“Elesyria and I shall await your proof in our chambers.”
He waited as they gathered their precious little bags and made their way from the hall. At his nod, his guards fell in step behind them.
“Thank you for a most unusual meal, Brother.” Christiana glided past him on her way to the door, stopping at the last moment. “She’s an interesting woman, our new sister, is she no?”
Indeed she was, but he saw no need to share his thoughts with Christiana, and instead dismissed her with the wave of his hand.
He had more pressing matters on his mind.
“HE’S BEING FARtoo accommodating. I don’t like this.” Elesyria lay back on the bed, one hand across her eyes. “I don’t trust that vile creature in the least.”
“I don’t trust him either, but I’d hardly call him accommodating.”
Dani sat on the floor in front of the massive stone fireplace in her bedchamber, rubbing her thumb over the newly empty spot on her finger. It was her own fault. She should have left her aunt’s ring at Castle MacGahan if she’d wanted to keep it.
Still, if it made any difference in getting Malcolm out of this place, it was well worth the loss.
A knock at the door sent her scrambling to her feet to answer.
“Our lord Torquil sends these things with his compliments. He bids me tell you his part of the bargain is now fulfilled.”
The guard handed over a pack and a roll of blankets that looked very much like the ones Malcolm had carried with him the night he’d left Castle MacGahan. Still, everyone who traveled could well have items just like these. And even if they were his, they only proved that he had been here at one point, a fact that was really not in question for her.
“You can tell your lord that I don’t accept these as proof that my husband is alive.”
“Our lord Torquil bids me convey to you his invitation to join him in breaking his fast on the morrow to continue the negotiations as you have agreed.”
“Fine.” Arguing with this Polly parrot was doing her no good at all. “You may tell him for me that we’ll see him bright and early tomorrow morning.”
There was no mistaking the relief she’d seen on the man’s face as she shoved the heavy door shut.
Holding the things tightly to her chest, she returned to her spot by the hearth to go through the items Torquil claimed belonged to Malcolm.
She untied the binding on the bedroll and buried her nose in the blanket and any question of who it belonged to was gone. The fresh herbal scent that clung to his skin permeated the wool. It definitely belonged to Malcolm.
After draping the blanket across her legs, she opened the pack to look inside; her heart felt as if it skipped a beat. Just inside the pack was the pouch Malcolm always wore around his waist, as if someone had taken it from him and carelessly tossed it in with everything else.
She loosened the drawstrings on the leather bag and dumped its contents into her lap. There, among the bits of tiny wood shavings, two items stood out from the rest.
The first was Malcolm’s knife. She’d seen it too often not to recognize it as his. He used it at every meal, and even in his spare moments, he pulled it out to occupy his hands by idly whittling some piece of wood he’d pick up.
The second item clutched at her heart.
“A fork,” she said aloud, unable to keep her voice from breaking.
“What’s that you say?” Elesyria climbed from the bed and crossed over to kneel at her side.
“Malcolm’s carved a fork.” She ran her finger the length of the smooth wood before offering it to Elesyria for her inspection. “A small fork. Just like I told him I wanted.”
She felt as if her heart might break. Even as he’d traveled to meet God only knew what kind of fate, he’d been thinking of her. Only two wickedly sharp prongs, and those were all out of proportion, almost as long as the handle. But it was fork. A fork she had no doubt he’d made especially for her. She could almost see him sitting by a fire, absently carving away as he did when his hands were idle.
Her head felt stuffy and she rubbed at her eyes to prevent their betraying her with tears.
“I thought you said this whole true-love, SoulMate thing was supposed to be a gift. It doesn’t feel the least bit gifty right now. In fact, it feels pretty awful.”
“We do feel most deeply those things that are most important to us,” Elesyria agreed as she smoothed one hand over the wood before lifting it to her nose. “It’s rowan wood he’s used.”
Dani held out her hand for the fork and lifted it to her own nose. “Just smells like wood to me.” How Elesyria could tell one from another was beyond her.
