The Reckless Oath We Made - Bryn Greenwood Page 0,148

metal fell on the floor.

“I think that’s a very noble gesture,” Bill said, “but the property taxes come due on December first, and it’s quite a bit of money that has to be paid all at once.”

“I can pay it.”

Charlene came stomping into the dining room and tossed two things onto the table in front of me. An envelope from the tax assessor in Chautauqua County and a loan payment book.

“Sure, you go on ahead and pay it,” she said.

Bill didn’t say anything, so I looked at the tax bill first. Almost four thousand dollars, which wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. The next coupon in the payment book was for November first, in a week. Five hundred and eighty dollars. I rounded up and did the math in my head. The mortgage and taxes were about eleven thousand dollars a year.

Rosalinda’s phone had been practice for the idea of giving away money. The fifty thousand for LaReigne would go to Marcus. I wouldn’t touch that. But I had thirty-four thousand dollars for me in the safety deposit box. That would almost pay off my medical bills, but it would also pay three years of the mortgage and taxes on Gentry’s land. And I could add to that. I could pick up a few more shifts, or if worse came to worst, I could do the run for Toby. I just had to keep everything afloat until Gentry got on his feet again. I put the tax bill back in the envelope and stuffed the coupon book in there, too.

“I promise I’ll pay it,” I said. It was all I’d come there for, so I pushed my chair back from the table and stood up. “Just, please, don’t tell Gentry. You can tell him whatever you want, but don’t tell him I’m paying it.”

“You’re sure?” Bill said.

I nodded and said, “Thanks.”

I didn’t wait for them to walk me to the front door. I knew where it was.

When I got to the foyer, I heard Charlene say, “She’s never going to pay that.”

“We’ll see, I guess,” Bill said.

As I went down the sidewalk, the front door opened behind me and Trang called my name. I waved at him over my shoulder, but kept walking. He came after me, crunching through the leaves, all the way to the car.

“I’m glad to see you,” he said. “Gentry asked me to give you this, but I didn’t know where to send it.”

He held out an envelope that had my name written on it. Lady Zhorzha Trego. I didn’t want it. Some of the worst anxiety I’d had in the last six months was about someday seeing Gentry or hearing from him. I could pay the mortgage and the taxes on Bryn Carreg, as long as I never had to open that envelope and read that letter, but Trang was holding it out, so I took it.

“It’s a visitation form. So you can be on the list to go visit him. He wanted to mail it to you, but we didn’t have your address.”

“Why would he want to see me?” I said, even though I could think of a few reasons, and they were none of them good. The way I felt about seeing LaReigne, I figured that was how Gentry would feel about seeing me. He’d stopped seeing Miranda and her kids because they’d been rude, and I’d done a lot worse. I could never live up to Gentry’s standards.

“You’re kidding, right?” Trang laughed. “He’s your champion. You’re his lady. You respect him for what he’s good at.”

“I still don’t think—”

“My mother threw his sword out. The big one over his bed. She took it and got rid of it. I know she’s upset, but she doesn’t care at all about chivalry or his knighthood. You do, and that matters to him. So yeah, he wants to see you.”

“Okay,” I said, even though I didn’t mean it. I just wanted to escape without crying.

Trang stuck out his hand, so I took it. Except instead of shaking my hand, he bent over it, like Gentry would have.

“Fare thee well, Lady Zhorzha. We shall meet again.”

“Thank you, Sir Trang.”

He laughed and shook his head.

“Not yet, but one of these days.” He let go of my hand and waved at me as he jogged back up to the house.

I was such a coward, it took me two days to open that envelope. Like Trang had said, it was a visitation application form for Arkansas Department of Corrections