“A powder you take once a day that protects you from conceiving. One must be careful using it for if you wish to conceive, even if you cease consuming the powder, it can take some time to leave the system and long-term usage can make conception difficult. But it’s effective.”
“Okay, let’s get me some of that,” I said swiftly.
His hand tightened around mine and his lips twitched. “I’ll see to that without delay.”
I nodded enthusiastically.
He pressed his lips together, his eyes lit with humor then he pulled our hands to his mouth and touched my knuckles to his lips.
I quit freaking about all the unprotected sex we had last night and my heart flipped.
He kept my hand to his lips and his voice was so quiet, so gentle, I had to lean further forward to hear him when he asked a very big question with two simple words, “Your children?”
“Can we not talk about that now?” I whispered.
“Of course, poppy,” he replied.
I thanked him with my eyes as I tried to force my body to relax.
“Ulfr!”
His name called jovially made me jump and turn my head to see a man in much the same clothing as Apollo (but with a neck cloth and his shirt was blue) coming to our table. He was also stout, had a bit of white at the temples of his black hair and my guess was he was shorter than Apollo by about three inches and older than Apollo by about ten years.
He was smiling at Apollo but his smile went weird when his eyes hit me.
“Danforth,” Apollo said, giving my fingers a squeeze and letting them go.
He stood and offered his hand, the man taking it and gripping hard at the same time he clapped Apollo on the shoulder a half a dozen times in a way that a lesser man would fall to his knee.
Apollo didn’t budge, if you didn’t count his jaw going hard.
I took this as him not liking the greeting much, and/or the man.
Then suddenly, he let Apollo go and turned to me with a sharp movement and something a creepy bit more than curiosity in his eyes.
“And who might this be?” he asked.
It was then I remembered who I looked like and my insides froze.
“This is Madeleine, Lady Ulfr,” Apollo said and the man’s eyes cut immediately back to him as his body gave a visible start.
“Lady Ulfr?” he said in a weighty tone that I didn’t quite understand but I also didn’t think boded well. And I didn’t think this boded well not because I looked exactly like the no-longer-with-us Lady Ulfr but for another reason. I just didn’t know what that reason was.
“Lady Ulfr,” Apollo repeated in a firm way that brooked no return questioning.
“I had…well,”—the man threw both hands out—“I’d heard that a cousin of Ilsa’s was journeying to Karsvall from the Vale but…but…” His eyes came back to me. They were wide and assessing in a way that made me feel uncomfortable even as he finished, “This is indeed good news.”
Good news?
“It is,” Apollo agreed and the man looked back at him.
“For you, my man.” He looked again at me. “And for you, madam.” He then lifted his hand in a flourish toward his head and gave me a short bow.
I didn’t know what to do with that so when he straightened, I inclined my head.
He held out his hand, palm up, and murmured, “It is surely a pleasure to meet you, Madeleine, Lady Ulfr.”
I placed my fingers in his and replied, “And you, sir.”