Shite.Where was that damned dagger?
Adam cleared his voice and said cryptically, “I have my own suspicions, Your Grace.”
“Aye?”
“The woman is lying.”
Adam’s accusation was so unexpected, it took Eve a moment to comprehend it.
In the brief silence, the king chuckled as if Adam had made a jest.“Lying?A nun?”
“She’s not a nun, Your Grace, any more than I’m a monk,” Adam said.“She’s a spy like me.”
Adam’s confession was calculated.Icy.Heartless.
For a moment Eve couldn’t move.Couldn’t breathe.What was he saying?Why would he tell the king such a thing?
She tried to imagine a useful reason for Adam to pretend she was a spy.
She could think of none.
“Nay, Your Grace,” she gasped out, digging feverishly for the dagger.“I have the proof here.”
Unable to find it, she upended the satchel and shook it, spilling its contents onto the ground.Desperate, she scrabbled through the clothing and tools and foodstuffs.
The dagger was nowhere to be found.
“Look there, Your Grace,” Adam said, pointing to something strewn among the litter.
He lifted up the fine silver piece to show the king.The Rivenloch medallion.
“She stole it from me,” Adam said.
The blood left Eve’s face.
Hehad done this.Adamhad taken the dagger out of her satchel and planted his medallion there.
Why?
She looked at him, bewildered.
For the first time in her life, she was unable to think of a single thing to say.It felt as if he’d plunged her into a bog.And the drowning mire was closing over her head.
She entreated Adam with furrowed brows, seeking some explanation for his treachery.
But he wouldn’t spare her a glance.He only stared at the king.His eyes were grim.His face was as hard as stone.
“She’s a spy for Fergus,” Adam said.
The king gasped, echoing Eve’s shock.
He continued.“She probably planned to capture me and demand ransom from Your Grace.”
Eve blinked in disbelief.Was this the man who had vowed to marry her?Who had promised to ask the king to perform their wedding?
The king growled.
Adam continued.“Does Your Grace remember the woman who came to you this morn with the Rivenloch marriage document?”
