Page 84
“Does she lie with him?”
That made me want to laugh. Both for the old-fashioned phrasing, which was ridiculous from a man who bedded multiple wives daily, and for the amount of jealousy it conveyed. He was jealous over a woman who didn’t exist, one I’d invented. Perhaps I’d done too good of a job.
“I do not think so.”
“Then why is she with him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could ask him.” My voice held a challenge. This could still go tits up. For all I knew, William was a coward.
He thought for a moment. “How am I supposed to confront him if I don’t know where he is?”
“He’s close. The Lord has assured me He’ll provide further guidance once we set out.”
“We? I thought I was to go alone?”
“Alone, yes,” I said smoothly. “But with me as your guide.”
“So not completely alone?”
Anybody else, any other situation, and I would have sighed. Was Keaton really worth all this? Did I truly believe we could work? Strangely, I did. We’d needle each other, compete, argue fiercely, but we’d also blaze hotter than an inferno when it came to makeup sex. My grandma had once told me, in one of those conversations that made me want to shrivel up and die, that passion was the foundation of everything. I was beginning to believe her.
“Gray?”
“Huh?” I almost broke character. Concentrate, August. There won’t be any future with Keaton if you fuck this up.
“Another vision?”
“No. I was just…” The narrowing of William’s eyes demanded an answer. “I was wondering why the Lord feels He must test you.” I let a thread of anger slip into my voice. “Haven’t you done enough? You’ve devoted every waking moment to Him, recruited followers to his cause, lived in this draughty castle, enforced His standards. What more must you do?” I shook my head. “You’re right. You shouldn’t go.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Ignoring him, I pressed on. “You are Beloved Father. Let this man come to you if he has a problem. Let him meddle from afar. Let him keep the girl. We’ll find another who is blessed. Someone more suitable. Someone untainted by her association with those who are not worthy. Her soul must be black from the time she has spent with him. She does not deserve to be your wife.”
William’s expression grew stormier with every reason I gave. “That is my decision, not yours.”
I bowed my head. “Of course, Beloved Father. I am merely pointing out that you shouldn’t feel pressured into anything.”
“I do not fear this man.”
I laughed. “Of course not. He is nothing.”
“I am confused about what the Lord expects me to do with him if he bears such a grudge.”
“I suppose that will become clear when you speak to him.”
“Perhaps.” William looked thoughtful. “When do we go?”
Elation filled me, bright and buoyant. “Now?” It wasn’t guaranteed Keaton would be there. I assumed he found something to do during the day. But if we reached the tunnel to find it empty, I could spin William a yarn about the Lord giving him the opportunity to lie in wait.
William shook his head. “Not now. I have a matter to attend to. Two hours from now. Meet me at the gate at midday.”
I bowed my head again. “Two hours, then.”
“Leave me.”
I obeyed.
Those two hours stretched into the longest of my life. In my room, I paced, turning over every way the plan could collapse. William might change his mind. He might bring others. He might be playing me as much as I was playing him.
