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Gone Every coin she had ever saved The bag of treasure the knight had brought her And even worse, the sheriff’s one She reached into the hole, confirht sent a spear of disbelief through her Pain and shock linked ar of her life Worse than fear or sorrow or the dread of i punishment It hurt with a frenzy when she realized what she had done She had sent Colvin to the Pilgriht Colvin to the Abbey kitchen was not a knight or a maston He was, in fact, a wretched himself – a wretched who had also been raised at Muirwood but fled before his obligation to serve was fulfilled He knew the abbey grounds as well as Lia and could walk in theturned around or lost That was a key reason why his services were so valuable to the sheriff of Mendenhall Lia would not have re when he abandoned his debt and the abbey But others would have recognized his expression, the tilt of his head, the way he ss with clever words Or his inability to resist thieving With a little bit of skill and flexibility, he could climb part of the rounded stone bulwarks near the doorway on either side of the kitchen doors, and frolass panels ee, he had watched where Lia kept her treasures Not only did it cost hi to win back the sheriff’s amulet, but he had also laid claied what little shreds of conscience he had left, but in the larger context, he was doing her a favor A harsh lesson would teach her the rest of her life not to trust the strangers of the world Lessons he had learned in a thousand cruel ways
He glanced down at the twisting vines and leaves thatabout it that attracted hireat deal to the right people, he was sure Did he really want to tell Alirl? After all, the girl could have given it to the Alder it herself Had he not noticed a bit of twine around her neck? Was there another path he could take, a way to turn the situation around yet again and earn even ly few coins, though his knight-ood price in the local market, especially if it was sold while he was put to death in the village square for treason Some fool would play handsomely for it in the frenzy of passion that accoet more coin from the lad prior to his punishment? Perhaps an offer to deliver words to a loved one after the sheriff seized hiination There had to be a way And since the lad had never seen his face, he would not knoho he was dealing so treacherously with him
He slipped the ahtly
He wondered how ood name would be tarnished Would Muirwood Abbey be sha of the Winterrowd plot? If that happened, it orth all the treasure in his bag Unable to help it, he started to chuckle It had the s of a merry day
It was hard for Lia to breathe The feelings that smote inside her were toobetrayal Fury – searing, scalding, ravaging fury at the thief who deceived her How glibly he had done it His words had achieved their every intention By ly trusted him all thefooled so easily She was a fool Noas a serpent Her own cunning had probably surprised him He was the one who sent the sheriff to the Muirwood kitchens and only blind luck had prevented Al the Aldermaston’s kitchen first instead of the learner kitchen If that had happened, Colvin would have been caught in their midst – and she an accomplice
She had been so sure of herself, so sure that she would be able to outwit the from her lashes, she whisked the dirt and spilled seeds into a pile Truth was painful Her own greed had hastened the deception The desire to read had driven her for as long as she could re the look in Colvin’s eyes as he promised to help her achieve that dreah loudly to keep Pasqua ignorant of the sobs that threatened to completely break open How could she have been so blind? What was there to do? Colvin was on horseback The village lay beyond the abbey walls He was probably at the inn already