When the men returned from speaking with the constables, Jacob took his family home, while Lady Chapman and Dustshore were invited to stay the night instead of chance the drive at night back to their estate. Devon and the girls had left earlier not wishing to intrude in what seemed like a private matter.
“We would be glad to stay the night,” Lady Chapman gratefully accepted, and Aunt Caroline turned to show her to the guest room.
“His Lordship can sleep in the professor’s study,” Aunt Caroline offered, before leaving the room.
“Nay!” Cleo protested a bit too forcefully, but she quickly recovered herself. “His Lordship is a guest. Lady Chapman should take my room and His Lordship should stay in the guest room. Arthur and I will sleep in the study.”
“Are you certain, my dear? It is your wedding night after all.”
Cleo blushed but nodded. “Yes, Auntie, I am certain.”
“Very well,” Caroline sighed. “Lady Chapman, Your Lordship, if you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms. Mrs. McGrath, please see that our guests have everything that they will need to be comfortable, as well as whatever the bride and groom might need for the night.”
“Aye, I will see tae it immediately,” Mrs. McGrath nodded and bustled off to find bedding for Cleo and Arthur to make a pallet upon the floor of the study.
Once they were certain that they were alone, Cleo and Arthur unlocked the study door and entered with the bedding that Mrs. McGrath had returned with, before bustling off again to see to their guests’ needs. Locking the door behind them, they quickly made their bed and fell into it exhausted, not even bothering to remove their clothing. “Are ye well, lass?” Arthur murmured, taking her into his arms.
“As well as one can be expected to be. This seems never ending,” she murmured. “Death has taken over our lives and I fear who it will deem worthy to take next.”
“I ken what ye mean, lass, but ye cannae lose hope. I am here with ye and we will find the answers tae yer faither’s murder, and his many riddles, together.”
Cleo laid her head on Arthur’s chest and listened to the quiet solid beat of his heart, steady, dependable, strong, just like its master. Camelot waddled over and crawled between them, licked Cleo’s hand, then turning around a circle, laid down and closed his eyes. Cleo smiled down at the adorable creature. “Thank you for my present,” she murmured, reaching out a finger to scratch the top of the puppy’s head.
“Aye, I am glad that ye like him,” Arthur’s chest rumbled with a deep chuckle. He reached down and patted the puppy’s back affectionately. The puppy lifted his head and took one of Arthur’s fingers to chew on. Camelot growled playfully as he sank his teeth into the calloused skin. “Are ye hungry, lad?” The puppy stopped chewing to look up at Arthur, then whined as if to say that he was. “Aye, me tae. I just realized that I did nae actually get tae eat anything.”
Cleo looked at him in surprise. “Arthur, you must be famished!” Scrambling up from the floor, Cleo moved toward the door.
“Where are ye going, lass?” Arthur asked, looking up at her from the floor.
“I am going to the kitchen to get you something to eat, of course.”
Arthur smiled affectionately at his bride, and Cleo blushed slightly. “Hold a moment and we will go with ye, Camelot and I.” He scooped the puppy up with one hand and arose from the floor in one smooth motion. Cleo marveled at the muscle of him but turned away to hide her thoughts. He was a gorgeous man to behold, and she thanked God for her blessings.
They walked together to the kitchen and Cleo gathered several items, bringing them over to the table that she and Henri had just occupied earlier in the evening. They sat down and Cleo divided the food between them, giving Camelot some of the meat scraps. They sat and ate together chatting about the events of the day and what they hoped their lives together would be like once things calmed down and they had found her father’s killer.
“Do you think we will ever know what my father meant by his parting words?”
“I dinnae ken, lass, but whether we do or nae, he will ken that ye did yer verra best tae fulfill his wishes.”
“If only he had been clearer. I suppose that he felt that he could not do so given the dangers, but I wish that things had been different.”
“Aye, as do I, lass, as do I.”
“For the Moon sets and rises in your hair…” Cleo mused quietly, leaning her head back against the wall. The lantern’s light danced across her face and hands in a cascade of flickering flames and shadows. She smiled as she watched it play across her skin. “Perhaps it was naught but a fanciful gesture of affection,” she sighed, letting her fingers dance along with the light. “I rather like the sound of it now, much more than I did before.”
“Aye,” Arthur agreed. “With ye sitting as ye are, the light dancing across your face and hair, shimmering in the milky white glass ye wear there, one could almost see it.” At his own words, Arthur’s eyes grew wide and he stood, reaching out to pluck the hairpins from her hair. He held them up to the light and his face took on an awestruck expression.
Dropping the milky glass to the floor, he stomped down on them with his boot. “Arthur! How could you?!” Cleo cried out falling to her knees, to pick up the shattered pieces of glass only to find it had crumbled to naught but dust. “Arthur,” she sobbed, so upset that she felt she might be sick.
“Cleo, open yer eyes and look, lass,” Arthur gently instructed. “Look.”
Cleo opened her eyes and looked down at what remained of the hairpin upon the floor. There before her in perfect ornate beauty lay a golden, silver entwined, almandine garnet masterpiece of the most elegant design. “Arthur,” she breathed, in disbelief. “How did you know?” she asked, unsure of what to say. She picked it up and held it up to the light.
“It was the lantern light. It framed yer hair, like a halo, revealing what lie within the glass.”
“This is what Father was talking about all of this time, but why? As beautiful as it is, what could it possibly mean to have caused so much pain and death?”
“That is none of your concern,” a voice from the doorway replied, a sinister edge tinging every word.
