He could still hear muffled voices on the other side of the wall to the right of the fireplace and the bronze horsesThis strange room with its laden, sumptuously covered tables and the grim portraits on the dark walls seemed to be a chamber in some waking tranceHe remembered Catriana singing that morning, her voice yearning upwards to where the pipes of Tregea calledHe remembered her eyes as she paused in the doorway they'd both passed throughTruly he felt as if he were not entirely awake, not in the world he knew
And in that mood Devin heard himself say, over a sudden constriction in his throat, "Could we not begin then? Is there not a sharing we could start?"
Once more she hesitatedHer eyes were wide but impossible to read in the uncertain lightShe shook her head though and remained where she was, standing straight and very still on the far side of the room
"I think not," she said quietly"Not on the road I'm on, Devin d'AsoliBut I thank you
chanel jumbo xl bag for asking, and I will not deny that a part of me might wish things otherwiseI have little time now though, and a thing I must do herePlease, will you leave me?"
He had scarcely expected to find or feel so much regret, over and above all the nuances the morning had already carriedHe nodded his head, there was nothing else he could think of to do or say, and this time he did turn to go
But a portal had indeed been crossed in the Sandreni Palace that morning and in exactly the moment that Devin turned they both heard voices again, but this time from behind him
"Oh, Triad!" Catriana hissed, snapping the mood like a fishbone"I am cursed in all I turn my hands to!" She spun back to the fireplace, her hands frantically feeling around the underside of the mantelpiece"For the love of the goddesses be silent!" she whispered harshly
The urgency in her voice made Devin freeze and obey
"He said he knew who built this palace," he heard her mutter under her
orange prada bag breath"That it should be right overDevin heard a latch clickA section of the wall to the right of the fire swung slightly open to reveal a tiny cubbyhole beyond
"Don't stand there gawking, fool!" Catriana whispered fiercely"Quickly!" A new voice had joined the others behind him; there were three nowDevin leaped for the concealed door, slipped inside beside Catriana, and together they pulled it shut
A moment later they heard the door on the far side of the room click open
"Oh, Morian," Catriana groaned, from the heart"Oh, Devin, why are you here?"
Addressed thusly, Devin found himself quite incapable of framing an adequate responseFor one thing, he still couldn't say why he'd followed her; for another, the closet where they were hiding was only marginally large enough for the two of them, and he became increasingly aware of the fact that Catriana's perfume was filling the tiny space with a heady, unsettling scent
If he had been half in a dream a
knockoff chanel jewelry moment ago he abruptly found himself wide awake and in dangerous proximity to a woman he had seriously desired for the past two weeks
Catriana seemed to arrive, belatedly, at the same sort of awareness; he heard her make a small sound in a register somewhat different from beforeDevin closed his eyes, even though it was pitch-black in the hidden closetHe could feel her breath tickling his forehead, and he was conscious of the fact that by moving his hands only a very little he could encircle her waist
He held himself carefully motionless, tilting back from her as best he could, his own breathing deliberately shallowHe felt more than sufficiently a fool for having created this ridiculous situation, he wasn't about to compound his rapidly growing catalogue of sins by making a grope for her in the darkness
Catriana's robe rustled gently as she shifted positionHer thigh brushed hisDevin drew a ragged breath, which caused him to inhale more of her scent
omega speedmaster moon watch than was entirely good for him, given his virtuous resolutions
"Sorry," he whispered, though she was the one who'd movedHe felt beads of perspiration on his browTo distract himself he tried to focus on the sounds from outsideBehind him the shuffling of feet and a steady, diffused murmur made it clear that people were still filing past Sandre's bier
To his left, in the room they'd just fled, three voices could be distinguishedOne was, curiously, almost recognizable
"I had the servants posted with the body across the way, it gives us a moment before the others come
"Did you notice the coins on his eyes?" a much younger voice asked, crossing to the outer wall where the laden tables were
"Of course I noticed," the first man replied acerbicallyWhere had Devin heard that tone? And recently"Who do you think spent an evening scrounging up two astins from twenty years ago? Who do you think arranged for all of this?"
The third voice was heard, laughing
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