Medieval 02 - Forbidden

his wrist.”
    “Hardly enough to restrain a warrior of Duncan’s size,” Dominic said dryly. “Unless this Amber is a new Boadicea come to slay men with her mighty sword.”
    “The sword she used to slay Duncan—”
    “What?” Meg interrupted starkly. “You said Duncan was well!”
    Simon looked into Meg’s clear green eyes and wished himself anywhere else.
    “I know you have tenderness for him,” Simon said.
    Dominic looked grim. Despite his certainty of Meg’s love, Dominic found he had little liking of his wife’s affection for her childhood friend, Duncan of Maxwell.
    “But,” Simon continued grimly, “I fear the hell-witch Amber has taken Duncan’s soul.”
    “Is he dead?” Dominic demanded.
    “No. Nor is he alive, not in the way we knew him.”
    “Explain.”
    The quality of Dominic’s voice made Sven shiftand look at his lord’s mantle uneasily. The eyes of the great pin glittered with reflected firelight as though intelligent, alive, and every bit as savage as the man who wore it.
    “It is as I told you,” Simon said distinctly. “Duncan remembers nothing of the time before he came to the Disputed Lands.”
    “Are you certain?” Dominic asked. “Could he not be like Sven, pretending to be someone he isn’t in order to spy out the land?”
    “I prayed that was the truth,” Simon said.
    Meg simply shook her head. Tears glittered in her eyes as she remembered Duncan’s forthright nature.
    “He is not like Sven,” Meg said, “an actor capable of many roles.”
    “A man may learn to act when his life depends on it,” Dominic pointed out.
    Meg closed her eyes for a moment. When they opened again, they were those of an unflinching Glendruid healer. It was the same when she spoke, her voice devoid of all emotion.
    “Continue, Simon,” Meg said. “I would hear more of Duncan’s transformation. I would hear everything .”
    Uneasily Simon looked at Dominic. There was nothing in Dominic’s face to comfort Simon.
    “I showed no sign I recognized Duncan,” Simon said, turning back to Meg. “He kept staring at me as though trying to decide if he knew me.”
    “How was he introduced to you?” she asked.
    “As a man whose memory was gone.”
    “What did they call him?”
    “Duncan,” Simon said.
    “Why?”
    “Because he is dark and a warrior. At least, that is what Erik said.”
    “Did they explain how Duncan lost his memory?”
    “Nay,” Simon said savagely. “Erik said he found Duncan in a storm, senseless and naked but for that amber talisman you had given him.”
    “Sven?” Meg asked.
    “I heard naught but what Simon did.”
    “The talisman saved his life,” Simon said.
    “How so?” Dominic asked.
    “Erik was expecting Duncan of Maxwell or his knights. A common stranger would have been killed as a spy or an outlaw. But a stranger wearing an amber talisman was different.”
    “They took Duncan to Amber the Untouched,” Meg summarized.
    Simon looked curiously at her, wondering how she had known.
    “Yes,” Sven said quietly. “It is said that all things amber belong to her.”
    “Yes,” Meg said.
    For the space of several slow breaths she looked into a distance only Glendruid eyes could see.
    “Did you know, small falcon?” Dominic asked Meg softly. “Is that why you gave the talisman to Duncan?”
    “I dreamed of amber,” she said. “And I dreamed that Duncan was going into great danger.”
    Dominic smiled slightly. “I knew about the danger while wide awake. ’Tis why I sent Duncan to secure Stone Ring Keep. Only a powerful warrior could take an estate in the Disputed Lands.”
    “And only a wealthy knight could hire enough fighters to hold such an estate,” Simon added.
    “Aye,” Dominic said. “’Tis why King Henry arranged a wedding with the daughter of Charles, the Baron of Deguerre.”
    “Don’t count on the marriage,” Simon said bluntly.
    “Why not?”
    “The people of Sea Home were making wagers on how soon Amber would wed Duncan theNameless, the one man whom she could touch with pleasure.”
    “God’s teeth.” snarled Dominic. “Duncan must be mad. Lady Ariane arrived here three days ago!”
    Simon looked surprised. “I saw no strange men or servants in the bailey.”
    “She came alone but for a lady’s maid and three knights to guard her dowry,” Meg said.
    “The knights left as soon as they saw the dowry safely inside the keep,” Dominic added.
    “Hardly the way I would expect a great baron to treat his