Chapter Four
The chest ofcoins on the table before him, Galoncryf rubbed his thumb over the perfectly round gem. Drystan didn’t interrupt him. It was an astounding find. He could hardly understand it himself, and he had time to think of nothing else since he separated from Elizabeth in the kitchens.
Exhausted, he was almost swaying as he stood. He was tired but didn’t have time to rest. He had a few clothes to change to, but cleaning his shoes took time he didn’t have; however, nothing about his stance or his attire could be out of place.
In order for his scheme to work, he needed to be here in Galoncryf’s private rooms, with Elizabeth’s father sitting behind his desk and contemplating the ramifications of the chest contents. He only needed enough time with Galoncryf until Elizabeth interrupted them.
And she would. Drystan was counting on it. He had more saving to do. He held her, kissed her! She loved him…trusted him. Which was good because he was about to beg her father to give Elizabeth another year without marriage, so he could turn the estate around. Something he knew she wouldn’t be pleased about.
He said they’d talk to her father today; he never said together. Perhaps an untruth, maybe a bit of mischief? He wasn’t counting on his words swaying the man; they never had before. Whenever he talked to her father about too much, he was simply ordered out. Today, he’d do something different. He’d argue about not having Elizabeth marry John, to give him a year to turn the estate around. If,when, he was dismissed, all he needed was for Elizabeth to come in, be angry at him, and…be herself. Something she—
“This was on our land?” Galoncryf tossed the gem on his desk. Upside down, it rocked roughly against the polished wood.
Drystan wasn’t going to lie. “It was under the large oak tree. I suspect the last two years of rains shifted the land, and my tripping over it allowed it’s discovery.”
“So, it could be the Evans’s.” Galoncryf picked up one of the linens Drystan had brought in and rubbed his hands clean.
“It was purposefully planted there,” he said. “A treasure trove to be found, and that gem proves it’s Galoncryf’s. In the dining room, there’s a tapestry of a woman wearing a necklace. If that necklace does exist, I’d wager one of those gems is missing, and it’s right there on your desk.”
“That necklace…,” Galoncryf threw down the linen. “I haven’t seen it for many years, had forgotten about it, but it’s a family favorite. There’s a rumor the gem was stolen because of its luck, but it could never be proven or found.”
Galoncryf pushed back in his chair, laid his hands on his belly. A large man, he’d worked hard on the land, and what he did wasn’t done out of cruelty or mismanagement; it was circumstances, and perhaps Drystan’s own father’s ill health. Just a slight turn of fortune, certainly nothing that warranted Elizabeth sacrificing herself. Could he change her fate now?
“It’s an odd assortment of coins in that chest,” Galoncryf said. “Welsh and English.”
“Some Viking, I believe.”
“You counted then?”
“Not properly, but I wouldn’t be a steward if I didn’t make note of what was in there.”
“And it was all on the border, directly under that tree. Incredible.”
It was. Drystan tried to keep his patience a bit longer. He’d failed to make his point to Elizabeth’s father when he rushed or pushed. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. That was the sole reason he was here before Elizabeth…simply to ease her father into the possibilities.
“I have one question I can’t understand,” Galoncryf said. “You found this. You returned it. You could have pocketed it all, declined our employment, and never be heard of again. And yet you’ve returned it to my possession.”
Drystan changed his stance. He wasn’t standing here like a servant but as a man. “I could have, but that wouldn’t serve my purposes.”
“Purposes.” Galoncryf scoffed. “Other than your handling of numbers, I’ve never trusted you.”
“I know.”
“I made that clear when I ordered the border inspections after that first year,” Galoncryf said.
It had taken him the first year to repair the land erosion after the harsh winter, and he’d done it just in time. “I know.”
“You know much it seems, though I believed you more intelligent than your father.” Galoncryf pointed to the mud-laden chest. “Tell me this, giving me this proves your loyalty or your stupidity?”
This was it, his chance to—. The door slammed open.
“Father.” Elizabeth skidded in, her blue eyes frantic one moment, then widening on him. “Drystan!”
In a moment, her hands were on her hips, her chin defiant. Her dress was as fine as any could be, but her hair wasn’t done as it usually was. Between her glare and the loose blonde curls, he wanted to kiss her again.
“What are you doing here?” she said. “I thought we agreed on this.”
He agreed to take care of her, and he meant to make a logical argument, one she’d upend when she arrived, a two-part explanation. He was here to protect her, as he always did, but also to give them a chance.
