“At dawn?”
“Aye.Knock down the rebellion ere breakfast.”
Eve chewed at her lip.She had to make herself scarce.Not only because she’d overheard something she shouldn’t have.But because she suddenly realized the truth.
Adam wasn’t feigning to be a Rivenloch.Hewasa Rivenloch.
And even if the king wasn’t perceptive enough to realize he’d once played the Pope’s emissary, he apparently knew Adam of Rivenloch well enough to trust him as a royal spy.
Her brain suddenly spun in a maelstrom of shock and fear, surprise and dismay, disillusionment and horror.
How could she not have known?
The fact that he could carry off an air of nobility so well should have been an obvious sign.
Just like the rest of his clan, he was strong, handsome, and bright.Now that she thought of it, he even bore a resemblance to the other Rivenloch men she’d seen.He had the same broad shoulders.The same square jaw.The same fierce eyes.
No wonder he’d been so eager for the return of his medallion.The piece was legitimately his.
But she’d been blinded by her affections.And he’d taken advantage of that blindness.He’d made her fall in love with him.
Her eyes welled.Her throat closed.How could she have left herself so vulnerable?
Then she gave her head a firm shake.She couldn’t dwell on her failure.
She had to figure out what to do now.
As much as it crushed her, as much as it made her heart crack in two, she had to face the truth.
Adam had never been serious about marrying her.The idea was absurd.He thought she was an outlaw.A Rivenloch bachelor was a valuable pawn.The king would never allow him to wed a female thief.
But of course Adam had known that all along.
So Eve must have been part of his cover as a spy.A foil to afford him anonymity.A traveling companion to help him embed himself into whatever clan he had under surveillance.
He’d deceived her—kissing her, holding her, swiving her—all the while letting her believe he was a common outlaw like her.
Tears of heartbreak threatened at the corners of her eyes.
It was as if she’d slept with with a stranger.
She’d been so full of affection and desire and hope.He’d awakened things inside of her she’d never known were there.
Now she mourned the life she might have led.The husband she might have adored.The mother she might have become.
Her chest felt as if an anvil had been set on top of it.Her heart ached with loss and longing.
Yet more than just her heart was at stake.
There was no time for grief.She had to protect her mission.
Adam knew about the marriage document now.He would be furious if he found out it was Eve who had manipulated the king into signing it.He might try to seize it.To destroy it.
She couldn’t let that happen.She’d sworn to Hew and Carenza that she would see their union sealed.She owed them a debt of honor.
She had to flee.
As she turned and wove her determined way through the campfires, she spied persistent M-M-Martin hovering at the edge of the camp.He took a tentative, hopeful step toward her as she neared.But she gave him a quick shake of her head, instantly quelling his advances.Then she hurtled past the last pavilion and through the forest, eager to get back to the safety of the convent.
