Chapter 77: Chapter 77Two days quickly passed which excited Rose as she waited for Zayne’s return. The days she had to wait for him to return had been torture now that she wanted to tell him to join him to travel to the next town.

    Rose had yet to get what she needed since Janice had not returned to the market yet so she could not tag along. Rose was patiently waiting for Zayne and for the moment she would freely walk around the market without having to look over her shoulder in fear that Graham would get her.

    "You have been by the window all day. Please don’t run to the door as soon as you see him coming. Let him come inside and then you can go to him. He doesn’t know what he has started by asking you to join him on this trip. I have never seen you so excited," said Janice.

    Seeing the way Rose had been acting for the last two days, Janice was glad that she had not tried to convince Rose not to go with Zayne. Rose wasn’t suited for sticking to one town with how curious she was about everything.

    "I won’t jump in his path as soon as he arrives. I only want to be near to greet him. I am already finished with my work for the day. Should I find something else to do?" Rose wondered.

    "No. You worry me with how much you try to do in one day. This house is well in order thanks to you. You deserve to sit around for a bit. I see a carriage coming so you no longer have to wait," Janice said, looking out the window as Zayne made his way here. "I will be in the kitchen."

    Janice knew to find something else to do when Zayne came as he and Rose would have much to talk about in secret. With Zayne here, she was to be busy preparing something grand for him to eat so it worked out well.

    Janice was still conflicted over whether there was nothing between Rose and Zayne. She believed that Rose didn’t hold feelings for Zayne but she could not believe what Rose said about Zayne. Why did he need to take Rose along with him to another town and then he would bring her back here? He was going out of his way to help a maid once more.

    ’She might have misheard him,’ Janice thought. She could see how a young girl like Rose would not understand a man like Zayne courting her.

    Again, Janice thought there should be someone to watch over Rose on this trip so she doesn’t get hurt. Not only from travelling with soldiers but also her feelings if something with Zayne didn’t go as planned. Sёar?h the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Rose moved away from the window just as the door opened. "Welcome back," she greeted Zayne.

    "Well, this is the pretty flower he keeps speaking about," a stranger said.

    Zayne rolled his eyes at Finn’s comment. Once more, he regretted letting Finn join him to see Rose. There would no longer be peace here as Finn was curious about Rose. More than he ever should be.

    Rose looked to Zayne for an explanation of who the stranger was. They seemed to be close. It was the first time Zayne brought a guest so she had to do her best as the maid.

    "This is Finn. An old friend of mine and a soldier. He helped to get your papers from the brothel. This is Rose," Zayne introduced the two.

    "Oh," Rose smiled, happy to meet someone who helped her. She thought it was all Zayne’s doing so it came as a surprise that there was someone else who wanted to help her. "It is nice to meet you, Finn."

    "You don’t have to be nice to him. He isn’t the one who pays you," said Zayne.

    "But still," Rose replied, not seeing how she could not treat his guest as she would treat him. "I should be kind to your guests. Will I need to prepare a second room?"

    "Unfortunately, with Zayne coming here to see you, I am busy back at the camp so I cannot stay," Finn said, his disappointment evident in his tone.

    Rose didn’t see it as her fault that Finn had more work to do. Zayne was coming here to have peace which was the reason he bought a home away from his camp. That was the story he had told her.

    ’Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt Finn’s feelings,’ Rose concluded.

    The soldiers might not have liked it if they knew Zayne bought a home just to be away from all the noise they might have made. Rose stayed quiet to keep Zayne’s secret. She could do this much for Zayne after what he had done for her.

    Rose was left feeling awkward as she didn’t know how to speak to Zayne with his guest standing right beside him. In the end, she walked away to go to the kitchen to let Janice know there was a guest.

    "It finally makes sense. If I had such a woman elsewhere, I wouldn’t waste my time at the camp. She’s quite the beauty. Don’t look at me like that, Zayne. I don’t have any plans of stealing her away from you. I’m not such a bastard," said Finn.

    Finn enjoyed every bit of Zayne having Rose around as he could not wait for the others back home to know Zayne’s attention was easily taken away by a woman with nothing to her name. All the men with great backgrounds had been trying to convince Zayne to marry their daughters in exchange for wealth or loyalty yet Zayne picked a woman he had to save.

    "Are you crazy?" Zayne asked as Finn started to laugh at his own words. At the very least, Finn’s strange ways would make Rose stay away from him. "You have somehow convinced me to make you the one who shall guard her in my absence. Do not make me regret it."

    Zayne only brought Finn along to have Rose get close to him now. It wouldn’t be right to wait for when they had to leave to introduce the two as Rose needed a moment to warm up to men.

    ’Is she going?" Zayne wondered as she had asked to speak to Janice first.

    Zayne left Finn’s side to find Rose so he could get the answer now. He found her standing alone in the dining room instead of the kitchen where she always ran off to. "Is there something troubling you, Rose."

    "For a big man, how are you so light on your feet?" Rose asked as she had not heard him coming. She was always curious why his footsteps weren’t loud like she had imagined they would be.

    "It is something practised for ambushes," Zayne answered.

    "I see. There isn’t anything troubling me. I am thinking of how to be with your guest. He is the first guest I will serve so I want to do well. As your maid, I should have your guests feel like they were treated well during their stay," Rose said, ignoring Zayne’s earlier order to only serve him.

    "You don’t need to serve him. He’ll get too comfortable ordering you around. You are only my maid. Understood?" Zayne asked.

    "Yes," Rose replied, not wanting to make him angry. "I will join you on the trip. Janice does not mind being here while I am away. I do not have all that I need yet."

    "We are leaving a day from now so I suggest you start going to the market to get what you need. Unless you are still afraid-"

    "I am not afraid. You said Graham is dead and I trust that you have not lied to me. You said you hate liars. I am not worried about seeing Mathias again. I will never let him kick me again. That hurt too much," Rose said, touching her chest.

    Zayne looked forward to a day when he could see Mathias and return the kick. Being a soldier, would Mathias put up a fight or would he go fast like Graham did?

    "I have been waiting for Janice to go to the market which should be this evening now that I know how soon we must leave," said Rose. "Is there anything you will need from the market?"

    "No. Don’t worry about your work today. Get close to Finn as he will be the one to look after you when I am away. The only problem you will find with him is that he talks too much," Zayne said, starting to regret that he was torturing Rose with Finn.

    "I do not mind having someone who speaks a lot. It means he might be willing to answer my questions about what I do not know. Thank you for assigning someone to me," Rose said as now Janice had nothing to worry about.

    "Do not thank me yet," Zayne said, reaching for one of the apples in a bowl placed on the table. "Though few women are with us, you will be safest in my tent. I shall have a space made for you and make sure there is something to block anyone’s view of you."