“How can you do this to me?” Michael demanded, his face twisted with fierce rage.
“I allowed you to live this lie for far too long. Eve belongs with me.”
“I did this for you!” Michael growled. “I certainly could have done much better than a deformed lady. I was willing to marry her, so you wouldn’t have to!”
“For me?” Gabe demanded. “You’ve done nothing for me. It’s all been for you. You couldn’t stand the fact that I had found the girls before you. You wanted to be the hero. You took that away. You literally took them from my arms!”
“That’s not true. I took them because you were exhausted. You couldn’t take another step and the girls needed attention.”
“Then why didn’t you tell everyone it was me? Why did you let them betroth you to Eve?”
Michael shook his head. “It had gotten out of hand by then. I was embarrassed. They thought it was me and I couldn’t let them down.”
“You let me down. Make it right, Michael. Tell Lord Chandos the truth.”
Michael’s eyes shifted to Lord Chandos. He was arguing with one of the other Lords. His face was red.
Michael shook his head. “What would I do then?” He looked down. “No. It’s too late now. It was what father would have wanted.”
“Because you lied! It would all have been different if you told the truth!”
Michael scowled. “It’s too late now.”
Gabe grabbed his shirt, shaking him. “It doesn’t have to be! Be the hero now! Tell the truth!”
Michael shook his head. “I can’t.”
Disgusted, Gabe shoved him away and stepped around him, intent on following Eve. He had to explain to her, explain how foolish he had been, what a mistake he had made. He had to tell her he loved her. He rushed up the stone stairway and down the long cold corridor. He raced to Eve’s door and knocked. The seconds moved by and he knocked again. “Eve!”
Finally, the door opened, and a thin, dark-haired maid stood in the doorway.
“Lady Eve. Where is she?” Gabe demanded.
“She is not here. I haven’t seen her since she left for the feast.”
Not here. Tremors of anxiety snaked across the nape of his neck. Where would she go? Over the maid’s shoulder, he saw the shuttered window. Tingles danced up his spine and he hurried past her to the window. He threw open the shutters. The snow was coming down heavily, bathing the landscape in a pure blanket of white. Beyond the castle, in the clearing, he saw a dark line in the snow. His heart froze.
Images of when he was a boy flashed in his mind. Pristine snow and tracks. The tracks now were different. Larger. Deeper. They were the tracks of an animal. A horse, he realized and forced himself to be calm and rational, but some part of him was still calling to him to hurry.
Would she go out? In this blizzard? Why would she…?
Could he risk her being out there, alone?
He raced out of the room, hurrying down the hallway and took the stairs two at a time. He burst into the Great Hall just as Lord Chandos held his hands up for silence. He turned to the small child standing beside him.
The boy brushed some of his wet hair aside. “Lady Eve said fer me ta tell ya that there was only one way ta be sure. Only one way ta get ta the truth.” He looked up at Lord Chandos. “She said she would be where she was found. She would be waiting.”
Horrified and distressed, Lord Chandos fell heavily into his chair.
Gabe’s heart lurched in his throat. God’s Blood! She was out in the snow and the blizzard. In the cold! The same cold that had taken Eden. Gabe whirled toward the door.
Michael caught his arm. “Tell me where she is.”
Gabe yanked his arm free. “The truth can’t stay hidden forever.” He didn’t miss a step as he raced toward the inner ward. “Tell them the truth!”
“I’m going to find her first,” Michael growled.
“Eden!” Eve called, dismounting from the palfrey. Her slippered feet landed in the icy cold snow. It gripped her bare legs like hands. The horse whinnied, tossing its head.
