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“Vangie, I had a change of heart—”

So, he as much as admitted it. She’d rather he’d denied any such thing.

Grimacing, she shook her head. “I’d be ruined with no hope of atonement. But you didn’t leave soon enough and were caught in your own trap.” She heard a laugh, a pathetic gut-wrenching, agony filled laugh ending on a sob. Was that her? He’d reduced her to this. “No wonder you were furious.”

“Sweeting, I’ll admit. I was at first but…”

Tears threatened anew, and Vangie presented her back. Blasted waterworks. She scrunched her eyes tight against the stinging. Clenching her hands, she bit her lip to stop the sobs struggling to escape. Ian didn’t deserve her tears. She would cry no more for him. She knew what she must do.

“Just leave, Ian. You cannot hurt me anymore. I shan’t allow it.” Sucking in a shaky break, her voice devoid of any life, Vangie delivered the death blow. “I hate you.”

Ian had no idea how long he remained staring at the spot Vangie vacated. She’d revealed her soul to him then crushed his with her tormented words. He’d no one to blame but himself.

Sometime later, Simone found him there. She didn’t question him. Instead, she handed him a plate piled high with food. “Eat, Ian. Without wood, the fire would die.”

“Forgive me, but I don’t understand.” His gaze traveled between her and the plate.

She smiled, and a pang kicked his ribs. Vangie had her smile. “You cannot fight for what you most desire when you have an empty stomach.”

Lifting his eyes to her calm, sympathetic gaze, he asked, “Is there any reason to fight?”

She inclined her head and laid a hand on his arm. “Love is always a reason to fight. It is the reason to fight, to hope, to endure.”

“I fear it’s too late.” Ian shook his head. “I’ve wronged Vangie. Mightily. She has good cause to distrust and despise me.”

“Ah, but is that not the key? Zora doesn’t despise you, and for that you should be praising God,” Simone sagely advised.

He wiped a hand across his brow. “She said…,” his voice caught and grief constricted his throat and burned behind his eyelids. “She hates me.”

“At this moment, she may believe she does. But trust me in this Ian, she does not. Now eat.” She pointed at the plate. “It is peržala, scrambled eggs with meat and herbs.”

Leaning against a tree, he obediently lifted the spoon to his mouth. He took several bites of the tasty concoction. Simone lingered nearby, gathering wildflowers. He was sure she had more to say but wanted to give him a chance to eat first. He was beginning to understand how wise she was.

Eldra sauntered his way, a siren’s smile on her lips. Two children pranced near her skirts, one carrying a fat puppy. Her primrose blouse hung low, revealing her creamy shoulders and a generous portion of her ample chest. Upon spying Simone staring at her with her hands full of flowers, Eldra thrust out her chin and glared. Was she daring the older woman to chastise her? Was the chit dimwitted?

She greeted Ian with an invitation. “The morning is lovely, my lord. What say you and I enjoy a walk?” It was perfectly clear no one else was invited. “I know a lovely secluded grove some distance upriver.”

No surprise there.

“I’m not—” Ian began.

“Acting the part of a singorus doesn’t become you, Eldra.” Leveling the brazen beauty with a steady look, Simone spoke plainly. “Enticing a man from another woman is common and contemptible, and far beneath a Roma.”

“Zora’s divorced him.” Smiling unpleasantly, the girl declared, “He’s no longer hers.”

Simone slanted a glance in his direction, and he raised an eyebrow, curving his mouth slightly at the corners. She was handling Eldra quite nicely. “Lord Warrick’s heart is committed to another. You’d do well to remember that,” Simone admonished.

Indeed, it was. Forever and always. He finished his breakfast and set the plate on a nearby stump.

The grubby-faced cherub holding the puppy said, “Look, your lordthip. I goths me a babbi jakkel. You wanths to hold her?” Grinning, and exposing her two missing front teeth, the urchin thrust the wiggling pup at Ian.

Eyeing the brown, pudgy ball, he took the pup into his arms and cradled it. The dog licked his face in excitement. A thought niggled its way into his brain. At first, he discarded it, but the notion persisted and wouldn’t leave off.

His gaze accidentally met Simone’s, and he swore she nodded, before giving him a closed-mouth smile.

She continued descending the sloping path. As she passed Eldra she said, “Your father’s looking for you. He’s none too pleased.”

Eldra glowered at Simone before she hurried off, muttering under her breath.

Ian examined the dog in his arms. “Are there anymore pups in the litter?”

“Aue. Two more but I gots the only chai,” the child announced proudly, jumping up and down. “Only chavvi are left.”

Obviously, the imp believed male puppies inferior to females. Suddenly feeling the smallest smidgen of hope, Ian smiled. “Show me, will you please?