chest. “Without a second thought.”
“The cross must have some meaning,” Kadar probed. “Though Nasim assured me the content was not a religious relic and I’d have no trouble with the Knights Templar.”
Tarik raised his brows. “And you believed him?”
“Not entirely. Is it a holy relic?”
“Some might consider it so.”
“And you keep it here in your chamber, unguarded?”
“My men are loyal. It would be no easy task to wrest it from me.” He shrugged. “And perhaps, in my heart, I wish it to be stolen away from me. Sometimes the burden becomes too great.”
Kadar smiled. “Then let me oblige you.”
“Maybe I will.” He turned toward the door. “We shall see. Would you like to inspect my guardroom and see how well I’ve quartered your friend Haroun?”
“Why not?”
Tarik glanced at Selene. “I’d ask you to accompany us, but my soldiers are rough and not accustomed to ladies.”
“I’ve no desire to go with you.” Selene moved toward the door. “I’ll return to my chamber.”
“And be bored.” Kadar shuddered. “For which we will pay dearly later, Tarik.”
Tarik chuckled. “Will it help if I send her fine silks to embroider?”
“Maybe.”
“I understand she plays a fine game of chess. Perhaps I could have the honor of a game after we sup tonight.”
“Not if you continue to speak as if I’m not in the room,” Selene said bluntly.
Tarik chuckled and bowed deeply. “My apologies, sweet lady. Will you do me the courtesy of forgiving this lowly serf and amusing me this evening?”
“I don’t play for amusement. I play to win.”
“Fair warning.” His smile faded and he suddenly looked very weary. “I haven’t hungered for victory for a long, long time. It must be pleasant to care that much for small things.”
“Women are only permitted pleasure in small things.”
“Most women. But what you’re not permitted, you take. Is that not true?”
“Yes.” Kadar grinned. “You read her well, Tarik.”
“She’s a good deal like my wife.”
“Rosa?” Selene asked, remembering that moment in her chamber.
“No, my first wife, Layla. Rosa was a gentle soul and took only what she was given.”
“A pleasant change?” Selene asked.
“Not necessarily. I loved them both very much.”
Again Selene was aware of a great sadness in him. She impulsively reached out and touched his arm in comfort. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know how you must feel.”
“You have a good heart.” His gaze searched her face. “But you cannot know. You’ve not known great loss yourself. That is to come.”
“I have had a loss. My mother died when I was a child.”
He shook his head and gently removed her hand from his arm. “It is to come.”
A multitude of emotions surged through Selene as she watched them walk away. She liked him. She had not expected this response to such a complex man. Tarik could be humorous one moment, gentle and wise the next, but he was also an enigma. It was dangerous to be drawn to him.
“Checkmate.” Selene looked up from the board in triumph. “That last move was not at all clever, Tarik.”
Tarik groaned and leaned back in his chair. “Not only a thrashing but verbal abuse.” He glanced at Kadar, who was seated on the hearth a few yards away. “Save me, Kadar.”
“You say that every time, but still you play her.” Kadar smiled and his gaze shifted back to the fire. “She’s right, the last move was stupid.”
“I was distracted,” Tarik defended. “After all, I’m a man of many concerns.”
Selene made a derogatory noise.
“That sounded suspiciously like a snort.” Tarik frowned. “And not at all respectful of a man of my years.”
“Excuses. How old are you? Forty?”
He flinched. “Do I look forty?”
She relented. “Well, perhaps a
“You’re too kind,” he said ironically. “I’m a man in my full prime. It’s dealing with young rascals like you and Kadar that has aged me.”
“Another game?”
“Not now.” He stood up and limped toward the table across the room. “I need a goblet of wine.”
Selene grinned. “Coward.”
“Abuse again…” he murmured.
“It’s a constant threat with Selene,” Kadar said.
There was no threat in this chamber tonight, Selene thought lazily. There was only peace and laughter and ease. It was strange how comfortable they had become in Tarik’s presence during the past eight days. Even at Montdhu she had never felt more content, and she could see Kadar felt the same way. He spent most of his days with Tarik, and in the evening it had become the custom for them all to gather in the hall for chess.
But Kadar had been very quiet tonight, she realized suddenly. She had played him first, and when Tarik had taken his place, he seated himself on the hearth and watched them with none of his usual banter. “Are you well?” she asked. “You’ve scarcely spoken.”
“I was just thinking.”
“Ah, a dangerous practice in a man like you,” Tarik said as he poured wine from the pitcher into his goblet. “I believe you need another goblet of wine too.”
“No.” Kadar met Tarik’s gaze. “I believe I need to see the object that made Nasim send me here.”
Tarik stopped pouring in midmotion. “I was wondering when you’d retrieve that particular promise.” He set the pitcher down. “But I was enjoying your company so much that I’d almost forgotten I’d given it.”
“I don’t think you did. But you made it easy for us to forget.”
“You believe I’ve been lulling you into a false sense of security? You’re wrong; you
“The object,” Kadar prompted.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Tonight.”
“You’re very stubborn.” Tarik sighed. “Very well, tonight.” He set his goblet down and picked up a candelabra. “Follow me, it’s in the chamber at the end of the corridor.”
The room to which Tarik took them was small and sparsely furnished. A long oak table and two chairs occupied the center of the room. On the table was a wooden pedestal on which a brown leather-bound manuscript rested.
Tarik gestured. “There it is.”
“That’s no treasure,” Selene said.
“But it’s what led Nasim to seek the treasure,” Tarik said. “And a manuscript’s value is in the eyes of the beholder.”
Selene felt a surge of excitement. “An entire chamber for one manuscript?”
“Don’t read importance into that. If I could obtain more volumes, I would do so. I have a passion for words. What a rare delight they are in this rough world.”
Kadar was already seating himself at the table and carefully opening the volume. “I’ll need light. Leave the candles, Tarik.”
“The light would be much better if you’d wait for morning.”
“Leave the candles.”
Tarik set the candelabra on the table. “You’ll go blind. The script is none too good. It was done by a scribe, not
