Giles closed his eyes against the feel of her small, warm hand atop his. He had thought he'd lost her this night. For the second time, he had been brutally reminded that he could not live in a world without her.

And then he turned and caught her up in his arms, unable to resist stealing a moment. He bent and kissed her, with all of the desire that lay within his heart, wishing he could make love to her one last time, for he did not know if they might live to see another day.

"I thought Fletcher had killed you," he murmured as he swept his mouth across her cheek.

Cecily sighed, her head falling back, allowing him to nuzzle the sweet warmth of her neck. "I love you, Giles Beaumont. Nothing can ever change that."

He loved her too. More than she could possibly love him. But she would misunderstand if he spoke his feelings. She would think he was promising her a future together. And so he set her gently away from him and turned back to the wall.

She huffed. "We need a plan before you open that door."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"Jimson taught me this trick with mist..."

He shook his head. "Didn't work on my sword. I lay odds that it will not work on that scepter, either."

"Give me a moment, then."

Giles felt his clothes change from sopping wet to slightly damp, a.s.sumed she dried hers as well, for he heard the fabric of her dress whisper as she muttered something about her hair.

"That's the tidiest I can manage without a mirror," she said. "Now then, when you open the door, we shall casually walk across the grounds. Two lovers out for a stroll."

Giles rubbed his cheek. "No one will believe it."

"Nonsense. Open the door."

Giles pressed and it swung open, and they quickly ducked through the fall of water on the outer castle walls. He shut the door behind them, only their shoulders slightly wet again from the dunking.

He b.u.t.toned up his coat at the waist, allowing his hair to fall about his face, slightly obscuring the ugly mark. Then he crooked his arm and Cecily hooked hers through his. They casually strolled down the gravel path, avoiding the lighted pavilions, occasionally stopping to embrace whenever anyone else happened upon them.

Half of the guard and the majority of the soldiers would be attending their own revel tonight. Giles saw more than one uniformed man taking advantage of the moonlight for a private stroll with his sweetheart.

"Apollo and Belle are housed in the smaller stables," he murmured, guiding Cecily in the proper direction.

She turned her head and smiled up at him. "You brought Belle?"

He looked down, losing himself in the faceted depths of her eyes. "I thought you'd be happy to see her."

"I am. She's a fast little thing, and so very loyal..."

Something shivered between them. Perhaps the danger of their situation heightened Giles's senses-but he didn't think so. For a timeless moment his entire being focused on nothing but her, nothing but the joy of her arm within his, the beauty of her face, the wonder in his heart that she stood beside him, alive and well. He could not fathom that this may be their last time together. They had grown up so close and yet apart, and now- "There you are!" interrupted a shrill voice. Giles glanced up to find a rather stout woman bearing down upon them. d.a.m.n-he should have never allowed himself to become distracted.

"Lady Pennington," breathed Cecily.

"Who?"

"I accompanied her family on the carriage ride to the palace."

Giles did not need to ask how that journey had pa.s.sed. He could hear the vexation in the tone of Cecily's voice.

Lady Pennington reminded him of nothing more than an overburdened cargo ship, lumbering from side to side, using her wide hoops for ballast, her peaked coiffure a mast with the feather atop it flapping like a flag.

"You naughty girl," said the lady, gasping for breath. "I have been searching the palace for you since we arrived."

"Whatever for?" blurted Cecily.

Lady Pennington smiled charmingly and clasped Cecily's hands. "Why, my dear, we had just begun to know each other and I wished to continue the acquaintance."

Cecily appeared thunderstruck, so Giles interjected. "I am sad to say, madam, that your reunion must wait a bit longer. We are on an errand of importance-"

"Pshaw!" she responded, tightening her hold on Cecily's hands. "There can be nothing more important than my friendship with dear Lucy."

Cecily narrowed her eyes. "What exactly is it that you wish, my lady?"

She smiled. "Good girl. Let there be no pretense between us. I have been admiring Lady Longhurst's new gown-why, it is the talk of the ball! But she has been extremely coy about her new mantua-maker, and insists her seamstress will sew for no one but her. Then I recalled that you recently came into the lady's employ, and easily put two and two together."

"How clever of you," muttered Cecily.

Giles shifted, glancing around impatiently. They stood just beyond the pavilion and too far from the stables, but had attracted little notice as of yet.

"Indeed," replied Lady Pennington, missing the sarcasm in Cecily's voice. "That gown will set the latest mode and I vow to have one of my own. You simply must agree to sew some gowns for me, my dear. In honor of our shared journey?"

Cecily scowled, as if it would be the last reason for her to accommodate the lady, but she answered quickly in a valiant attempt at escape. "Yes, yes, of course I shall. But we really must be on our way." She tried to twist her hands from the lady's grasp.

But Lady Pennington only held on tighter, apparently possessing a degree of elven strength, if not magic nor beauty.

Giles resisted the urge to pick the lady up by her ruffled shoulders and toss her out of their way. Cecily, on the other hand, already appeared to have lost her temper. Giles caught the faint whiff of something burning and glanced about again.

"This shall take only a moment," insisted the lady.

"What?" snapped Cecily.

Lady Pennington lost her veil of charm. "Don't use that tone of voice with me, young lady. Why, after everything I did for you on our journey-"

Cecily choked.

"-I should think you could show a little grat.i.tude. Lud! All I need you to do is come with me for but a moment, and tell Lady Longhurst that you have agreed to make me a gown. She keeps insisting her mantua-maker will work for no one but her-merciful heavens! Whatever is happening to your dress?"

Giles glanced down and realized the burning smell came from Cecily's skirts. Worse, a sparkling glow shone through the folds of the cloth, a crackling sound coming from the depths of her hip pocket.

Cecily impolitely cursed and withdrew the scepter; the tip of it shot jagged darts of lightning.

"Lud!" said Lady Pennington. "That looks like-what are you doing with-?"

Cecily mumbled something about her temper and called her magic, drawing a wave from a nearby fountain and dousing her burning gown and consequently, Lady Pennington as well, who gathered a breath and opened her mouth to astonishing proportions.

Giles drew his sword. Cecily's face whitened. "You cannot possibly-"

No, it would make him as bad as Fletcher. But if he just whacked the lady over the head, Giles would not feel too badly about it.

Lady Pennington released the scream that she had called from the depths of her bosom.

"Too late," snapped Giles, slamming the blade back into his scabbard. "Run."

Cecily lifted her skirts and sprinted after him, the scepter within the folds in her fist. Giles watched their backs, but it appeared the revelers were making such a loud noise of their own that they had yet to react to Lady Pennington's screams. This appeared only to infuriate her, because she began to scream louder.

The stables m.u.f.fled the lady's cries and the dark solitude of the building seemed to give them a measure of safety. But Giles knew guards would be sent to investigate and he quickly went to Apollo's stall, pointing out Belle's for Cecily's sake. Grat.i.tude for their journeys together filled him as Cecily saddled her mount as efficiently and silently as he did.

They led their horses to the open door. Cecily did not hold the scepter in her hand, and Giles hoped she had not tucked it away in her skirts again. A brief flash of light from a sopping wet bag dangling from Belle's saddle rea.s.sured him.

"I'm trying to control my anger and fear," said Cecily as she noticed his gaze. "I hoped it would stop reacting to me if I wasn't touching it. I don't understand why-"

"They went this way," shouted a voice.

"I'll check in here," said another.

Giles cursed as a young guard entered the stables, a lantern in one hand and his sword in the other. Cecily started, staring in surprise at William the shepherd, the man she had once intended to marry, now a loyal soldier of Breden of Dewhame's army.

Could anything else go wrong tonight?

Fifteen.

Giles tried to control the jealousy that flared in his chest when the shock faded from William's face and turned into an adoring gaze.

"Cecily? What are ye doing here?"

"Will," she breathed in reply, "I thought I would never see you again."

His face flushed so deeply that Giles could see the color creep over his features even in the dim lamplight.

"I wrote ye," he said, "but ye never answered. This place... it is not what I expected."

"I... I left the village shortly after you did, Will. I did not get your letters."

Giles could not stand it anymore. "We have to go, Cecily."

Will appeared to become aware of Giles for the first time, breaking his gaze from Cecily and turning it toward the taller man. "So that's why ye came. I thought it was 'cause of the mark upon yer face. But it's because of her, isn't it? Ye have always mooned after her."

Giles narrowed his eyes, his hand shifting toward his sword, resisting the impulse to run the man through, but not because they needed to escape. No, it was burning jealousy that prompted his actions. Faith, hadn't he thought about bringing Cecily and Will together? And now that fate had brought about the meeting, Giles realized what a fool he had been to even consider allowing another man to touch Cecily. Will might hurt her.

Cecily stepped between them, placing a hand upon William's shoulder. "You left me, Will. And because you did not find what you were expecting is no reason to be angry with me, or with Giles."

He had the grace to look a bit ashamed. "Aye, but ye know I still loved ye."

Apollo nudged Giles in the back and he turned to stroke the horse's broad forehead, resigned to listening to this nonsense.

"But not enough," Cecily told him. "Not enough to stay with me-no, do not look that way, Will. I understand and bear you no ill feeling. Truthfully, it would have been a mistake for us to marry. I am not what you need and you are not... you are not the right man for me."

Giles hid a smug smile.

"I am even more different than I thought," she continued. "And it has made my life... complicated. We are on an important mission, Will. One that may help to free England from the slavery of the elven lords."

Giles turned. Grief etched William's features. But perhaps a bit of relief too. The man knew he could never have managed a woman like Cecily.

Will gave Giles a measuring look. "The guards are looking for a man with a green mark on his face. And a woman who some daft matron swears has stolen the elven lord's scepter."

"Indeed," said Giles.

Will's mouth dropped open and his gaze flicked back to Cecily. "Ye are right. Ye are more different than I would have ever-"

A shout from outside the stables made Will turn. He took one last glance at the two of them before he strode out the door. Giles mounted Apollo in one smooth movement while Cecily did the same with Belle.

"Ready?" he whispered, drawing his sword, regretting having to fight their way out.

She held up a hand. "Wait."

Giles could hear the soldiers shouting to one another. If they waited they would be outnumbered. And then he heard Will's voice rising above the others.

"There's no one in here, lads. But I seen two riders making for the southern gate!"

More shouts and a sudden flurry of pounding hooves followed his words.

Cecily grinned. "That means we'll take the northern gate, then."

Giles shook his head. "How did you know he wouldn't betray us?"

"Will has always been my friend before anything else."

Giles sheathed his sword and tapped Apollo's flanks with his heels. He suddenly felt sorry for Will, having to settle for naught but friendship.

They rode out into the empty paddock and around to the back of the stables, keeping the horses to a sedate walk until they cleared the grounds and reached the gate.

Water flowed along the walls, enhancing the illusion that the wave-shaped structure swelled like the ocean. Two solitary soldiers stood at the gate, both of them looking toward the lights of the palace and the revelry they were missing.

"What's your business?" asked the tallest, his gaze still fixed beyond them.

"My mother is ill," replied Cecily before Giles had even thought of what to tell them. "This kind soldier is escorting me to the city to tend her."

"Pity," said the other guard, giving Giles a brief glance. "I heard there's food and wine aplenty tonight."

Giles shrugged as he rode past them. "A soldier's lot, eh, boys?"