“I found this one by the cistern well,” she said. “Two years ago? It reminded me of the one I gave you. But you were gone . . . in the East Kingdoms . . .” She looked at him in confusion.
He’d lost it going into the well at the oasis. A gift for a gift. His knees began to tremble. It was the same one. It had to be. The Fountain had brought it to her. It had intended for them to be together all along, from the very start.
“Are you going to stand there gawping like a fish? Please tell me!” Her voice was desperate with worry.
He was still shocked to see the bracelet in her hand, the one he’d lost, but he forced himself to shake it off. She deserved an answer.
“I asked the king for your hand,” he said in a rush, looking into her eyes. “He finally said yes. The king said yes. If you’re willing. It is your choice. It’s always been your choice. If you’ve given your heart to someone else, I’ll—”
“Please! Be silent before you ruin this,” she said, reaching out and touching his chest. She bowed her head and shut her eyes, the sunlight playing on her hair in a way that made his heart ache to touch it.
Then Claire sank to her knees in front of him, shaking her head back and forth. He dropped down to one knee, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I love you, Claire, but am I too late?” he whispered, unable to read her reaction. Was she saying no?
But she lifted her head, and the exquisite joy of her smile reassured his feelings at last. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth. Her lips were so soft, yet so ardent, he felt a thrill down to his feet. And it was a completely different feeling from what he’d experienced with Alix. A deeper pleasure from a deeper connection. This, this was bliss. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her even closer. She began sobbing and laughing during the kiss and broke away, her feelings such a tangled mixture they bewildered him.
“Will you have me?” he pleaded.
“Brainless as a badger, but I love you anyway,” she said, laughing in disbelief. Her laughter prevailed over the tears, and her smile was the most brilliant thing he’d ever seen. “Of course I’m yours! I’ve only always been yours.” She stroked the edge of his mouth with her forefinger. “Do you think I would have stayed in that tower this long for anyone else? But you,” she added, giving him a playful shove, “you nearly married the Duchess of Bayree. Nearly broke my heart. No, I’m sure you did break it. I’m addled. That’s my problem. I should make you beg.” Her smile was a teasing one.
Ransom had never felt so happy as he did in that moment, kneeling in the grass, with her so close he could feel her breath on his face. He tried to take her hands, but she was still holding the bracelet.
“You lost the one I gave you, did you?” she asked suspiciously. Then she started to fasten it to his wrist.
“This is the same one,” he said.
“Only the Aos Sí could have arranged that,” she said with a smirk. She pressed a kiss to the bracelet, and then she kissed the knuckles of his scarred hands. “Do you know what you have given me, Ransom?” The look of gratitude on her face made his throat thicken with tears. “It means I can go home at last. I can be with my people again. With you! There is so much I want to show you, to share with you. I think my heart is about to burst. Is it possible to die of happiness?”
She interlaced their fingers, and he lifted their joined hands to kiss hers. “It may not be for a while yet,” he said. “But I desire to see Legault. I want to reclaim your birthright for you.”
She released him, but only so she could dig her fingers into his tunic. “You’ll let me help, surely? You cannot have all the war to yourself.”
Her emphatic words made him smile. Oh, how he adored this fierce Gaultic woman. “I don’t think I could stop you. I wouldn’t dare try.”
And he kissed her again, warmth and contentment filling him to the brim. He couldn’t believe they were together, that they would be allowed to stay together. He would do anything for her.
She broke the kiss and leaned her head at an angle, smiling contentedly. “Have you had much practice with kissing, Sir Ransom? I fear I may swoon.”
Guilt trickled into him at the thought of Alix. “I’m not like Sir James,” he said.
Claire wrinkled her nose. “You are not. You are my Ransom. I’m the one who gave you that name, and then everyone stole it from me.” She hugged him and pressed her cheek against his chest. “I want it back. I knew you before anyone else did.”
He lifted his hand and began stroking her hair. The feeling of it made his chest burn. He could get lost in her hair. He kissed some of the locks.
“You fancy my hair, do you?” she said with a teasing voice. “Everyone else thinks it’s a cursed color. I’m afraid you won’t think it so special anymore once we’re in Connaught.”
“It will always be special to me,” he said.
“Are you certain you haven’t been studying how to flatter me, Ransom? You’re doing it very well.”
“I’m not trying to flatter you, Claire. I’m too much of an eejit to try.”
She pulled away from his chest and gave him a sly look. “How long am I free from the prison? Do I have to go back to the tower soon?”
He ran his finger down her nose. “I don’t think you have to go back at all.”
He felt her body shudder, and she closed her eyes as if he’d just cast a spell on her. When she opened them again, her smile was so pleased it pained him. “Good,” she said. “I’m not done kissing you yet.”
Ransom looked at Simon in astonishment. “How much is Glosstyr worth?”
His friend laughed and gripped his shoulder. “Are you deaf? This is why the king hasn’t been quick to find another duke; he’s been enjoying the benefits himself.” He turned to Claire, who sat next to Ransom at a table in the palace kitchens. “My lady, you are the wealthiest heiress in the land. Why you would settle for him is beyond me.”
Ransom gave Simon a wounded look, but he knew his friend was jesting.
Claire propped her chin on her palms, her elbows on the table. “I didn’t feel very wealthy confined in that tower, Sir Simon.” She took one of her arms and hooked it around Ransom’s. “And I have a feeling we’ll need it in order to bring Legault to obedience. I don’t want to ask the king for help as my father did. I think the two of us can do it.”
Simon smiled and gave her an approving nod. “I’m glad to hear it, as the king’s coffers are decidedly barren. Master Hawkes is writing up the records as we speak. A courier will be sent to Glosstyr to inform the castellan with a writ. Spring is an excellent time for a marriage. Although I’m not sure Duke Benedict will wait for your nuptials before he attacks.”
“Has Benedict ever defeated you, my love?” Claire asked Ransom with a bright smile.
The endearment made him giddy inside. “No, and I don’t intend to let him win now. I hope the king will be able to broker a peace that will end this conflict.”
“As do I,” Simon said. He slapped his palms on the table. “I’m glad I found you here. I must get back to the king.”