“Nay,” she said to her husband. “He is not Alfred. I told you that I would know instantly by simply looking at his eyes. Alfred had blue eyes. Our visitor has brown. Not even a fire can change a man’s eyes from blue to brown.”
There it was. The answer they’d both been seeking since the horror of the discovery of the cross. So simple, yet so true, and Essien nearly collapsed with relief. In fact, he turned to Catalina and threw his arms around her, holding her tightly and trying desperately not to weep himself. As they embraced one another, seemingly lost to their mutual relief, Addax approached the man in the tattered cloak.
“Where did you get the cross?” he asked quietly.
The man held up his hand. “I took it as the fire burned,” he said, showing Addax the cross-shaped scar on his palm. “Alfred was already dead when I took it from him. I was burned, too, but I did not die. Priests tended me until I could return to England.”
Addax understood. “And your memory?” he asked. “Are you lying about that, too? You knew enough to find Lord Eckington at Lioncross. How did you accomplish that?”
The man could see suspicion turned upon him. “I remembered Eckington,” he said. “I heard it from Alfred. I trulydid come here in the hope that someone would know Alfred, and…”
“And being disfigured, they would think you were him.”
The man sighed heavily. “Aye,” he said. “There was that hope. But the lady knew his eyes. I did not stop to think that mine would be so different. But not remembering who I am, I did not think it would be so terrible to become Alfred.”
That explained a great deal. Addax looked at Essien, who was just releasing Catalina from his crushing embrace. All that mattered to the two of them was that the mysterious man was not Alfred. Addax had told Essien that he would save his happiness regardless of the personal cost, but that wasn’t necessary now. The fates had been kind to Essien in this case—the cause of their fear was just a pathetic, lonely man with nowhere to go and no concept of what he had stirred up with the cross he’d stolen. But all that mattered was that the situation was over.
Essien and Catalina would have a lifetime of happiness now.
“I cannot give you the answers you seek,” Addax said to the man. “But I can provide you with a warm meal, a bed, and mayhap an opportunity to lead a productive life. I have properties in the north and we are always looking for good men to tend the sheep or to other things around my domain. Do you have any talents that you recall? Anything you were skilled at?”
The man looked at him in awe. “Why… why would you do such a thing?”
Addax smiled faintly. “Because that is what a good man does,” he said. “He helps the unfortunate, and you seem to be more unfortunate than most. Now, tell me—do you have any skills?”
The man shook his head. “I cannot recall,” he said hesitantly. “Though I do seem to remember a familiarity with weapons.”
“Weapons?” Addax said, indicating for the man to follow him. “That is a place to start. Every armory needs someone to keep it in good order.”
The man seemed quite surprised by the suggestion. “But… my lord,” he said. “No man can look upon me and not cringe. I am not one to stay in the light.”
“Armories are usually dark and dingy,” Essien said. “Mayhap it will be to your liking. If you are honest and diligent, that is all anyone will ask of you. But if you’d rather wander and try to discover where you’ve come from, that is your choice. No one will hold you.”
The man looked at Addax, at Lance, and finally to Essien and Catalina as they continued to revel in an important moment. He took a deep breath and returned his attention to Addax.
“I have very little to offer,” he said. “But it would be nice to have a roof over my head in exchange for work. I can see that whatever I was looking for, it is not part of Eckington.”
“Nay, it is not,” Addax said. “But I will find you a place to belong if you want it.”
“I want it, my lord.”
With that, Addax and the man headed out of the stable, talking about weapons. Before they could leave entirely, Catalina stopped them.
“Wait,” she said, leaving Essien and catching up to them. She had something in her hand, extending it to the man. “I want you to have this.”
It was the cross. Timidly, he took it from her, but his eyes were full of disbelief. “Why should you give this to me, my lady?” he said. “I stole it. I do not deserve it.”
“You do,” Catalina insisted softly, folding his gnarled fingers over the pendant. “I want you to have it. Sell it for the money. That should help you get a start on your life, money to feed andshelter you. Please take it. You risked much to bring it here, so you should keep it. I have no use for it any longer.”
“If you are certain, my lady.”
“I am certain.”
The man was deeply grateful. Nodding his thanks, he departed the stable with Addax as Catalina returned to Essien. As they wandered off together in a tight huddle, that left Lance and Rebecca standing awkwardly. Rebecca held Ines in one hand and Adabella in the other, since her mother had set her to her feet in order to embrace Essien. Seeing that Essien and Catalina were in a world of their own, Rebecca pulled the little girls back over to where the puppies were playing so their mother and her new husband could have some time alone. That was her wedding gift to them. That left Lance by himself, trying not to look at Catalina and Essien.
But even he could see their joy.
Perhaps, one day, he’d find his own.
