“Then what do you want me to do with them?”
Emllyn pondered his question seriously. “It was our bargain that you let me see the English prisoners if I came to Glenteige to discover de Cleveley’s plans against you.”
“I know.”
“I will discover what I can without need to see the prisoners. I simply do not care any longer if Trevor is with them or not.”
He debated whether or not he should tell her what he knew, but he opted not to mention that Trevor was indeed among his captives because he didn’t want anything to cloud their joy. He was selfish, he knew it, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want her to think thoughts of Trevor when she should only be thinking of him.
“Then I will put them on a boat and send them back to England,” he said quietly. “I have no more use for them. If you wish for me to spare them, then I will.”
She smiled at him; it was surely a generous offer coming from Black Sword and the importance of it was not lost on her. “You are very generous,” she said. “I am grateful.”
His smile broadened and he gazed at her steadily for several long moments. It was evident that he was pondering something. After a moment, he reached out to tenderly touch her cheek.
“My mother used to say something to me when I was young, something that I never fully understood until this moment,” he said softly. “She used to say to me, ‘Everything leads me to thee’. I was her only child and she was very attached to me, and every time she left me, even if it was just for a short while, she used to say that. ‘Everything leads me to thee.’ Now that I look at you, I understand what she meant. There isn’t a move I will make or a thought I will think that will not cause me to think of you.Everything, ultimately, will lead me to thee so when I leave on the morrow, I want you to remember that. Everything leads me to thee, and I will return for you.”
It was such a sweet sentiment. Emllyn smiled sweetly at him. “That is the most wonderful thing I have ever heard.”
“Say it for me.”
She did. “Everything leads me to thee,” she murmured.
Hearing it in her voice made him believe the words as if God himself had spoken it. Devlin kissed her forehead and her cheeks before lifting her up and carrying her over to the big, luxurious bed. He carefully laid her down and then lay down beside her. They faced each other, their first moment together on a bed when they weren’t fighting with one another or experiencing untold passion. It was just the two of them, a man and a woman, embarking on a remarkable voyage of discovery.
They talked of all things, both serious and trivial, for most of the night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Two weeks later
Glenteige Castle
It had beenthirteen days since Devlin’s return to Black Castle, but to Emllyn, it felt like a lifetime.
Seated in Elyse’s fine solar, so fine and fancy that it looked as if a queen lived there, Emllyn sat before an embroidery frame, working on a piece she had started a few days before. It was of an angel in the Garden of Eden, an ambitious piece with flowers and birds. Emllyn was very good at sewing, so she took delight in a challenge.
Emllyn had been sewing on the piece steadily since she had started it, putting angels and animals to needle when her thoughts were far away with Devlin. At the top of the piece were the five little words Devlin had said to her, words she would never forget. They were the most important words she had ever heard.
Everything leads me to thee.
This day in March was cool and dreary, as a storm had blown in off the Irish Sea and continued to drench the countryside with a heavy downpour. A fire burned brightly in the hearth as a cool and damp breeze blew in through the thin lancet windows. Emllyn sat, wrapped up in a fur-lined robe and warm slippers, as Elyse chattered continuously as she sat at her beautifully carved drawing table and sketched with charcoal. These days with Elyse were comfortable and companionable, and Emllyn had come to like her a great deal.
Elyse was quite an artist, the result of many hours of spending time alone. She had to fill the time somehow, so she had practiced her drawing and had become very proficient at it. At this moment, she was working very hard on something that Emllyn had yet to see, but she knew the woman had been working on it for a couple of days. Charcoal on parchment made for the most beautiful and emotive art. But the woman was talking so much that Emllyn was surprised she was able to get anything accomplished at all.
“…and then he told me that he did not even like for me to look at another man,” she was saying as she sketched. “Of course, I told him he was ridiculous. We are not even pledged, after all.”
Emllyn smiled weakly, glancing up from her sewing. “Has he spoken to your father yet?”
Elyse shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “I believe he feels as if it is a mere formality. After all, he is the most eligible candidate at Glenteige so I do believe he feels as if it’s understood by all that he will someday be my husband.”
Emllyn wriggled her eyebrows as she focused on her needle. “Very presumptive,” she said. “I do not like any man who assumes things before he has been given permission.”
Elyse stopped drawing and looked at her. “Nor do I,” she declared. “In fact, I have been thinking of ignoring him for a time to teach him a lesson. I’ll not come so easily to him, you know. I am not a prize to be won or a commodity to be bartered for.”
Emllyn grinned. “Are there no other eligible bachelors here other than Connaught?”
Elyse cocked her head thoughtfully as she went back to work. “Christopher has a younger brother, Drew,” she said. “He is quite handsome. But he is also quite young and quite frisky with women, if you get my meaning. I have heard he has at least two bastards.”
