as he was sharing more.
"I did not mean to put you or your sister into any peril. I'm confident that as long as I comply with the demands made of me, both of you will be safe." He assured her.
"And what are the demands?" She pressed, more harshly than she'd spoken to him before.
"I don't know yet, this time," He shrugged. "Nothing you need to be concerned about."
"If It will help keep Katia safe, I need to help in whatever way I can," Anaisa insisted.
"It's nothing you are equipped for." He shook his head. It was unlikely she would even figure out what he was doing.
"You said we were a team," Her voice rose in pitch, and he glanced at her. Cornflower blue eyes flashed at him, and he was struck by their clarity.
"Team members can have different jobs," He said. "This one is mine alone."
"And I'm not to even know what it is?" Anaisa's eyes narrowed.
"Maybe someday," Trace allowed.
His wife stared at him, searching his gaze for the truth of his statement. He hoped someday to trust her enough to tell her everything, but he had no idea what the task was this time, and didn't want to involve her in anything unsavory.
Besides, even if she did have some sort of skill to help, he didn't want to give his mysterious blackmailer any further motivation to disrupt their lives.
Eventually Anaisa turned her eyes forward, though her face bespoke internal strife. He could tell her temper bubbled under the surface, waiting to either dissipate or boil over. Trace watched the emotion war across her expression for a short time before he spoke again.
"Why thank you, Trace, for sharing some of your most personal secrets," He raised his voice an octave or so in a poor imitation of Anaisa's before lowering it again to his normal tone. "You're welcome, Anaisa, I trust you to keep it in confidence for me, for our safety and that of others as well."
He sneaked a glance at her face, but she seemed perplexed, rather than amused by his impression.
"Is that what you expected me to say?" She angled her head to look at him seriously.
"Not expected, necessarily, but it would have been nice to hear," He shrugged noncommittally. At least she no longer seemed upset.
"I should thank you for throwing my life into turmoil and delaying telling me about it?" Anaisa clarified.
"I apologized for that." He defended himself, "And I assure you none of it was on purpose. I'm doing all I can to secure your safety and that of your sister, in addition to protecting some secret of yours that I don't even know myself."
Anaisa backed down at that, looking away. Had he gone too far?
"I've trusted you with enough of what I know to keep you apprised of what we face in the city. When the time comes for me to know what secrets you hold, I'm sure you will do the same." He tried to soften the harshness of his statement.
She nodded, once, without looking at him, and he sighed. This conversation could have gone much better, but he supposed it could have gone much worse. Deciding that he would like to move a little faster, he pressed his heels into his horse's sides, urging the mount from a steady walk into a trot.
Anaisa's horse followed by force of habit or training. She moved easily with the animal, and he wondered passingly if she'd ridden much in the city. She didn't seem a stranger to horses, at any rate. Maybe she was a natural talent.
She held her tongue, not complaining about the brisk pace at all, and he allowed the animals to choose when to slow down.
They had enough supplies packed to go through town without stopping, and onward toward the city.
"What is that?" Anaisa pointed towards a large building just outside the town. "The wagons passed it on the way through, but Katia and I couldn't tell."
"The firehouse," Trace looked at her, "Does the city not have those?"
His wife blinked at him oddly, "No, what's it for?"
"It stores wagons with large barrels of water and dirt. With the high winds out here, fire can devastate crops or the town itself, so in case of such an event, the wagons rush out to put out the fire before it can spread too far." He explained.
"Oh. the buildings in the city are mostly made of clay, so there's no real danger of widespread fires."
"That makes sense. I'm sure there are advantages and drawbacks to using those sorts of materials," He was glad they were talking again, even if the subject was a benign one.
"There's no breeze," Anaisa frowned. "The city is stifling in the summer, and though the houses keep the sun at bay, the air doesn't move. It's suffocating."
"The summers out here are hot, but there's always fresh air," Trace assured her. "I hope you like it better."
He genuinely wanted her to like life on the farm. She was smart and capable, even if he didn't always know how to relate to her, and he could have been assigned a far worse wife.
"You truly plan on coming back?" She asked him seriously. "This person who's blackmailing you, will they let you go home, or will they keep you indefinitely working in the city by threatening Katia and me, or your family?"
"First of all, you're part of my family now," Trace said sternly. "As to the other part…"
He didn't know. Trace had no idea what the job was, or how long it would take, or whether he could extricate himself from the clutches of whatever person or forces sought his cooperation. Without knowing who the blackmailer was or what they wanted, how could he make any sort of plan to do so?
"I'll figure out a way to make sure they lose their hold on me. On us." He promised.
"And you'll let me help?" Anaisa quirked an eyebrow.
"For now, the biggest help you can be is to be safe and convince your sister to get her husband home, further from this mess," Trace sighed.
"But if something comes up, we're a team, and you'll tell me all I need to know?"
"For someone who once told me I could keep my secrets without interference, you're suddenly extremely curious, aren't you?" He tried to keep his tone light despite the seriousness of the topic.
Anaisa ducked her head slightly, and looked away. He bit his tongue, wondering if he'd flustered her. At least she didn't seem angry. "I did not expect your secret to be anything that would involve me and Katia."
"That was a reasonable expectation, given that we only met once before," He nodded, "I'm sorry to have disappointed you."
"As you point out so often, we're married now. All your problems have become mine." Her tone had a tinge of irritation in it.
"What a glowing recommendation of the institution of marriage," Trace glanced at her, "I'm surprised they don't put that in the ceremony."
"It would be honest," A corner of her mouth tipped up, "and people should know what they're getting into."
"Did you?" Trace wondered aloud. "Did you know what you were getting into?"
He had had no time to ponder the issue because before he knew what was happening, he had a wife. In his home, sleeping in his bed while he took up the floor. Anaisa, on the other hand, probably had days or weeks of knowing marriage was coming before she found herself bound to him. Nights of dreaming and imagining what kind of man she might have, what she wanted or dreaded. She'd strongly hinted that he was better than she'd expected a husband to be, which was easily believable considering many of the soldiers he'd served with.
However, a feeling in his heart desperately wanted to know whether he measured up to what her hopes had been. Was he a disappointment to her? Dragging her back to the city she'd come from, getting herself and her sister into danger, perhaps it was worse than she'd expected.
"I still don't," Anaisa responded softly.