Dragon Rose(53)

“And you are doing better today?” she asked as I pushed the plate away and set it back on the tray.

She should have been comforted on that point, since I had taken my meal sitting in a chair and with the tray on the table beside me rather than while still in bed should have told her that much. But just in case she needed extra reassurance, I nodded and replied, “Very much so. Whatever it was, it seems to have gone now.”

“Good,” she replied, but I noticed that she still frowned a little, absently, as if she didn’t quite realize what she was doing.

I honestly couldn’t think what had her so troubled. To be sure, after the plague that had devastated Purth and Seldd, and some of the regions of my own country that bordered those two lands, I could understand being concerned over every cough and fever. However, as that had been almost five years ago, and Lirinsholme had never been touched by the disease at all, the chances of my being ill with anything so dire as the plague were very low. Besides, I hadn’t coughed, and I had no fever. My only symptoms had been that odd lassitude and the unnatural amounts of time I had spent asleep.

Perhaps some of the other Brides had been sickly, and that was what concerned her now. After all, I had no idea what caused their deaths.

Something else killed them, Rhianne, and you need to find out what it was.

The words sounded so clearly in my mind it was as if I had spoken them myself, but that internal voice was not mine, and I did not recognize it. Somehow I thought I should, for something about the words seemed familiar, but I could not remember why or how.

I knew I should attempt to determine what had happened to all of Theran’s erstwhile wives. The only way I could possibly prevent the same thing from happening to me was to discover the cause of their premature deaths.

Exactly how I was supposed to accomplish such a thing, when prying the smallest bit of information from either Theran or Sar had already proved to be more difficult than prising a pearl from a particularly stubborn oyster, I did not know. Sar had already told me Theran had nothing to do with their deaths. That should have reassured me. In some ways I suppose it had—after all, one does not want to believe that the man one loves is a killer. However, with the most likely suspect eliminated, that left me with very little to go on.

It must have something to do with the curse. But since Theran could not or would not tell me anything of its particulars, and Sar professed ignorance in such matters, I had no idea where I could find such vital information. Even if the details of the curse had been written down somewhere, the most likely place would be in Theran’s library somewhere. I somehow doubted he would give me free rein to go through his things so I might find the vital piece of information I needed.

“I thought your blue wool gown, my lady, and of course your boots, what with all that snow.”

“What?” I had to pause and make myself consider Sar’s words. Then I nodded. “Certainly. It is my warmest gown.”

With that decided, I stood and allowed Sar to take my breakfast tray away so I could get dressed in privacy. And even though the gown was of stout, sturdy wool, and my boots likewise thick and warm, I still gave the leaden skies outside a dubious look. Not that winters in Lirinsholme couldn’t be severe. But at least in town we were somewhat sheltered by the fiercest blasts of the winds, and the snow did not drift quite so deep. Here on the heights, exposed to every gust, we had no shelter from winter’s worst.

That didn’t stop me from fastening my cloak tightly around my throat and slipping on a pair of fur-lined gloves. The gods only knew the corridors of Black’s Keep were cold enough on their own, far away from the hearths that struggled to keep the individual rooms warm. I was not premature in making sure I had bundled myself carefully against the chill.

I hurried down the steps, as much because of a desire to keep warm as because of my eagerness to see Theran again. Since Sar had disappeared as soon as I was done eating, I had to presume she’d gone to tell his lordship that I would be out and about soon.

It seemed my speculations were true this time, for almost as soon as I stepped outside I saw his dark form outlined against the snowy white that covered all the rosebushes and trees, and lay piled thickly on the ground. He turned almost at once; the wind caught at the hem of his cloak, but as always the edges of the hood moved not at all.

“Rhianne. You are quite sure you’re well enough to be out in this?”

“Of course,” I replied stoutly. It wasn’t that bad, actually. Although an icy wind blew, my own cloak protected me well enough, and the snow had stopped falling, save for a wayward flake here and there. “The fresh air tastes wonderful.”

“I wasn’t aware that air could have a taste.”

“Of course it can. Today it is crisp and cold, like mint.”

“Ah.” He turned so he faced into the wind, and I wondered how much he felt within the muffling hood, whether the crisp air I had just described even made it in that far so he could feel or taste it. “There is a bit more shelter from the wind down at the end of this alley, where the oak tree grows. Let us walk that way.”

“Lead on,” I told him and then stepped close, so I could slip my gloved hand in his. I felt a tremor go through him as our fingers twined around one another, but he did not try to pull away. Instead, his grip tightened on mine before he began to guide me to the spot he’d indicated.

The wind did seem to howl a little less here, the oak tree’s spreading branches offering some shelter even though they were bare of leaves. Above us the grey bulk of the castle loomed, a darker shade against the sullen sky. Although the snow had let up for a time, I guessed it would not hold off for much longer, and I was thankful I had decided to meet Theran now instead of waiting to see if the day improved any.