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“The two of you are sharing a solar, aren’t you?” she asked.
“We are.” Sir Chester exchanged a glance with Sir George.
“Why don’t we go there and have a glass of wine?” asked Willow.
“I like that idea.” Sir George took a decanter of wine and a goblet off the tray of a passing server. “Now we’re set.” He chuckled. It made Willow’s stomach turn into a knot. Mayhap she was playing with fire as Conrad had told her. The last thing she wanted to do was to get burned.
“Our solar is just down the corridor,” said Sir Chester.
As they walked, Willow started up with the questions. “A ruby the size of the one that the earl had stolen must be worth a lot.”
“Aye, it is.” Sir George poured wine into the goblet as he walked.
“I’ll bet anyone would give just about anything to have it.”
“I know I would,” said Chester with a chuckle.
“It would pay off a lot of my debts,” added George.
“I remember when I heard it was stolen, I was standing in the courtyard talking,” said Willow. “I was astounded. I’ll bet both of you were torn away from your own activities when you heard the announcement as well.”
“Aye, I was waiting for Sir Bedivere in the great hall, but he never showed up,” Sir George told her. “It seems he was waiting at the mews for me instead, talking with the Ladies Anabel and Grace.”
“I was in the practice yard preparing for the competition,” said Sir Chester.
“I wonder what the guard who was watching the ruby was doing when it was stolen?” asked Willow.
“Mayhap, you should ask Lord Bedivere,” commented Chester under his breath.
“Aye, he has seemed to befriend the guard. I heard he’d been asking to see the ruby again several times after our initial viewing,” added Sir George.
Willow didn’t think either of these men stole the ruby, but she still needed to be sure. She wanted to go through their trunks in their room to see if she could possibly find it hidden there.
“Here we are, my lady.” Sir Chester opened the door to the solar. Willow’s heart raced. It wasn’t proper to enter the room with the men. If anyone saw her, they might get the wrong idea. There could be an entire scandal. Still, she felt it was her duty as a member of the Followers of the Secret Heart to investigate further.
Looking over her shoulder, she scanned the corridor, glad she didn’t see anyone watching. All she had to do was to make up an excuse to get the men to leave, and she could go through the room quickly and search it before they returned. Since Lord Beaufort had already searched them, if one of them were the thief, they would have probably hidden the ruby back in their things afterward. She had to know.
“Lady Willow, how about some wine?” asked Sir George holding up the goblet and decanter and smiling.
“Oh, yes. Of course. Just put it on the table. I will have some in a minute. I think I’d like a breath of fresh air.” Willow hurried to the window and threw open the shutter. If the men tried anything with her, she could always yell out the window for help.
“Come, sit on the bed and talk with us,” said Sir George, plopping down on the pallet and patting the area next to him.
“Aye, we would like to get to know you,” added Sir Chester. “After all, if we win one of the last two competitions, you might be the wife of one of us.”
That thought didn’t sit well with Willow. Not that the barons weren’t kind, but she couldn’t picture being married to either of them. She tried to push the vision from her head because she could only see being married to Conrad.
She decided she needed to find out her information and leave quickly. Conrad was sure to go back to the great hall and notice she was missing. Willow didn’t want him to know she was here. He would only think she was leading the men on and playing a game again. Sadness filled her heart as she realized that was exactly what she was doing. Even though she had a purpose behind it, Conrad wouldn’t care.
She walked over and purposely knocked over the decanter of wine and the goblet. They fell to the floor, spilling wine everywhere.
“Oh, my!” She pretended it was an accident. “I am so careless. How will we have our wine now?”
“I’ll get some more wine. I’ll be right back.” Sir Chester ran to the door and left the room. One down, and one more to go. However, Sir George was still sitting on the bed smiling at her and looking more than comfortable.
“Silly me,” said Willow, faking a laugh. “I forgot to tell Sir Chester I prefer red wine over white. White wine sours my stomach.” She held her stomach for effect.
“I’ll tell him,” said George jumping up and hurrying to the door. “Stay here, I will be right back.”
