Page 16 of Lord of Fortune
Penn had read it a dozen times. Aside from providing the location of the cave where the dagger was hidden and urging his friend Burgess to keep the artifact safe, it mentioned protecting his family, which at the time had included his son and granddaughter, from the Order. Penn watched her reaction carefully.
She read it a second time, more slowly, her gaze trailing over the paper before she set it back on the table beside her forgotten breakfast. “Thank you. May I keep it?”
“Yes.” That was all she had to say?
Picking up her knife and fork, she returned her attention to her plate.
Penn wasn’t going to let the matter go. There was too much at stake. “Since you don’t seem the least bit inquisitive, I have to assume you know all about this ‘Order.’ Would you mind enlightening me?”
She gave him a shrewd look. “You’re telling me youdon’tknow about the Order?”
He’d meant it when he’d said he wouldn’t lie to her. Not unless it would keep her safe. And while he’d no reason to trust an organization that prized secrecy and the suppression of knowledge, he didn’t think they posed a threat. At least not yet. “I didn’t say that. I want to know what you know.”
She stared at him a moment, and then the warm lilt of her laughter unexpectedly filled the space around them. “If this is how our partnership would work, I think my reticence was well-founded.”
“Does that mean you’re considering a partnership?”
“On the contrary. I think this only demonstrates that it wouldn’t work—for either of us. Not when we’re intent on keeping our guards up.”
She had a point. He ought to have just come out and told her what he knew of the bloody Order instead of trying to learn what she knew first. “I am used to dealing with individuals with far less scruples than you. Forgive me for not giving you the benefit of the doubt.” He inclined his head. “Let me begin again.” He glanced at the letter next to her plate. “Your grandfather mentioned the Order. Are you familiar with that organization?”
She hesitated, and his frustration grew. “A bit,” she said at last. “A verylittlebit. I’ve seen it referenced elsewhere—don’t ask me where just yet. I may beconsideringa partnership with you, but that doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“Of course not,” he murmured in a mix of admiration and irritation. “Are you aware the full name is the Order of the Round Table?”
Her gaze flickered with interest. “I am not. The Round Table…as in King Arthur?”
“Yes. The Thirteen Treasures were items gathered by Arthur and his knights for one of their own—Gareth—so that he could win his bride.”
“And the heart and the dagger are treasures.” She set down her fork, apparently ready to completely abandon her meal. “The heart is anyway. I’m not sure the dagger is considered one of them or if it and the heart constitute one of the thirteen.”
“There is some dispute as to what makes up the thirteen, and in some versions, the heart doesn’t even exist.”
Now she looked truly surprised. “I didn’t realize that. I grew up listening to the legend of Ranulf and Hilaria. She used the heart to make Ranulf fall in love with her, but he loved another and didn’t wish to fall prey to the heart’s spell. So he had a witch enchant a dagger to use against the magic of the heart, thus preventing him from falling in love with Hilaria. The witch’s spell is supposedly carved into the dagger. Were you able to read it?”
“I didn’t have a chance.” Bitterness made the words come out harder than he’d intended. Softening his response, he said, “You know the story well.”
“Well enough to know that Ranulf was an idiot,” she said somewhat crossly. “He married the selfish and prideful Maud, while Hilaria married his younger brother, who’d fallen madly in love with her. Hilaria grew to love him too, and they lived happily ever after. Ranulf regretted his choice, as well he should have.”
Penn enjoyed watching her animated expression change as she’d relayed the tale. “You’re a romantic.”
Her brow pleated for a moment. “Not particularly.”
He wasn’t sure he believed her, but he’d have to take her word for it since he barely knew her. Though he hoped they were rectifying that.
He did?
Did he hope to know her better? Certainly, if it meant gathering information he needed to find the real heart and dagger. As to that—he needed to convince her to accept his partnership, especially if the Order was involved. “The Order’s primary objective is to keep the Thirteen Treasures—and really anything to do with them—from being found or publicized. They want them to remain a legend.”
“But one of them is in a museum.”
He lifted his right shoulder. “Or not.”
She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. “Does the Order agree with that assessment?”
“I can’t say for certain—let me be clear: I amnota member. Members are, for the most part, descendants of the knights.”
“How can that be possible if it’s all a legend?”
