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 Of course, my lord. And you will allow me to punish Gault as I see fit?
His mouth thinned.  Of course, my dear. I trust that you will deal with him as he deserves.
 You have my word on it.
He gave her another tight smile and nodded at Rui who took a knife from the belt at his waist and cut
the bonds about Gault s wrists. Gault s hands fell to his sides. Both Charming and the huntsman offered her
a bow as they left the garden.
Ander ran to Gault s side, taking him in his arms, but Gault shrugged him off wildly.  Leave me
alone. Don t touch me!
 Gault? said Ander, his voice breaking.
 Leave me alone, Gault repeated in a low furious voice. Weaving from side to side, he made his way
past Snow White and the other dwarves into the palace.
Ander dropped his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking.
 Ander? Snow White said gently.
He lifted his head, his expression ravaged.
 Go to him, she urged softly.
He set his shoulders, ducking his head in a taut nod.
Kaliko placed his warm fingers in Snow White s cold hand.  Come inside, Snow, he said.
 How can I marry that?
Kaliko squeezed her hand.  You can t. You won t.
 There is a contract& another three years until I can rule in my own right. If I repudiate Charming, I
only set myself in Anais s hands until then. And her hands are guided by Rui Alvarez. None of them wish
me well.
 You have us. You have me. They will not touch you! Kaliko drew her closer and kissed her.
Hiram cleared his throat, and they broke apart.  Happy as I am to see that you two have finally
realised what has been obvious to the rest of us for some time& 
Kaliko scowled, and Snow White blushed.
Kaffion cuffed Hiram about the ear.  Show some respect, little man.
 I am the very picture of respect, said Hiram pertly. His expression sobered.  We have much to
discuss. Charming has showed his hand. He might think he has papered over the cracks, but once he
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Snow
realises just what he has revealed here today, who knows what action he may take? And Alvarez& that one
is pure poison, for all his sweet looks.
Snow White shivered. She let Kaliko lead her inside, her other dwarves trailing behind, their faces
grim.
It was hours later, as they sat about the remains of a barely touched supper, that Ander finally
reappeared. They had been quiet for some time. Even Hiram s natural ebullience had been quelled by the
events of the day. His face drawn and pale, Ander sank into a chair by the fire with a weary sigh, meeting
Snow White s anxious query with dark haunted eyes.
 He s asleep. I slipped something into the wine& 
 Did he tell you what happened? asked Shyla.
Ander s lips drew into a tight thin line, his hands clenching on the arms of the chair until his knuckles
turned white. He gave a terse nod.
Snow White knelt beside him, prising one hand free to clasp it between her own.  Will you share it
with us? I need& we all need to know.
Another nod. Ander swallowed hard, running his other hand across his face.  Yes. You do. In a soft
voice he began&
Ander found Gault crouching against the far wall of his room, knees drawn up and head buried in his
arms. Closing the door behind him, he stood quietly for a moment. Gault lifted his head, and Ander felt
pain and grief slice through him along with a burgeoning fury at those who had done this to him. For all his
apparent indifference and coldness, there was a fragility to Gault that only Ander ever saw, and the look on
his lover s face now made it apparent that Gault was very close to breaking& if not broken already.
He made himself put his fears and his grief aside and crossed the room to kneel beside Gault. When
he extended a hand towards him, Gault flinched.
 Don t, he said hoarsely.
Ander let his hand fall to his side.
 What happened? he asked gently.
There was only silence. Ander didn t press, although his hands ached with longing to take Gault in his
arms and hold him. His heart ached with another kind of pain.
Finally, Gault spoke.  I was watching them.
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Deborah M. Brown
As he had been for weeks. It was Gault who first discovered the truth about Charming and Rui
Alvarez. What they were to each other. They had grown careless or perhaps they were simply too arrogant
to believe that anyone could catch them at their game.
Armed with that knowledge, the dwarves had argued over the best way to inform their princess. In the
end it was Kaliko who had said,  She must see for herself.
 I was on the other side of the wood, Gault continued.  Kaliko brought Snow and they watched for a
time&  Ander took note of Gault s use of the nickname the dwarves used for their princess, and his heart
ached anew. It showed an affection for Snow White that even he hadn t realised Gault felt. Gault gave his
heart to so few.
 After they left& the things those two said, Ander. What they plan to do. They were so arrogantly
certain that no one could gainsay them. I just wanted them to know that someone knew what game they
were playing. That they weren t going to get away with it. He uttered a harsh, despairing laugh.  I proved
myself as arrogant as they. Still, the shock on Charming s face when he caught sight of me& It made it
almost worthwhile.
He swallowed.  I simply stood there and stared at them. Charming s face went from white to red and
back to white again, but Alvarez& his expression never changed. You know I don t fear much, but I was
afraid then, Ander. Afraid of him. I took a step backwards, and he sprang to his feet. I ve never seen a man
move so fast. I took another step back and turned to run and I tripped over a tree root. Then Alvarez was on
me. He took me by the shoulders and dragged me out into the clearing.
 Charming hit me. Knocked me senseless for a moment. When I came to, I was on the ground and he
was kneeling over me. He hit me again.
  Isn t this a pleasant surprise? I was only thinking of having you beneath me the other night and now
here you are. Such a pretty little spy.
 He kissed me, and that s when I hit him. It was more luck than anything else, because my head was
ringing and I could scarce see out of this eye. Gault touched his swollen face with one fingertip. Ander
wanted to kiss the bruised flesh around his eye. His swollen mouth. He clasped his hands together firmly.
 He didn t like that. A laugh shivered through him.  He had my arms pinned above my head and he
leaned forward and said,  When I m finished with you, you will take my cock in your mouth and thank me
for the privilege.
 He tried& he, he touched me. Tried to make me& but he couldn t. He didn t like that either. Alvarez
laughed.
  What price all your vaunted charm now?
  Do you think you can do better? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]