Page 114 of Lord of Fortune
As she helped him get his coat back on, he said, “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m still thinking about it.” She gave him a saucy smile. “You have to kiss me first.”
He couldn’t contain the smile that spread across his lips. “Have I told you how much I love you? No, I don’t think I have. I’ve been too afraid to speak the words with the future—”
“Shhh. I love you too. So much.” She stood on her toes and put her mouth to his.
He held her tight and lost himself in her embrace.
She pulled away and looked up at him with a fiercely determined gaze. “Now, let’s find that treasure.”
* * *
The mist stopped, and none too soon, because Amelia was cold to her very bones. She supposed that was to be expected, given the traumatic series of events she’d just survived. As thrilled as she was to hopefully find the heart at last, she looked forward to a warm fire.
And Penn’s arms around her.
He was ahead of her on the path as they descended to the lower falls, which allowed her to stare at him as eagerly as she liked. And apparently, she’d be able to stare at him in the days and weeks and years to come.
Did he really want to marry her? She didn’t doubt his emotions, but he was still Penn the adventurer for whom home was a transient place. She could accept that because for her, home would be wherever he was.
And yet, she didn’t want him to feel trapped. He’d talked of being free and liking it. If he could manage to avoid being the earl, would he really want a wife?
Penn paused, then turned slightly, holding his left hand back for her. “Come walk with me.”
She took his hand and came abreast of him. A moment later, they came upon the clearing with the body of Bertie. Her throat clenched, and she squeezed Penn’s hand.
“When we get back to Pontneddfechan, I’ll make arrangements to have the bodies recovered. The man who tried to tie me up should be fine. He was unconscious when I left him tied up. The fourth man fell down the ravine to the river, and I’ve no idea where he could be.”
“Thank you for taking care of things,” she said. “I’m sorry the others are dead, even Thaddeus.”
They’d found his body trapped between some rocks, and Penn had dragged him to the shore. Seeing him lifeless had made her sad, even with all the grief he’d caused her. But there was also a sense of relief because for so long he’d been an unfinished chapter in her life, something she wasn’t sure would ever be completed. After feeling trapped for so many years, she was able to look to the future.
“I am too. However, if the choice was them or you, there was no choice at all.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist between her glove and the hem of her sleeve.
The lower Fall of the White Meadow came into view. “Do you think the heart is at the top of the first fall in this series?” she asked.
“That would be my guess based on how the map was marked.”
“And it was on this side?” At his nod, she exhaled with relief. “Good. I don’t think I could cross the river again.”
He squeezed her hand again and led her to the edge of the path near the top of the first of the four small falls. “Now we look for anything that will help us find the heart.” He let go of her hand and walked off the path. “It wouldn’t be out in the open. I’m thinking it’s in something.”
Amelia walked to the nearest tree. There was a V in the trunk where two branches started. “In something like this?”
Penn joined her and looked over her shoulder. “Perhaps. But I suspect it’s in a vessel of some kind. This is a rough place to keep something of value. With the falls and all the rain, there’s a great deal of humidity. That would be very damaging over time.”
“Except to a rock.” Amelia looked at the rock around and beneath the river, over which the water tumbled to the pool below. “Unless the rock was in the river.” Then it would erode or be washed away.
She turned from the river and studied the other side of the path. There were trees draped with moss, and ferns blanketed the ground. Crossing over the path, she stepped into the undergrowth. To her left was a particularly large oak, larger than the others around it. Lichen coated much of the trunk, but there was one area where it looked a bit like a pattern, reminding her of the map they’d found at the fall of snow.
Calling out to Penn, she traced her fingers over the subtle pattern and found the shape of a heart. He arrived at her side with a soft exhalation. “What did you find?” The astonishment in his voice spurred her heartbeat.
“Do you see what I see?” she asked, tracing over it again.
“Yes.” He moved toward the trunk and felt along the bark.
For some reason, Amelia looked down. She crouched low, brushing her hands along the trunk and then moving the ferns at the base. The moss was thick here, growing in fat clumps.
