Medieval 02 - Forbidden

suspect that Amber’s is more curse than gift,” Dominic said in a low voice.
    “Are you saying that my touch alone did that to her?” Simon asked, appalled.
    “Your touch told her of your hatred,” Meg said. “You have little trust in women, especially those with gifts.”
    Simon didn’t deny it. “I make an exception for you, Meg.”
    “I know. I have seen it in you.”
    “Are you smiling lovingly at my brother?” Dominic asked Meg in an ambiguous tone.
    Simon gave Dominic a sideways, wary glance.
    Meg laughed softly.
    “Of all men who walk the land,” she said, “you have the least cause to be jealous.”
    “Aye. But Simon is a handsome devil.”
    “So is Duncan,” Simon retorted.
    Dominic grunted. “Seeing him with his witch, I no longer worry that he looks at Meg with more than friendship in his eyes.”
    Simon followed Dominic’s glance to where Duncan lay cradling Amber against his body.
    “Aye,” Simon whispered. “What do we do now?”
    “What we must,” Dominic said quietly.
    “And that is?”
    “Question him before the witch awakens.”
    “Let me,” Meg said.
    After a brief hesitation, Dominic nodded.
    “All right, small falcon. He remembers you with…affection.” Dominic smiled thinly. “His memories of me might be somewhat different.”
    “Particularly if he remembers what happened in the church,” Simon said sardonically.
    Meg gave Dominic a sideways glance. She knew quite well how little her husband like remembering Duncan and John’s plan to wed her to the Scots Hammer—over Dominic’s freshly killed body.
    “Duncan,” Meg said.
    Though her voice was gentle, it wasn’t timid. She was the lady of a great keep and a Glendruid healer, and she meant to have Duncan’s attention.
    He looked up, his eyes wild with shades of darkness.
    “Is she better?” Meg asked.
    “Her skin feels less cool,” Duncan said.
    Muted cries of bells marked Meg’s progress toward the girl who lay unmoving in Duncan’s arms. Meg bent closer but didn’t touch Amber.
    “How does her heart feel beneath your hand?” Meg asked.
    “Strong. Steady.”
    “Excellent. She appears to be in a healing sleep rather than in a stupor. When she is ready, she will wake without lasting harm.”
    Meg stood and watched Duncan’s large hand smooth hair back from Amber’s face. Though asleep, Amber seemed almost to follow the caress the way a flower follows the sun across the sky.
    “I take it your touch doesn’t wound her,” Meg murmured.
    “Nay.”
    “Odd,” Meg said.
    “Aye. The people of Stone Ring Keep were much surprised.”
    Meg sensed Dominic’s sudden, intense interest at Duncan’s mention of the contested keep.
    “Is Amber from Stone Ring Keep?” Meg asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Vassal to Erik, called the Undefeated?”
    Duncan smiled strangely. “Aye. They were childhood friends, much as you and I were. He and a Learned witch called Cassandra are Amber’s closest friends.”
    A gust of wind blew through the camp, stirring Meg’s robes and setting hidden golden bells to crying. The sound caught Duncan’s attention.
    “You never used to wear such jewelry,” he said. “Did you?”
    “No. They were my husband’s gift. Golden jesses for his small falcon.”
    Duncan looked back down at Amber’s face. He stroked her cheek tenderly. It was warm beneath his touch.
    The icy fist that had squeezed Duncan’s heart eased somewhat. With a silent prayer of thanks, he pulled Amber even closer to his own warmth.
    “What do you remember of the time before you came to the Disputed Lands?” Meg asked.
    “Very little. Not even my true name.”
    “Duncan is your true name.”
    “Nay. Duncan is the name Amber gave me when I awakened with no more memory than a babe has.” He brushed his lips over Amber’s eyelids. “She touched me, knew me, and named me dark warrior. Duncan.”
    A single black eyebrow rose, emphasizing Dominic’s skepticism. But a quick warning look from Meg ensured his silence.
    “How did you find Amber?” Meg asked.
    “I didn’t. Erik discovered me inside Stone Ring, at the foot of the sacred rowan.”
    Meg became very still.
    “I was naked,” Duncan said, “senseless, and had nothing of my possessions with me but an amber talisman.”
    His head snapped up suddenly.
    “You gave it to me,” he said to Meg.
    “Yes.”
    “I remembered that as in a misty dream, the color of your hair and eyes, but not your name or where you were or why you would give something