Leah bent down, sniffing the pungent steam rising from the goblets. She nodded approvingly and handed one to Skye. She took it, curling her fingers around the warm goblet, and paused.
“What… What is in this?”
Leah glanced up at her, eyes widening. “Oh, forgive me! Here I have been talking about ye being drugged, and then I hand ye a mysterious tea! There is mint in it, as well as elderberry, nettle, and something I’ve been trying to buy for a long, long time.” She paused, leaning forward. “Ginseng root. It comes from far, far away. I daenae ken how the merchant got hold of it, but he only had a little of the stuff. It cost me a king’s ransom, but once I convinced Laird Bryden that we could save it for when ye returned, he agreed to pay.”
Skye glanced down at the murky liquid with trepidation. “Oh.”
“But if ye daenae wish to drink it, me Lady, then daenae. I’ll drink mine, if that’s all the same. The infusion should give strength, at the very least.” Reddening a little, Leah looked away and took a long, luxurious sip of her tea.
Biting her lower lip, Skye took a tentative sip. There was nothing familiar about the flavor. Surely if this was similar to the concoction she’d been served, she would remember it?
But then, there’s nothing reliable or logical about me mind at this moment.
Still, Leah was happily drinking hers. If it was drugged—and the thought that Leah might be drugging her simply did not sit well in Skye’s mind—then she was drugging herself, too.
“The great question on everyone’s mind,” Leah continued, her eyebrows knitting together, “iswhy. Why steal ye away and keep ye alive for so long? Whoever took ye didnae want ye dead.They’d gone to great lengths to keep ye alive. After being fed dreamroot for a twelvemonth, ye ought to be skinny to the point of starvation. Hollow-cheeked, pale as death. And yet here ye are, only a little thinner than ye were before. Aye, somebody had taken great care of ye.”
Skye shivered. “Nae kenning what happened is like an ache. I want to scream.”
“Ye have to be patient. Easier said than done, eh?”
She gave a small smile. “Aye. Easier said than done.”
They sipped their drinks in silence for a few moments, the fire crackling.
The herbal infusion seemed to warm Skye from the inside out, but it did not cause drowsiness. If anything, the mint added a sharp flavor, a strength that wasn’t there before. Besides, her loose-limbed exhaustion could have easily come from her long journey, followed by a hot bath.
She was just working up the courage to ask Leah if there were any enemies she’d had in the keep before her disappearance when a brusque knock sounded at the door.
The two barely had time to scramble to their feet before the door swung open, a reminder that she hadn’t locked it after letting Leah in.
Evander stepped inside.
“Daenae ye lock yer door, woman?” he demanded. “I have told ye, there could still be danger…” he trailed off at the sight of Leah. “Oh, ye are here.”
Leah dropped into a curtsey. “Aye, me Laird, and Lady Bryden remembers me.”
Evander cast a thoughtful look at Skye. “Well, that’s good news, is it nae?”
“It’s a start,” Skye responded. Her eyes dropped to where Evander’s arm hung by his side, and her eyes widened. “Are… Are those flowers for me?”
All three of them stared at the unmistakable bunch of flowers Evander clutched in his fist. They were plain, pretty wildflowers, bunched carelessly together, and decorated with a few sprigs of lavender and some greenery.
“Aye,” he said shortly. “They are for ye.”
Color inched up her neck. A breeze from the open door stirred the bottom of her robe, rushing up inside. With a jolt, she remembered that she wasnakedbeneath the robe. Automatically, she clutched at the neckline, hoping the low V wasn’t revealing too much skin.
When she glanced up, Evander was looking straight at her, his eyes narrowed and thoughtful.
I remember when he looked at me like that before.
In a flash, another memory fitted into place. The two of them arguing over the marriage contract. There were rules that Evander had insisted they should follow after their wedding. The rules would keep them apart. They weren’t to spend too much time with each other, and certainly would not share a bed. Lovers would be permitted.
Skye recalled the shivering rage that had slid over her, and the annoyance at feeling rage that she had norightto feel.
“Do ye already have lovers waiting in the wings, then?”
That was what she’d said, flinging the words at him like an insult.
