She wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. “The Roden Twins,” she said. “And… and our allegiance to France.”
He dropped his grip from her, his expression hardening. There were a great many things rolling through his mind at that moment, not the least of which being the fact that he had trusted her so implicitly through this whole situation. He was usually much less trusting with people he didn’t know, but with her, it had come easily. He had staked his reputation for her. He had even fallen for her.
Aye, he could admit that. Hehadfallen for her. Therefore, her words were like a punch to his gut.
He was trying very hard not to feel a horrific sense of dread.
“You had better be extremely clear on what you are about to tell me,” he said.
He sounded cold and hard. Emelisse had never heard that tone from him before, but she didn’t blame him. It was a secret she had been sitting on for almost a year, something she had learned to bury deep as if it had never happened. It was something she had never planned to speak of, but now… now, she felt as if she had no choice.
Better sooner than later.
“I… I should have told you this before,” she said. “My father and brother swore me to secrecy and I promised I would never, ever speak of it. I never intended to. But you are my husband and Hawkstone is yours, so you must know that we no longer have The Roden Twins.”
“Why not? Where are they?”
She hung her head, miserably. “It is true that my father has never even been to France,” she said. “That was not a lie. But my mother’s family is French and they have property in the Loire Valley. The family name is le Leroux and they are powerful warlords near Angers.”
His cold expression didn’t change. “Go on.”
She took a deep breath. “A year ago, when it was clear de Wrenville would eventually overrun us, my father wrote to my mother’s family and asked for assistance,” she said. “They responded, but it was not favorable. They wanted something for sending aid– money. My father sent them the only thing of value we had, The Roden Twins. They never came and they never responded. My father was so ashamed that he made me swear never to tell a soul. If anyone asked, I was to tell them that someone stole The Roden Twins.”
Caius had been waiting for something more devastating but, so far, none of what she said was anything close to shattering. He lifted his eyebrows.
“That’s it?” he said. “Your father sent the diamonds to France and he was cheated out of them?”
She nodded solemnly. “Caius, he was so ashamed,” she said miserably. “He was ashamed that my mother’s family did not think enough of us to send us help. They took our diamonds and simply kept them.”
Caius scratched his head. “Is that where de Wrenville got the idea that you were loyal to the king of France?”
She shrugged. “It is possible,” she said. “He had men watching us constantly– who came, who left, where they went. It is possible someone told him we had been sending missives to France.”
“And that is all there is to the situation?”
“That is all, I swear upon my mother’s grave.”
It all made perfect sense to Caius and he realized that he was relieved beyond measure. Emelisse had such a guileless way about her that he didn’t sense any deception. He was usually very good at sniffing out lies and subversion, but he genuinely didn’t sense any of that with her. The woman had told a lie, small as it was, and she had confessed before things got out of hand. He appreciated that.
He appreciatedher.
Reaching out, he cupped her face in his two big hands.
“When this situation settles, I will send an army to regain those diamonds,” he said. “And your mother’s family will know what I think about people who take expensive tokens in exchange for empty promises. But you will swear to me this very instant that you will never again lie to me or withhold the truth. Never again. I told you that my trust is given only once and although this situation was extremely minor, you were not as honest as you could have been about it. You even offered them up to me if I would bring my army to Hawkstone. If I had agreed, what were you going to do?”
She eyed him remorsefully. “I do not know,” she said. “I did it out of desperation, truly. I hoped something would come to me when it came time for payment, but I truly do not know. I suppose I am not very good at negotiating.”
“Youwerevery good. You had me believing that you had The Roden Twins.”
She shrugged. “But I did not,” she said. “I am truly sorry for lying. I suppose I did not tell you all of it because at the time we discussed such things, I did not really know you. I still do not really know you, but you are my husband now and you must know everything. Even our embarrassment.”
He smiled faintly, letting her know that he wasn’t angry with her. In fact, he understood her reasoning. “Then promise me that you will never lie to me again.”
“I swear it,” she said fervently. “With all my heart, I swear it.”
He believed her. Perhaps it was foolish of him to, but instinct told him that she was true.
He hoped his instincts weren’t wrong.
