Her cheeks heated. ‘I was sorry to hear of it but not overly surprised. It must’ve been a very difficult time when you found out.’
‘That is putting it mildly. Every time I read this letter, I feel every emotion all over again.’
‘Who’s it from?’ Then, remembering who she was talking to, she quickly added, ‘Sorry. That’s really none of my business.’
He surprised her by handing it to her. ‘Read it. I do not mind.’
She ran her eyes over the elegant handwriting. It took her a moment to realise what it was. It was a letter to Queen Fayre agreeing to carry out her orders. A letter from King Oswin’s killer.
‘For a while I had this ridiculous notion that it had come from Lord Roger,’ the prince said. ‘The well-formed letters combined with the signature at the bottom. That is the main reason I accepted his invitation to Harlech Castle, to know once and for all. I managed to intercept a letter he had written, but the signatures did not match.’
Eda looked down at the signature he was referring to and stopped breathing. She had thought the handwriting familiar, and now she knew why. She ran her thumb over the swirling tail of a singleR. It was identical to the one in the letter Roul’s mother had shown her during their first visit.
‘My mother might have coordinated my father’s death,’ Becket said, swallowing thickly. ‘However, this person’—he tapped the letter, making her jump—‘this man shot the arrow that ended his life. I want a name. My mother owes me that.’
Eda stared at the letter at the bottom of the page, trying to put the pieces together. Roul was no killer. He did not go around assassinating kings. He protected them. ‘You’re sure this is the person who killed him?’ Her voice faltered.
Becket took the parchment from her, folded it, and tucked it away. ‘It is all there in ink.’
Eda looked over at Roul and found him awake and watching her. His eyebrows came together when he saw her face. She looked away, heart racing. ‘What will you do when you find this person?’
He met her gaze. ‘I do not know.’
‘Everything all right?’
Eda jumped at the sound of Roul’s voice above her. She had not seen him get up or heard him walk over.
Woottone’s snoring stopped and his eyes opened, taking in the scene before him.
‘I’ll ready the horses,’ Eda said, getting to her feet.
Roul caught her arm as she stepped past him. ‘You should eat something first.’
She pulled free, making Becket and Woottone look up. She tried to relax her face. ‘I’ll eat later.’ Then she was walking away again.
It was no surprise that Roul came after her. ‘Eda.’
She lengthened her stride, needing to gather her thoughts before facing him. ‘I’m just going to relieve myself.’
He broke into a jog to catch up, spinning her around to face him. ‘What’s going on?’
They were a safe distance from the others now, but she was still not prepared to take the risk. ‘I think we should talk about it when we get home.’
He dropped his head, looking her in the eyes. ‘If you can’t even look at me, then we’re going to talk about it now.’ He let go of her arm and waited. When she did not speak, he said, ‘Eda, it’s me.’
It took her a moment to work up the courage to say the words aloud. ‘Prince Becket showed me a letter.’ Seeing his confusion, she added, ‘A letter you wrote.’
He shook his head. ‘What are you talking about? I’ve never written him a letter.’
‘It was a letter you wrote to Queen Fayre.’ The words rushed out of her.
His face fell, extinguishing any lingering doubt. ‘I see.’
‘It said that—’
‘I know what it said.’ His expression was unreadable. ‘How did you know it was from me?’
She swallowed. ‘Your mother, she… she showed me one of the letters you wrote her. I recognised the signature. How could you keep something like that from me?’
