AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lacing his fingers together, he created a foothold for her to step into before effortlessly hoisting her onto the lowest hanging branch and climbing up after her. It was as thick as her entire body, with several smaller branches jutting out to help her keep her balance. She hung her basket on another branch within arm’s reach and produced a blue crystal she’d taken from the hearth at Bastien’s home. With just one tap, the crystal flickered to life, creating a circle of warmth around them.
“Do you remember when we used to spend hours sitting in one of the apple trees in the orchard, talking?” Joel asked, a wistful smile on his face. “Your visits were the highlight of my day.”
“I remember.” A soft smile lifted on her lips as she produced two wooden cups, poured wine into them, and handed one to Joel. “Everything was so easy back then. I looked forward to each time I could slip away from the manor.” She sipped at the wine, her eyebrows shooting up when the cool nectar hit her tongue. It tasted of sweet berries mixed with tart apples. Delicious. Hopefully, Bastien wouldn’t mind that she’d taken the bottle from his stash. “You were my best friend.”
His fingers drummed on his cup. “Am I still?”
“Yes,” she answered sincerely, finding his eyes in the soft glow of moonlight. “I wish I could have written you letters. I tried. Many times. They were intercepted and burned before they reached you. As well as any letters written to me. It was a lonely six years.”
“I’m sorry.” When he squeezed her hand, her heart picked up another frenzied rhythm. “I wrote you letters, too. It now makes sense why you never replied.”
She handed him a tartlet and giggled as he took a bite, closed his eyes, and breathed out a heavenly sigh.
“Mmm. This tastes like home.”
“It’s Nana’s recipe. I know you’ve been missing home. I hoped it might help.”
He finished the rest in one bite and accepted another. “Well, consider this a well-received gift. Thank you, Nyana. You are so sweet.”
“No, no, no. This isn’t the gift.” She bit her lip, her hands trembling as she pulled out the long, rectangular box and held it against her chest. The next words from her mouth escaped as a husky whisper. “Words cannot adequately describe my gratitude for you and what you’ve done for me and my—our—children. I hoped this might give you a measure of understanding.”
After handing the box to him, she hid her trembling hands in the folds of her skirts. He opened the box. Shock poured over his expression. Nervousness strung her next sentences together.
“I made it for you yesterday under the tutelage of a master bone carver. I’m not very good at bone carving. But the sound it makes is beautiful. At least as far as an amateur like me can tell.”
His throat bobbed up and down as he lifted his head, and she swore the blue crystal light reflected a shimmer of wavering emotion. Without hesitation, he lifted the bone flute to his mouth.
And played.
Fingers flew deftly over the instrument, coaxing sound from it with practiced hands. Golden tendrils of magic weaved with the melody. Slow like the ripples on the lake. Gentle like the moon’s glow. Beautiful like the sparkling flakes of snow.
Golden designs took shape with the slow, melodic notes. Not an object. But a feeling. Warm. Mystical. Hopeful.
Through Joel’s eyes, she truly caught her first glimpse of music.
Heart in her throat, she reached out to touch the swirling magic in front of her. Golden beams looped around her hand and then darted away like a playful friend. The sound of the flute was different than that of his previous instrument. Deeper. Filled with age and soul. Absolutely breathtaking. She’d never dreamed something she’d created with her own hand could sound like that in his hands.
When he played the last trill of the song, an aching silence lingered in its absence. Joel lowered the flute, watery emotion crawling across each of his cheeks.
“I don’t know what to say.” He swiped his palm across one cheek and then the other. “I’m not sure where our relationship stands as it is, but is it appropriate if I ask to kiss you?”
Her stomach flipped several times over. This was what she’d wanted. It was terrifying. Exhilarating. Nerve-wracking.
Trying her best to ignore her pounding heart, she scooted closer to him on the tree branch until their knees touched. He held completely still as she lifted her hand and placed it over his heart.
“You entered into this marriage expecting nothing from me. You have shown me what true, selfless love looks like.” Gathering her courage, she released a shaky breath. “I don’t want this marriage anymore.”
A breath escaped his parted lips, devastation in his furrowed brows.
She continued before he could crumple further before her eyes. “I don’t want the marriage we initially struck. I want a real marriage. And everything that comes with it.”
He stared at her, the devastation slowly disappearing from his brow. It transitioned into confusion and then contained the slightest hint of hope. He covered her hand with his own, where it still rested against his chest.
“With me?” he asked huskily. “Or is that too much to hope for?”
“Only with you.”
He trembled beneath her fingers as he closed his eyes. “I never imagined you would say that to me. I’m feeling…overwhelmed.”
