Denna wasn’t at any of the inns where she occasionally stayed. She wasn’t listening to music at the Taps or Goat in the Door. Neither Deoch nor Stanchion had seen her. I worried she might have left town entirely while I was occupied. She could be gone for months. She could be gone forever.
Then I turned a corner and saw her sitting in a small public garden under a tree. She had a letter in one hand and a half-eaten pear in the other. Where had she come by a pear so late in the season?
I was halfway across the garden before I realized she was crying. I stopped where I stood, at a loss for what to do. I wanted to help, but I didn’t want to intrude. Maybe it would be best . . .
“Kvothe!”
Denna tossed away the remains of the pear, hopped to her feet, and ran across the lawn toward me. She was smiling, but her eyes were rimmed with red. She wiped at her cheeks with one hand.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
Her eyes welled up with new tears, but before they could fall she screwed her eyes shut and shook her head sharply. “No,” she said. “Not entirely.”
“Can I help?” I asked.
Denna blotted her eyes with her shirtsleeve. “You help just by being here.” She folded the letter into a small square and forced it into her pocket. Then she smiled again. It wasn’t a forced smile, the sort you wear like a mask. She smiled a true smile, lovely despite the tears.
Then she tilted her head to one side and gave me a closer look, her smile fading into a look of concern. “What about you?” she asked. “You look a little peaked.”
I gave a weak smile. Mine was forced and I knew it. “I’ve been having a rough time lately.”
“I hope you don’t feel as rough as you look,” she said gently. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”
“I haven’t,” I admitted.
Denna drew a breath to speak, then paused and bit her lip. “Is it anything you’d like to talk about?” she asked. “I don’t know if I could do anything to help, but . . .” She shrugged and shifted her weight slightly from one foot to another. “I don’t sleep well myself. I know what it’s like.”
Her offer of help caught me unprepared. It made me feel . . . I cannot say exactly how it made me feel. It doesn’t fit easily into words.
It wasn’t the offer of help itself. My friends had been working tirelessly to help me for days. But Sim’s willingness to help was different than this. His help was dependable as bread. But knowing Denna cared, that was like a swallow of warm wine on a winter night. I could feel the sweet heat of it in my chest.
I smiled at her. A real smile. The expression felt odd on my face and I wondered how long I’d been scowling without knowing it. “You’re helping just by being here,” I said honestly. “Just seeing you does wonders for my mood.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course. The sight of my blotchy face is a panacea.”
“There isn’t much to talk about,” I said. “My bad luck got tangled up with my bad decisions, and I’m paying for it.”
Denna gave a chuckle that hovered on the edge of being a sob. “I wouldn’t know
I felt my mouth curve to mimic hers. “It is,” I said. “Truth be told, I’d prefer a bit of a distraction to a sympathetic ear.”
“That I can provide,” she said, taking hold of my arm. “Lord knows you’ve done the same for me often enough in the past.”
I fell into step alongside her. “Have I?”
“Endlessly,” she said. “It’s easy to forget when you’re around.” She stopped walking for a moment and I had to stop too, as she’d linked her arm in mine. “That’s not right. I mean to say when you’re around, it’s easy to forget.”
“Forget what?”
“Everything,” she said, and for a moment her voice wasn’t quite as playful. “All the bad parts of my life. Who I am. It’s nice to be able to take a vacation from myself every once in a while. You help with that. You’re my safe harbor in an endless, stormy sea.”
I chuckled. “Am I?”
“You are,” she said easily. “You are my shady willow on a sunny day.”
“You,” I said, “are sweet music in a distant room.”
“That’s good,” she said. “You are unexpected cake on a rainy afternoon.”
“You’re the poultice that draws the poison from my heart,” I said.
“Hmm.” Denna looked uncertain. “I don’t know about that one. A heart full of poison isn’t an appealing thought.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “That sounded better before I actually said it.”
“That’s what happens when you mix your metaphors,” she said. A pause. “Did you get my note?”
“I got it today,” I said, letting all my regret pour into my voice. “Just a couple hours ago.”
“Ah,” she said. “That’s too bad, it was a good dinner. I ate yours too.”
I tried to think of something to say, but she simply smiled and shook her head. “I’m teasing. The dinner was just an excuse, actually. I have something to show you. You’re a hard man to find. I thought I was going to have to wait until tomorrow when you sang at Anker’s.”
I felt a sharp pang in my chest, so strong even Denna’s presence couldn’t entirely overwhelm it. “It’s lucky you caught me today,” I said. “I’m not sure I’ll be playing tomorrow.”
She cocked her head at me. “You always sing on Felling night. Don’t change that. You’re hard enough for me to find.”
“You’re a fine one to talk,” I said. “I can never catch you in the same place twice.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure you’re
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself smiling as I followed her through the twisting streets of Imre.
Eventually we came to a small storefront. Denna stepped in front of me, almost bouncing with excitement. All signs of her weeping were gone and her eyes were bright. She put her cool hands over my face. “Close your eyes,” she said. “It’s a surprise!”
I closed my eyes, and she led me by the hand for a few steps. The inside of the shop was dim and smelled of leather. I heard a man’s voice say, “Is this him, then?” followed by the hollow sound of things moving around.
“Are you ready?” Denna said into my ear. I could hear the smile in her voice. Her breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck.
“I have no idea,” I said honestly.
I felt the breath of her stifled laugh on my ear. “Okay. Open them.”
I opened my eyes and saw a lean older man standing behind a long wooden counter. An empty lute case lay open like a book in front of him. Denna had bought me a present. A case for my lute. A case for my stolen lute.
I took a step closer. The empty case was long and slender, covered in smooth black leather. There were no hinges. Seven bright steel clasps circled the edge so the top lifted off like the lid of a box.
The inside was soft velvet. I reached out to touch it and found the padding soft but resilient, like a sponge. The velvet’s nap was nearly half an inch thick and a deep burgundy color.
The man behind the counter gave a thin smile. “Your lady has good taste,” he said. “And a serious mind about what she desires.”
He lifted the lid. “The leather is oiled and waxed. There’s two layers with rock maple bows beneath.” He ran a finger along the bottom half of the case, then pointed at the corresponding groove on the lid. “It fits snugly enough that no air can get in or out. So you need not worry moving from a warm, wet room into an icy night.”
He began to snap shut the clasps around the edge of the case. “The lady objected to brass. So these are finesteel. And once they’re in place, the lid is held against a gasket. You could submerse it in a river and the velvet will stay dry inside.” He shrugged. “Eventually the water would permeate the leather, of course. But there’s only so
