Awry

29

Cornelius stared at the peasant woman for a long time. She was probably close to him in age, but she looked much younger. She wore a simple dress with few tears and thin leather shoes, stained with mud and the sun.

Most of her appearance suggested she was rather poor. Everything but the cloak she had draped over her head and shoulders and the silver brooch she had pinned to her chest.

The cloak was a deep red, thick, and made of velvet. It hung loosely around her pretty face, covering her head and gathering at her shoulders before falling to the floor with a short train.

The brooch was a silver circle, shining as if it were polished every day. It was larger than any brooch he’d seen before and had a small design on the side.

Expensive, for sure.

These two apparel oddities, in contrast to the woman’s peasant dress, suggested to Cornelius that she, at one time, had great money.

Which intrigued him greatly.

“What is your name?” He sat back in his court chair.

“Ana Jacobs,” she replied, bowing her head slightly. Her eyes were golden and sharp, not submissive like most women from the village.

Yes. She was definitely from money.

“And what do you ask of me?” Cornelius expected her to ask for money. Or food. Or a reprieve in rent.

“I have a proposal for you. An offering.”

Cornelius raised a brow. “Go on.”

She took a deep breath. “I was told you had searched for the fountain of youth long ago. I was told you were given a vial of water from such a fountain.”

Cornelius narrowed his eyes. He did not speak of this with anyone, let alone a peasant. “Who told you such things?”

Ana looked directly at him. “The Fletcher family.”

Cornelius curled a lip. Figures. The Fletchers were a disgrace and deserved death. If not more.

“Did the Fletcher family also tell you that their vial of poison water took my wife? That she died in agony because of her addiction to the water?”

Ana looked down. “Yes. I am sorry for your loss.”

“Did you come to offer your condolences then?” Cornelius was growing impatient with the woman. Although he enjoyed her beauty, he no longer wanted to speak of the fountain of youth.

“No,” Ana said, stepping forward and looking back up at him. “I came to offer you a map to the fountain of youth.”

Cornelius paused. What trick was this?

“A map?”

Ana nodded. “A map that will lead you directly to the magical water.”

“And what makes you think I would be interested in such a map?” Cornelius narrowed his eyes. “Why would I want access to such a poison?”

Ana stared at him for a long moment. “Because the poison healed your wife before it stole her life, did it not?”

Brazen, she was. Looking at him shamelessly and speaking to him with assumption.

“You are a powerful lord,” Ana continued. “But how much more power would you have if your life would never end? Do you not seek eternal youth?”

“The water takes life, it does not give it.”

“That is because the water must be consumed daily. With a limited supply, one would perish. But with a map to the fountain, you would have an unending supply to the water. An…eternal supply.”

Cornelius stared at the woman and tapped his fingers atop the armrest of his chair.

“And you have such a map?”

Ana nodded. “I have the onlymap.”

He tilted his head. “What do you ask for in return for such a gift?”

For the first time, he saw Ana’s eyes flicker in indecision.

Ah, here is the catch.

She lifted her chin. “I ask that you join our families in marriage.”

Cornelius was taken aback. “You ask what?”

“I ask that your son, Tristan, marry my daughter, Scarlet.”

“Impossible.” Cornelius waved her off. “I know nothing of your daughter, or your family.” And just the day before, Cornelius had made an arrangement with the king that would make marrying Tristan off quite difficult.

But the woman did not need to know that.

“You know that my daughter comes with a map to the fountain of youth. My daughter,” Ana’s eyes steeled over, “can provide your family with eternal life.”

He was about to dismiss the woman, but then he hesitated, rubbing his chin.

He did indeed want the map. Who did not want to live forever? But he would have to marry off Tristan to get the map.

He would have to offer up a son in marriage.

A son….

A plan began to form in Cornelius’s head.

Gabriel and his obstinate attitude could be controlled by marriage. If Gabriel were bound to Ana’s daughter, then he would no longer entertain himself with the filthy Fletcher girl.

Cornelius could not afford to have Gabriel marry into a family of witchcraft, nor could he allow Gabriel to fraternize with Raven as if it were no great disrespect to the family.

Ana offered a solution, as well as a valuable gift. Cornelius just needed to convince her that Gabriel would be better suited for her daughter in marriage.

Or maybe he wouldn’t convince her at all.

Maybe….

“You wish that my son be wed to your daughter?” Cornelius asked carefully. “Nothing more than that? Just that my son wed your daughter?”

“Yes,” Ana replied.

“Very well.” Cornelius nodded. “I accept your proposal. Bring your daughter and the map to court tomorrow and we shall announce the engagement.”

Ana bowed, “Thank you, my lord,” and turned to leave.

“And Ana?”

Cornelius waited until the woman had turned back around before saying, “Crossing me would end in your death.”

Ana’s eyes were sharp. “I would never do such a thing.”

Cornelius waved her away. “Good.”

As she left the room, Cornelius sat back and pondered the possibility of eternal life. He had lost his wife to the fountain’s water, but the peasant was right. The water held magic. The water, if endlessly available, could keep him young and strong forever.

Yes, this would be a fine arrangement.