The Chocolatier's Wife (73 page)

“That
is
not
fair.
Stop
being
peevish,
William.
I
believed
your
innocence from
the b
e
ginning.”

“It
is
never
pleasant
to
hear
one’s
betrothed
say
such
things,
especially introducing
the
subject
so
as
to
be
a
complete
surprise.
Tell
me,
Tasmin,
did the sincerity of my r
e
action seem real to you,
or
do you still have
doubts?”

“I
never
doubted you.” She poured all her sincerity into it.

“Really
dear.
You
should
practice
lying
in
front
of
the
mirror, at
least twenty
mi
n
utes
a
day.”
He
spoke
as
if
he
didn’t
care, just
went
about
his business. “‘Tis
what L
a
voussier
and
his kind
do.”

“If
I
doubted
you, why
would
I
have come?”
She
studied
him, and realized
he
looked
a
bit
tired.
Of
course,
the
events
would
wear
on him. One only had so much energy.

The
bell
rang,
and
William
called,
“Back
here.”
He
looked
at
her,
raised his
ey
e
brows
as
if
to
ask,
“Well?”
but
she
looked
away, feeling
frustrated and
a
bit
guilty.
Her
head
came
back
up
as
a
young
man
came
in bearing
a letter.
William
paid
him
a
coin, told
him
to
get
some
chocolate,
and
began working
the seal.

“That
coat ...
is it common
wear for
boys of a
certain age?”

“No.
It’s
the messenger service.
Remember Mrs.
Hobbs?”

“And
only
the
messenger
service
wears
that
coat?” She
took
his
cider and
drank
of it,
thinking.

“You would be correct,”
he said,
reading.

“Were
you
in
the
messenger
service?”
He
gave
her
a
look,
to
which
she replied, “‘tis a
fair
question!”

“Nay,
I
would
not
have
been
handsome
enough
to
qualify. Anyway, never
needed the position.”

“Huh.”
She
sipped
the
cider
again. A
peek
through
her
lashes
revealed that
he
was
glaring
at
her
over the
letter.
“Just
wondered.
I
was
going through
the
drawers
in
your
old
room,
and
found
the
sweetest
little
replica naval jacket, some
shoes,
and
a
jacket
exactly
like
the
one
I
just
saw
that young man
wearing.”

He
sat
down
next
to
her,
the
letter
tossed
aside.
“You
are
quite
certain?” He looked pleased. “You must go and
fetch it out.”

“I
can’t.” She
looked
at
him
apologetically.
“The
other
day
the
whole drawer
was
empty.
The
same
day
the
dress
was
taken,
someone
cleared
out your things and
the coat.”

He
cursed.
“I
suppose
this
goes
on
the
list
of
evidence
against
me.
After all,
it was in
my old room.”

She smiled and
made a
point of studying him
suspiciously. “Hmm.
But I
am
a
mage, and
I
can
divine that
you
do
not
have
a
murderous
bone
in your body.”

“Ah.
Well.
Thank you.
If
I
had
known it
to
be
that
easy,
we
could
have gone to trial.”

She
grinned,
and then
noticed
that
the
cup
was
empty.
He
reached
the pitcher
over
and
poured
some
more.
“Do
we
assume
the
person
who
hid
it was
the
messe
n
ger,
or
was
it
planted
there
by
someone
paid
by
the
killer to do it?”

He
took
the
cup
off
of
her,
and
drank
from
the
spot
her
lips
had
touched. It
was
not
sensuously
done,
just
as
if
turning
the
cup
specifically
to
that
spot was
something
he
did
every
time
he
drank. “The
thing
about
murders
is that
people
tend
to
try
and
hide
it
as
much
as
possible,
I
reckon.
The
more people who know
something, the more
likely the killer
is to get caught.”

One of the sprites had returned. She could tell because it had tromped through
some
flour
spilled
on
the
counter.
She
watched
as
little
foot
prints appeared
on
the
table
in
front of
them,
sneaking
for
a
taste
of
her
pie.
She broke it
in
half,
and
then
broke the
half
open
so
that
it
could
get
to
the tasty
part,
and
not
fill
up,
and
a
sprite
would,
on
the
crust.
“So,
if
it
was
the supposed delivery boy himself, who would be small enough to pass?”

“A
couple
of
the
servants.
Mrs.
Hobbs
would
certainly
have
recognized

Andrew,
though
he’s
almost
slight
enough
for
the
role,
and
you.”
He
winked
at her. She felt quite relieved at this final
evidence he’d forgiven her.

“The
delivery
boy
could
not
possibly
be
a
woman
.
”
S
he
frowned,
trying to reme
m
ber what Mrs.
Hobbs said.

He
seemed
to
be
about
ready
to
disagree,
but
changed
the
subject.
“We shall
have
to
see
what
we
can
find
out.
Are
you
going
to
the
Magister’s Masquerade tonight?”

She grinned.
“Oh! For
certain! I
even bought a
dress for
the occasion.”

“Well,
I
do
hope
it
will
match
the
mask
I
purchased
for
you.”
He
got
up
and
started
rummaging
around
the
cupboards.
“I
do
not
recall
taking
it
upstairs.”

“You
bought
me
a
mask!” She
felt
quite
happy
at
the
thought,
and wished she had gotten him
something as well.