Page 36

“What about you?”

“Do not worry about me. Carlos is a man who can do miracles when he needs to. I’ve never been to a Spanish wedding, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“I went to Christina, my neighbor’s son’s wedding last year. They are wonderful celebrations.”

“You can help me out if I don’t understand anything.”

“Of course. Now let me look at your arm and your hand. I want to make sure that there is no infection in the hand and that your arm is not swollen.’

He sat on the bed and let her cool fingers move over his hand. She unwound his bandage and turned his hand this way and that. It was strange, but now that the wound no longer ached, it was like his finger was still there and he could still feel it. It was only when he looked down that his brain registered that the digit was no longer there.

“It looks good,” she said. “You could go without the bandage at night, but it may be wise to wear the bandage during the day just to protect it against dirt getting into the wound.”

“I want to touch you with my bare hand, but I know it doesn’t look pretty.”

Elena took his hand and placed it on her cheek, then kissed his palm. Something he would have done. He was shocked for a moment, his heart stalling. Placing his other hand on the other side of her face, he pulled her towards him until she fell on top of him on the bed, laughing. Thomas kissed her, surprised at how deeply he had come to feel about her. He wanted to spend the rest of the day kissing her, so he groaned when there was a knock at the door.

A young serving girl stood in the doorway. “Buenos dias, señor. Carlos wants to know if you will be joining us for cena?”

“Tell Señor Carlos we would be very happy to have dinner with him,” Elena replied.

“Muy bueno.” She bobbed a curtsy and then quickly left.

Elena closed the door. Your friend is a very generous man. How does this all work? How do you pay him for everything he has done?”

“The crown pays him. Believe me, it is more lucrative for him to be on our side than the French. He knows whatever he does to help me it will come back to him tenfold.”

“But you suspect that someone decided to play both sides and told the French where you were. How do you know that person is not Carlos?”

“The short answer is that I don’t, but believe me, I am watching everything he does while making sure he doesn’t notice. If he slips up, I’ll know.”

“I thought you liked him?”

“I do like him, and I hope it wasn’t him for both our sakes, but someone tipped off the French, and I need to know who it was before any other spy is caught in the trap.”

“I just want you to be careful.”

“I will,” he said and kissed her forehead. “Let’s go for walk; it’s cooling down and you have been kept up here far too long.”

“But the tea?”

“The wedding is tomorrow. It can wait.” He held out his hand.

“A walk before dinner would be lovely,” she said and took his hand as she rose from the bed.

He put her hand in the crook of his arm, as she grabbed her sun hat before following him out the door.

*

The sun felt welcoming on her skin as Elena strolled through the market with Tomas. His hand was warm in hers, and she felt…happy. It was strange to acknowledge the feeling. It could only mean that she hadn’t felt happy before. She tried to think back to when she had felt anything near what she was experiencing now. It was years, she estimated—before her brother and father had died. How could that be? Had she simply existed until now?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Thomas said.

“A penny for thoughts?”

“It’s an expression meaning I would pay to know what you were thinking.”

“Then you should give me a penny, and I will tell you.”