Val nodded again, managing to pull his gaze from her in his quest to locate someplace private where they could speak but, in doing so, he caught sight of McCloud standing a few feet behind his daughter. His expression shifted from soft and warm to suspicious and cool.
“What is your father doing here?” he asked.
Vesper turned to look at McCloud, who was looking at Val warily. “If you will feed him, I will tell you everything,” she said to Val. “He means no harm, I promise.”
Val’s expression didn’t change. “You will forgive me for being wary of that statement.”
Vesper nodded, putting her hand up to touch his wrist. “I know,” she said softly. “Please, Val. Feed him and allow me to speak with you.”
Because she asked it of him, he agreed. Motioning to Calum, who was sitting at the table in the alcove with his wife, he indicated McCloud to the man and Calum understood to keep watch of him. As Calum took Vesper’s father in-hand, Val took Vesper by the hand and quickly led her to the far end of the hall where the stairs led up to the loft above. Theclavichordiumwas up there, but the instrument wasn’t his focus. The loft was a private place to speak as the noise of the hall went on below them.
The darkened stairs dumped them out into the cluttered loft. It was warm up here and smoky from the fire blazing in the hearth. Val took Vesper over by theclavichordiumsimply because there was a stool there. He set her upon it, still holding her hand, and she perched on the stool gratefully. But he watched her as she shifted around on it, trying to find a comfortable position. When Vesper noticed that he was observing her with some concern, she smiled weakly.
“We have been riding since before dawn,” she said. “My backside is a bit sore.”
Val understood. “That has happened to me on more than one occasion,” he said. Then, he crouched in front of her, still holding her hand. His gaze upon her was intense. “I still cannot believe you are here. I… I am truly speechless.”
Vesper smiled weakly. “I understand your surprise,” she said. “I know you did not expect to see me so soon, if ever.”
He shook his head. “I knew I would see you again, but you are correct– not so soon.”
Vesper wasn’t quite sure how to begin the conversation after that. “I had everything planned out in my head as I would say it, but now as I look at you… I have never been very good at the coy games that men and women play. I have always spoken what is on my mind, so I am afraid that what I say will not be pretty or eloquent.”
He squeezed her hand. “I would prefer honesty to pretty speeches and unnecessary words,” he said. “But before you say anything, I must speak. If you are here about the necklace, I have not sent it to you not because I did not want to, but because I have not had the opportunity. I have not changed my mind about you or about anything else. I still feel the same as I did that day we parted in Bishop’s Waltham.”
Vesper sighed heavily, so heavily that she closed her eyes, hanging her head with relief. Sweet Jesù, she had hoped to hear those words.
“I am so very glad to hear that,” she said softly. “Because that is why I have come. I know the day of my brother’s execution was a chaotic day at best. We were thrown into a great deal of turmoil, both of us, and I suggested we part company to think on our true feelings for each other because I thought it was the right thing to do. But I must admit that I was wrong. No amount of separation could change my feelings for you. I did not mean to chase you away on that day.”
A smile filled his expression. For all of the relief she was feeling, he seemed to be feeling the same. “You did not,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. “And no amount of separation could change my feelings for you, either. But you did not have to come all the way to Selborne to tell me this; you could have sent a missive and I would have moved heaven and earth to come to Eynsford to see you.”
His tender kisses were sending bolts of lightning up her arm and her heart, already racing at the sight of him, was in danger of bursting. “I would have,” she said. “But I came because I heard some very troubling news at Eynsford. I felt compelled to come to you, to tell you that no matter what happens, I will stand by you. You must know that there is at least one person in England who still believes you are noble and wise.”
The smile faded from his lips. “What did you hear?”
“That you assassinated the Archbishop of Canterbury,” she said. Then, quickly: “I do not care if it is true. I did not come to ask you that. But soldiers from Canterbury Castle stopped at Eynsford on their way to London bearing the message that you had assassinated the archbishop. I thought they were lying and told them so, but if they are spreading such lies, then surely others are, too, and many people will hear. I thought… I thoughtthat it would bring hateful people to you, trying to harass you, and I wanted you to know that I do not believe their lies. I thought you would want to know that someone in this world still has faith in you.”
Her words melted his heart. He settled back on his buttocks, sitting on the wooden-planked floor of the loft while still holding her hand. He averted his gaze a moment, trying to think on what he should tell her, exactly, but because she had been forthright with him, he decided the best course of action would be to be equally forthright with her.
It was time for total honesty.
“That you would risk yourself to come here tonight tells me all I need to know about you,” he murmured. “You are a woman of great bravery and great loyalty, and that makes me the richest man in all of England. It is true that I was there when the archbishop was murdered but I did not kill him. It is a great mistake that I am being blamed for, however. I am sorry you had to hear about it from others.”
Vesper had to admit that she was hugely relieved to hear that he was innocent. “May… may I ask what happened?” she asked. “I know I said I did not come to ask you if it was true, but I cannot understand how you could be mistaken for an assassin.”
Val shifted position, turning so he was sitting alongside her as she sat on the little stool. Very carefully, he lowered his head onto her lap in a moment he would remember for the rest of his life. It was sheer bliss, the softness and warmth of her surrounding him, easing his troubled mind. He’d spent the past several days in such turmoil that he was certain he’d never feel any comfort in his life again, not ever.
Up until the moment he saw Vesper coming through the doors of the great hall, he continued to wallow in that turmoil, his thoughts on riding to Winchester on the morrow to face Henry. His life, his reputation, was in so many pieces that itwould be difficult to put them back together again. But the moment he saw Vesper, everything changed.
There was light and beauty and warmth left in the world.
He couldn’t believe he’d been foolish enough to think that he would distance himself from her simply to keep her away from the troubles that were descending on him. Perhaps he was weak in not sending her away this very moment, letting his emotions rule him and not his head. But her support meant so very much to him that he couldn’t send her away, not now. Not when he needed what she was offering.
With his head in her lap, it was comfort such as he’d never known and when her hand timidly touched his head, stroking his dark hair, all was right in the world. He never wanted to be separated from her, not ever. Therefore, he dreaded saying what he needed to.
“What I tell you must never leave yours lips,” he murmured.
Vesper cradled his big head on her lap, her fingers in his wavy, dark hair. “I would never repeat what you tell me, I swear it.”
