Annelise nodded, marveling that such a substance shouldexist.
Her husband’s voice dropped. “But there was noeau-de-vieinside. There was adjinn.”
“The one who owned thepalace.”
“The very same.” Her spouse seemed surprised by her attitude. “I would not blame you if you thought my tale a lie, for I was skeptical of her claimmyself.”
“Did she not emerge from the bottleitself?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you skeptical? You had seen the truth with your owneyes.”
“But it defied belief. One does not expect childish tales to provetrue.”
“Whyever not? You said that the bottle was unusual. You could not have expected it to contain something mundane, like perfume or water, or even thiseau-de-vie.”
“But that is precisely what I did believe to be inside it,” heconfessed.
“Then you must have been pleased to have beenwrong.”
He regarded her for a moment, then leaned closer. “Do you not see that it is illogical for something invisible to change mylife?”
“I do not, not at all.” Annelise smiled at him. “Of course, matters invisible affect our lives. What of faith? You were in Outremer on crusade. What drove the crusade other thanfaith?”
Her spouse grimaced. “You are innocent, my Annelise. Greed and a hunger for power are the greater forces there. Otherwise, why would knight and bishop both grasp all that they could in the Holy Cityitself?”
“You will not convince me,” Annelise insisted. “Things unseen can be powerful indeed. What oflove?”
“We have loved every night we have been together.” He raised a hand to her cheek. “I have seen you and touchedyou.”
“This is but an act to express the emotion,” Annelise chided. “Love itself is unseen. It fills theheart.”
He was still wary of that notion. “And how do you know itexists?”
“Because I have felt it. I have seen itsinfluence.”
“Not in your father’sabode.”
“No. The merit of love is one thing I learned at the convent. Their love was for the Lord above and his son, but that love gave meaning to their days. They made choices for love, and sacrificed their own welfare for it. Love is selfless and lifts us toselflessness.”
Her spouse granted her an intent look. “And this is why you said you wished to wed a man who lovedyou?”
Annelise nodded. “My father could not have treated my mother as he did if he had lovedher.”
Her husband considered this and she wondered if there had been no affection between his parents. To be sure, at crusade, he would have seen much of hate and wickedness. It would be easy to lose sight of love when atwar.
“What happened when the djinn wasfreed?”
“Ah, she did not take kindly to my doubts about her nature. She was less happy that a curse upon her compelled her to surrender her palace to me, since I had freed her from the prison of thebottle.”
“What did shedo?”
“She cursed me.” Her spouse’s gaze locked with hers again. “She condemned me to become awolf.”
“But you are not a wolfnow.”
“That is due to the intervention of the seconddjinn.”
