There was only one gift remaining on the table, the tall stoppered bottle of deepest black. Marcus touched it with a fingertip, then turned and presented it toRolfe.
“This rich gift cannot be for me,” heprotested.
“It is,” Marcus said and smiled. “For it alone has the power to make dreams cometrue.”
Rolfe took the bottle with care, surprised that it was so heavy. It was blacker than obsidian and its surface danced with strange opalescent lights. Its slender neck curved gracefully to a bulbous base, which was etched with unfamiliar designs. It was mesmerizing to gaze upon the vessel, and even more enticing to speculate upon its contents. The stopper was made of the same dark material, its heavy cork jammed solidly into the neck. A fine silken cord of silver and gold was knotted around the stopper, then secured to the decanter’s neck with a healthy dollop of redwax.
“It is too small to have a woman in it,” Niall teased and Rolfegrinned.
“Let alone half a dozen,” Amauryagreed.
But Rolfe knew that his dream did not involve a woman. He stared at the bottle and knew that the one thing he desired above all else was a home of hisown.
It was so simple and sotrue.
He would be content to have a place to defend, perhaps a border territory sworn to Viandin. Five years of travel had taught him the merit of having a place to call home. This remarkable bottle, presented to his older brother Adalbert as a gift, might be rich enough to earn his brother’sfavor.
Adalbert, after all, had a taste for theexotic.
“I thank you, Marcus,” he said with a deep bow. “I am honored by yourgenerosity.”
The knights thanked Marcus again and toasted his welfare. They remained at the tavern to eat a hot meal and plan for their departures, Thierry tracing routes on the tabletop as they debated the best way to ride. In the end, their ways did part: Rolfe, Thierry, and Luc would ride for Acre and the quicker route via Venice. Quinn and the others would ride for Constantinople. They agreed to meet in Sayerne in a year, then gathered a collection of coins for Marcus and hisfamily.
Rolfe was packing his belongings to depart at the dawn when the bottle rattled just a little, moving on its own. He wondered what could be insideit.
Had it moved? Or had he simply indulged too much in thewine?
It did not matter. This gift was for Adalbert, and it would make Rolfe’s dream come true, just as Marcus hadvowed.
