“Of course, another wise woman also said to me, ‘The tears of a woman are dried with a snack and her anger soothed with a soft pillow,’ and I am afraid I have brought no snacks.”
Lizzie’s laugh was watery, but it was like music to his ears. “A true oversight.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Do you really love me, Freddy?”
His arms tightened around her. “Every day and always.”
“But I was so horrible to you.”
He could feel the shudder of tears working through her once more, and he dropped an arm to rub slow circles on her back. “You were cursed. All is forgiven. Besides, I’m much more interested in what’s happening now and in the future than in what happened back then.”
“Whatishappening now?”
“Well, for starters, I’m hoping you’ll come to our wedding tomorrow. I had to do it alone with Shea last time. He’s pretty good-looking, but he really didn’t want to wear the dress.”
Lizzie snorted. “I like Shea. I’m glad he’s your friend.”
“So am I, but you’re still avoiding the question.”
“Which question is that?”
She was teasing him, and Freddy thought he would die of happiness. He grinned. “Will you marry me tomorrow?”
“I need to check with Mrs. Pearce about my schedule.”
“I’m sure she’ll give you the day off. We don’t want you to be overworked, after all.”
“In that case, yes. I’ll marry you tomorrow…even though I was told we’re already married.”
“Oh, we are. I have the certificate.”
She sat up suddenly, her eyes wide as if realization were suddenly dawning. “You have the certificate! You showed it to Mormor and Norva. Do they know who you are? Why didn’t they say anything?”
“As dear old Mormor said to me, ‘Words are not cheap, but silence is golden.’”
A smile played about Lizzie’s mouth as she shook her head. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Freddy was mesmerized by a strand of hair by her chin that danced in the breeze. He touched it, twirling the soft strands around his finger and then tucking it behind her ear. “It means that I think they knew that if you knew, you wouldn’t have come with me.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell me who you were?”
“I was hoping at first that you would recognize me, and you did—as the minstrel with the horrible beard.”
“It was quite a memorable beard.”
“And then when I realized that you only knew me as Kai, I decided that I would try to make my bid for your heart with a blank slate. There was a lot of history between you and Freddy, but Kai was just a man with a lute and a heart full of love.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You sound quite proud of that line.”
“I have a whole song about it. It’s a crowd favorite.”
Lizzie laughed, and then inexplicably burst into tears. Freddy quickly looked in his pocket for a handkerchief, belatedly realizing he should have handed it to her the first time. Lizzie must have come to the same conclusion, for she took it and dabbed at her eyes with a chuckle.
“Lindy did say that breaking the curse would be painful, though I didn’t realize this was what she meant.”
“You have ten years of pent-up emotions stuffed in there; I’m sure it will take some time to get through them all.” He waited a beat. “It was Lindy who gave you the curse?”
“Yes, but I was the one who asked for it.” Lizzie was fidgeting with the handkerchief, twisting and weaving the fabric around her fingers. “We were both just trying to survive, and she helped me the only way she knew how. I know it led her down a path that ended with what happened in Anura…but she really did start with good intentions.”
