Page 107 of Fragile Oath

She obediently sat just outside of the door next to Ewan, her large blue eyes widening like the separation made her just as sad as it did me. Giving Malishka one more scratch on the head, I followed Gracie into the room, forcing myself to breathe as she shut the door between us.

She led me through the suites she shared with her father, back to her private bedroom, closing the heavy door with a thud. The smell of black tea and pear scones washed over me, and my stomach growled again.

“I noticed you preferred pear desserts to pumpkin,” she commented as she joined me at the table. “I hope this is all right?”

I took in her hopeful expression, combined with the presentation of the room. There was a small tea table near the foot of the bed, covered with plates and glasses and bouquets of winter flowers.

A kettle was hanging near a small hearth, near a cart that held tins of various teas and sugar cubes, along with a plate of honeycomb and the scones.

“It’s more than all right,” I said appreciatively, suddenly feeling horrible for not wanting to join her before.

She’d clearly put a lot of effort into this tea.

Gracie practically beamed as I took it in, clearly pleased with my reaction. I continued to scan the room, taking in the small details that made this space hers. I hadn’t realized that she had established rooms at the castle, but with her history with the family, I supposed it made sense.

It was peaceful back here, tucked away from the sounds of the castle far more than the other guest suites. Feeling more at ease, I sat down while she served us tea and sandwiches.

The conversation came easy. Without Fiona’s shadow constantly hovering over her, Gracie was pleasant and friendly, making the time pass more smoothly than I had expected.

When we were finished with our first pot of tea, I stood to make the second one, as was Socairan custom. Yet another way we preferred our debts to balance out, as Davin always teased me about.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” she demurred, but I was already striding toward the kettle.

The hearth was situated next to a large window, the heat from the flames fluttering the pale-yellow curtains to reveal a stretch of balcony that was surprisingly similar to my own.

“Are you interested in gardening?” I asked, widening the gap in the curtains.

In addition to the decorative shrubbery were several smaller potted plants. Most of them were basic winter plants, easily recognizable, but there were a few more unusual ones.

Gracie stepped in front of me, her cheeks flushing.

“I am, but it’s just a silly hobby, and it’s a mess right now. Nothing like the way you’ve arranged yours.”

She was short enough that I could still make out the admittedly chaotic array of plants before she hurriedly closed the thick curtains.

Tendrils of dread crept along my spine. There was nothing outwardly suspicious in a woman feeling insecure where her former lover’s new fiancée was involved, and it made sense that any lady would endeavor to hide a messy space.

It shouldn’t have been out of the ordinary, but my mind kept snagging on something important.

“I’m sure it’s more than that,” I said quietly, forcing an encouraging smile to my lips while I turned back to the kettle. “Hobbies always start out small, but if it brings you joy…”

In and out,I commanded my breaths, even as I pictured the patio in my mind’s eye. The shrubs. The herbs.

The flower that was unlike anything I had ever seen.

Well, that wasn’t quite true. It was like several things I had seen. Small white blooms of a valley lily, the smooth green stems and buds of oleander, leaves of nightshade, and there was a fruit, too… Small, pale green orbs like the ones that had been expertly sketched in the book I had lost.

Little apples of death.

A perfect, lethal, combination of the flowers I had been researching.

That’s when I realized what my mind had been trying to tell me.Nothing like the way you’ve arranged yours,she had said. That didn’t make sense, though, because my outdoor plants were on the floor of my balcony, not visible from the ground outside, and Gracie had never been in my room.

But the Viper had.

ChapterForty-Six

DAVIN

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