“Why?”
“I cannot tellyou.”
Annelise considered what he had told her. “But you came to this palace. You did not inherit it from yourfather?”
“Not from my father, no.” His reluctance to share even this was evident in histone.
“Are you an imposter? Have you usurped the true lord of thispalace?”
“No!”
“Then how did it come to be yours if not from yourfather?”
He got out of the bed and paced, and she knew he was deciding upon his reply. “It was a gift,” he saidfinally.
Annelise felt her lips part in surprise. “A gift? From whom? What did you do to earn such a richgift?”
“You could say that I won a lady’s favor.” He sounded to be exasperated but Annelise was not preciselyreassured.
She swept from the bed to pursue him. “Sir! Where is thislady?”
“Gone.”
Annelise could not believe it. He had seduced the lady who owned this palace, then the lady had left him in possession of it. While she already had great admiration for her husband’s amorous skills, the tale was unlikely to be true. “I would have a more plausible explanation,sir.”
“And you will have it, when I can shareit.”
“When will thatbe?”
“I hope on the morrow.” His doubt was clear and Annelise recalled his conviction that he would be able to tell her more on this morning. Who had deceived her spouse? Was it this lady who had given him the palace? Was she capricious in herwhim?
A thought assailed her and she flung herself at him. “Did you visit this lady on this day? Is that where youwere?”
“No!” He seized her shoulders and she knew he was looking down at her. “Annelise, please trust me in this. She is gone, I hope forever, but her injunctions still govern my own choices. I hope that you and I will change that,together.”
His appeal was irresistible, though still Annelise worried what she did not know. “But you will confide in me when youcan?”
“I will.” He pressed a kiss into her palm. “I ask for your patience until I can doso.”
Annelise frowned. She was being swayed by his touch and reminded herself that her request was fair. “Why will you not let me see yourface?”
“You guessed it yourself. I do not wish to distress you with mydisfigurement.”
Annelise shook her head “I was wrong,” she said. “There is nothing wrong with you that I can feel.” She ran her fingertips down his chest. “And I can see nothing amiss with your mail. If you were missing a limb, your armor would have beenmodified.”
“My mail?” His voice was strained. “You have found mymail?”
“Of course, I was in thestables.”
“But it is at the back, out ofview.”
Annelise bristled at the implication that she had been nosy. “It is in plain view for anyone who looks. What else would you have me do all day?” she asked. “A prisoner can at least explore her cell.” She sensed that he was shocked and caressed his shoulder, wanting there to be harmony between them. “I took your destrier for a ride today, by the way. He seemed impatient for a run, although we could only canter in the courtyard. It was better than no exercise atall.”
Her husband made a choking sound. “You rodeMephistopheles?”
“Mephistopheles?” Annelise blinked. How curious that he confessed the name of his destrier before his own. “Why would you give that fine creature such a dreadfulname?”
“It was the breeder who named him—he named all his black foals after demons, it seemed—and I saw no reason to changeit.”
