“Let me show you.” Haydn raised a hand to her face.
“No!” Damien interrupted. “Just tell her!”
“What’s the fun in that?” Haydn argued. “She’s never seen her mother before.”
My mother? This is about my mother?
Haydn continued watching Damien. “You know she won’t believe me unless she sees it for herself.”
A silent conversation seemed to pass between them.
Damien relented. “Only show her what she needs to see.”
“I’ve missed you ordering me around, Lieutenant,” Haydn purred.
“Captain.” Damien scowled. “Now get on with it.”
Haydn wrapped a hand around the back of Evelyn’s neck. “Say yes.”
I’m really getting sick of that command.
“Yes.”
Evelyn’s eyes blurred, and then she was standing with Haydn at the edge of the ballroom in Lochmatten’s castle. People were beautifully dressed and dancing, but the tone of the party was less formal than the ball in Gryon.
“Why are we still in Lochmatten?” Evelyn asked.
“Because this is where it all started,” Haydn told her. “Do you recognize anyone?”
A great burst of laughter caught Evelyn’s attention. She saw Lord Robert chatting and drinking with a group of people. Nearby, Damien had his arm draped over a blonde woman’s shoulders. He whispered something into her ear that made her blush.
“Is this during the war?”
“It is,” Haydn confirmed. “The first night, actually. Lochmatten threw a celebration to thank everyone from the kingdoms for showing up to help.”
“Shouldn’t that wait until the end of the war?”
“A bit of social bribery never hurts anyone. The soldiers were happy to fight for us after a night of debauchery.” Haydn pointed toward the dance floor. “Do you see anyone you know?”
A younger version of Haydn was dancing with a woman dressed in a revealing red gown.
“Your hair was longer then,” Evelyn noted.
“Do you prefer it that way? I would be happy to grow my hair out for you.”
“I have no opinion. Who is the woman you’re with?”
“Nobody special. She’s not you.” Haydn stroked her neck.
Evelyn squirmed away from him. That was when she saw…
“Father?”
King Tristan, Lord Tristan at the time, was also dancing. The pretty woman spinning around with him had thick, curly, dark brown hair. She wore an emerald green gown and a glass locket on a gold chain.
A shiver crawled up Evelyn’s spine. “Who is she?”
“Who do you think she is?”
