“And that, my dove,” he whispered, “was me being selfish, thoughtless and cruel. But when I spoke those words to you, I genuinely was, and you…” He shook his head. “You had drunk adela tea and were not in control of yourself. That is not selfish, thoughtless or cruel. That is simply what was.”
“Adela tea?” she inquired.
“I’ll explain later,” he said.
Her eyes suddenly narrowed and he nearly smiled.
There she was.
“Did you order it?” she asked.
“Valentine connives,” he answered and her eyes grew huge, and at that, he did smile.
“She was here?” she queried.
“Twice,” he affirmed.
“Twice?” Her voice was pitched high and he felt his smile widen.
“Twice. I’ll explain that later too.”
She held his eyes, the astonishment left hers and dark started seeping in again but through it she asked, her voice now almost timid. “So you don’t hate me?”
He gathered her closer and whispered, “No, my poppy, I don’t hate you.”
The darkness receded and her body started to calm in his hold but she wasn’t done with her interrogation.
“Your poppy?”
His hand still in her hair pulled the tail over her shoulder and up between their faces. Sliding his thumb and finger together through the soft strands until he captured one like he was searching for, he held it and looked back to her.
“The color of poppies,” he said softly and then went on to say openly. “Ilsa did not have poppies in her hair.”
The skin around her mouth grew soft and she asked, “Did she spend much time outside?”
“She was not fond of the out of doors.”
“I am,” she whispered, again it was shyly and this time he knew why.
She was sharing something of herself with him and she was concerned how he’d take her doing it.
He dropped her hair and wrapped both arms around her, again pulling her close.
“This pleases me,” he whispered back.
Her eyes dropped to his mouth and her little white teeth came out to worry her lip.
As elated as he was that this scene was what it was rather than what he feared it would be, with her eyes on his mouth, he knew it had to end and it had to end immediately or they would not be to their sleigh for hours.
Tonight, after they talked, they would take time getting to know each other without adela tea.
Now, unfortunately, they had to be on their way.
“We must be away, my dove,” he reminded her.
She lifted her gaze to his.
“Okeydokey.”