Promising Light (2 page)

“We’re alone,” Grace said, “so get
on with it.”

“I’m here about Dar from Shyra,”
the man said. “He is not safe for you.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Excuse
me?”

“I know you desire each other, but
he is dangerous. I’m here in your best interest, Lady Grace. He
will be of no good to you.”

If he’d seen it, then who else had?
She took a step toward him, but he moved away from her. She
narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

“The note was anonymous, and
that’s how I choose to stay. You must know that you and Dar come
from two different worlds.” His voice filled with disgust. “It’s
simply impossible to think a lady of your standing could be with
something like him.”

“He’s a noble, as well.” She
almost spoke about Dar’s courtship with Rebekah, but she caught
herself, knowing she shouldn’t defend Dar or herself. “It makes no
difference since we’re not involved.”

“Please, I’m not blind,” the man
said, his voice rising.

Grace tried to laugh; it didn’t
sound very convincing. “So, this is why you asked me to come? To
warn me against a man I have nothing to do with?”

“You need to set your sights on
another noble. Dar is not what you think he is.”

“I’m not interested in him,” Grace
said, raising her voice. “But even if I were, who are you to tell
me to whom I should direct my affection?” She made a grab for his
hood, but he moved away quickly and her fingers caught the air. “Do
you have any idea to whom you speak?”

His mouth twisted in a smile.
“You’re Lady Grace Ellengreen, and your father is a General in the
King’s army. I don’t think he would like to hear about your
relationship with Dar.”

Grace stiffened. She wanted to
scoff about how old-fashioned her father was, unable to see how the
norms between men and women were changing, independent of parental
desires, but she didn’t want to admit anything to this stranger.
Whatever had caused it, the hostility between her father and Dar’s
was enough to keep her quiet. Or enough to search out Dar in the
first place. Probably both.

“Our nonexistent relationship?”
she asked. “What are you going to tell him, that even though Sir
Dar and Lady Rebekah have been courting for eight
months—”

“I’ll tell him about your meeting
in the greenhouse.”

Grace froze and she clenched her
fists. How did he know about that? They’d been completely sure to
cover up their trail.

“Or the time at the masquerade
ball.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about.” Her voice came out stronger than she felt.

“I’ll tell him if it will get you
away from Dar. He’ll only bring you danger and death.”

“Who are you, that you have such
an interest in my well-being?” Perhaps this man was an admirer. Was
he saying these things because they were true or because he wanted
her? It may be conceited to think such things, but why else would
he be warning her? He couldn’t be telling the truth about Dar.
There was no way.

“I already told you, you won’t
find out.” The man backed away. “Take heed, Lady Grace. Don’t let
your foolishness run away with you.”

Grace glared at him as he moved
toward the stable. She rushed after him, raising her skirts and
nearly tripping over loose stones in the road. She intended to
follow him, but when she reached the stable, his horse went
galloping past her, sending up a cloud of dirt that made her cough.
He faded into the darkness, and she knew she’d never catch up to
him without more comfortable riding clothes on.

Her heart pounded as she untied and
mounted her horse. Who was he? Why did he care what she did with
Dar? Would he tell anyone about her relationship with Dar? And did
any of the things he’d said have truth to them?

She and Dar had started seeing each
other six months ago. It was just kisses at first, but then they
began to meet at night, talking in earnest, sending private
letters, meeting in Sir Henry’s vineyard. They kept their
relationship secret since he made no indication of wanting to leave
Lady Rebekah, and the thought of doing something without the
knowledge of her parents or older brother excited her. She soon
started to feel taken advantage of, even though they weren’t
sleeping together, and whenever she tried to press the issue of him
breaking it off with Rebekah, he would push the conversation
elsewhere.

A familiar sense of indignation
rose up in her on the way back to the manor. Why did he insist on
remaining quiet about her? Maybe he was ashamed of her and he just
used her father’s hostility toward his family as an excuse. But
then that would mean he’d lied to her again and again when he said
she was unlike other nobles, unlike anyone he’d ever met before.
She didn’t think she could accept that he’d been lying the entire
time. His feelings for her weren’t a lie. They couldn’t be, not
when he gained nothing but her company from their relationship, not
even sex.

She played the
conversation with the hooded man over and over in her mind.
Two different worlds. Not safe. No good. Danger
and death.
For weeks she’d tried to
reconcile her situation with Dar. She’d give Dar one chance to
explain what the man was talking about, and then…

She didn’t want it to end; but was
the curiosity she’d had about Dar since they were children enough
to keep her with him? She couldn’t deny he was one of her best
friends now. The last six months had been some of the happiest of
her life. She sometimes felt as though she was becoming a woman
because of her time with him, as though the world was being opened
up to her.

Was it those things or was it the
mystery of him, the rebelliousness of being with the son of a man
her father hated, the feel of knowing she could have something that
belonged to Rebekah Mortren, whom she’d envied since she was young?
She couldn’t tell where her real feelings for him began.

The Ellengreen estate was quite
large, even for a noble family. The stone manor loomed high in the
sky, blocking out the stars. Gardens and grassy lawns surrounded
it. Almond trees lined along the back of the manor. Grace’s father
allowed peasants to use the fruit for income, taking a profit of
the money they earned.

Grace approached the stables
slowly. Her mother went to bed around eight o’clock, and her father
was training with troops, but she knew her brother had recently
been taking late night rides. She and Dar had narrowly avoided him
a few times over the last couple weeks. Tonight, however, his horse
was in its stall.

Grace dismounted her horse and led
it to its stall. When she turned around, someone stood in the door,
and she jumped in shock. She recognized Dar’s face and put her hand
over her heart. “Don’t do that!”

Dar chuckled. He glanced at the
horse and Grace’s traveling cloak. “Where have you
been?”

Grace came out of the stall,
closing the door behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“I just thought I’d drop by. I
whistled nearly twenty minutes ago.” He reached for her waist, but
Grace stepped away.

“I was at the Boar’s Bar,” she
said.

Dar’s brow furrowed. “At this hour?
Why?”

She took the note from her pocket
and held it out for him. He read it, then looked at her with wide
eyes. “Did you go alone?”

She huffed. “Oh, I forgot you’re
still with my father in the last century. I can take care of
myself.” She opened her cloak and showed him where her dagger hung
from her waist.

“As skillful as you are, without
it, you’d be powerless. You’re not exactly someone of stature.” He
half-smiled, holding his hand up to her head, which barely reached
his shoulders.

She glared at him. “I’m not
completely helpless.”

He waved a hand. “All right,
whatever you say.” He held up the note. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know. He never took his
hood off, but he knows about us.”

Dar’s eyes widened, and he
straightened up. “How?”

“I don’t know. He knows about the
greenhouse and the masquerade ball.”

“What did he want?”

Grace paused, meeting his eyes. “He
said you were dangerous.”

Dar broke eye contact, and his
shoulders sagged.

So there was some truth to it. “He
said you would only bring me danger and death, that you were no
good for me, we were from two different worlds.” Grace tried to
catch his eyes again, but he was looking at her horse now.
“Dar?”

He shook his head. “I should have
known this couldn’t last.”

“What do you mean?” When he said
nothing, she put her hands on his shoulders and turned him to face
her. “What was he talking about?”

Dar stepped away, running a hand
through his dark hair. “What did he look like?”

“I told you I didn’t see
him.”

“What about his skin
color?”

She paused. “It was
fair.”

“As fair as yours?”

“It was dark in the pub, I don’t
know. What does it matter?”

“What does it matter?” he
repeated, looking at her sharply. “I need to know who he is. And
why he’d lure you out there alone, just to… he could have killed
you!”

“There were plenty of people
around,” she lied. “Now, tell me what he was talking
about.”

He didn’t respond. He was pacing
around in the straw, mumbling under his breath.

“What did he mean, two different
worlds? Shyra?” Grace asked, raising her voice. Dar’s home state
wasn’t so different from Renaul. “It’s not so—”

“He’s right.” Dar stopped pacing
and looked at Grace. “I was stupid to think this could
work.”

She frowned and felt the familiar
fear of incompetence. She clenched her hands into fists. “Right. I
should have known, too. I was just a few thrills on the side while
you and Rebekah—”

“Rebekah?” Dar scoffed. “Oh,
please, Grace, she’s nothing. Our courtship is an act, a
cover-up.”

“A cover-up for what?”

“No. This is… bigger than just us.
I shouldn’t have brought you into this.”

“Into what?” Grace asked, but she
knew she was losing him. He was already drifting away, his
stubbornness taking over the one-sided conversation. She swore and
struck the stall door next to her. “I should have ended this a long
time ago, before you made me feel like a complete fool.”

Dar nodded. “I should go back to
Shyra.”

Her mouth fell open, and she stared
at him. “What?” That was the last thing she’d been expecting. Why
wasn’t he defending himself?

Dar stared past her, and she
stepped forward, trying to put herself in his line of
vision.

“Don’t I deserve to know what’s
going on?”

“Grace, don’t—”

“We’ve been together for six
months!” Her voice was unsteady. “I think I have a right to know
what that man was talking about!”

“No, you don’t.” He started pacing
again. “I can’t do this any longer. I keep trying to have it both
ways, have you and be normal, but it can’t be that way. I have two
choices now: giving you everything or leaving you behind.” He
stopped, looking at Grace. He closed the distance between them. He
leaned forward to set his forehead against hers. Her breath caught
in her throat, and she closed her eyes. “You don’t know how much I
want that first choice… but I can’t do that. We’re both lucky he
decided to warn you instead of…”

Grace opened her
eyes and took hold of his shirt. She knew if she asked the
questions burning inside her—
instead of
what? Are you dangerous? Why?
—he’d
withdraw from her.

“You don’t have to leave,” she
said. The distance was so far, nearly two days. She’d resolved to
let go of their late night meetings, but couldn’t imagine not even
seeing him at social events. “You don’t have to go back to
Shyra.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re not going to tell me the
truth, are you?” she whispered.

Dar shook his head. “I want to keep
you safe.”

Grace took a step back, fighting
off tears. “For all I know, you could have sent someone to tell me
those things, just so you could have a way out.” Her voice came out
shaky, and she hated it.

His eyes widened.
“Grace.”

“You knew I’d go, even though it
was stupid.”

Dar raised his voice. “I didn’t
send that note.”

“Then who did?” Grace demanded.
She couldn’t believe this was happening, that he was treating her
like this, like the last six months meant nothing to
him.

“I can’t tell you.”

“You
won’t
tell me. But I
could find out.”

“Really? How are you going to do
that?”

She glared at him. Dar touched the
side of her face and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Don’t
make this harder for either of us. That man was right; I’m not safe
for you.”