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“Yes. Sir Bertilak—for that was his name—and his lady were most hospitable once I arrived.”

“Was Lady Bertilak green, too?”

“No, but she always wore green. She was smart and beautiful and gracious. In fact, she was such a good hostess she offered to climb into my bed.”

“She what?” Despite herself, Tamsin was drawn into the tale.

Gawain finally turned to her, a rueful smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “It was all part of Morgan’s test, to see if Arthur’s knights were truly good, or if they would abuse the hospitality of their host. If I’d accepted the good lady’s offer, I would have offended her lord and lost my head, for sure. Because I respected my host’s honor and did not take his wife, he let me go.”

“And this Lady Bertilak still did her best to seduce you, even knowing it might kill you?”

“That was the test. She was most persuasive in those last days before the trial. After all, why not take what I wanted when I was about to perish anyhow?”

Tamsin began to see where this was going. “She used despair as a weapon.”

“And she had magic and considerable beauty on her side. I am ashamed to say that I came close to the edge.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.” Gawain straightened, folding his arms. “That’s why I always wear green. It reminds me to remain humble, because even the best knight can stray from his duty. Especially when it comes to lovely witches.”

Tamsin bristled. “That seems a little harsh. You came through it in one piece.”

“I should have known better. I am susceptible where magic is involved.”

“I’d say there was ill will involved.”

Gawain’s face was stony. “Perhaps, but magic always makes things worse. It can turn a game into a trap where the unwary might lose his head.”

She drew herself up, temper rising again. “And it can save a life just as quickly. I won’t entertain the belief magic is bad in and of itself. Not for one second.”

“I believe you,” he said softly, contradicting all her expectations. “But one deed leads to another. No one begins believing they will be evil, but magic allows them to take an easy path. So a gray deed leads to a black one, and soon the one wielding the magic has lost all sense of right and wrong.”

Tamsin was about to deny it, but the words died on her tongue. “I can see why you say that. LaFaye is your aunt, but she didn’t warn you against taking the Green Knight’s challenge.”

That made him laugh, and it was bitter. “Warn me? That would require a capacity for affection she does not possess.”

“But your mother was her sister. That should have made her spare you.”

His expression didn’t change, though the lines beside his mouth deepened. “LaFaye and my mother did not waste time on sentimentality. I watched my mother skin a man alive so that she could dupe his wife by wearing his face.”

“What?” Tamsin’s hand went to her stomach, afraid it would revolt. “Magic that dark has always been forbidden. Did anyone do anything about it?”

“My brother Agravaine. He killed her.”

Sick with dread, Tamsin turned his words over in her mind, but her thoughts shied away from their meaning. The pictures they painted were too awful. “I don’t know what to say. That’s far beyond my experience.”

“I would not wish it any other way.”

Her hands had gone cold, as if her blood had ceased to flow. She’d come out on the balcony because she was angry with Gawain, but now she wanted to comfort him. “You can’t think all witches are like LaFaye or your mother. We just aren’t. Most of us are just ordinary people.”

Tamsin raised her fingers to touch his face. He stiffened but didn’t draw back, allowing her to trace the angles of his jaw. He was warm, his cheek rough with dark stubble. It struck her again how Gawain seemed more alive than any ordinary man. He was so full of passion and regret, it stopped her breath, as if he carried an electrical charge. Too much contact with him might stop her heart.

His hand came up to caress hers. At first, his thumb traced her palm with gentle pressure, his fingers lacing through her own. He pressed her hand to his cheek, turning into her touch so he could leave a kiss on her fingertips. Then he pulled her hand away.

“I believe you mean well.” He took a step back, leaving cold air between them. “I am sorry I wounded your feelings.”

“Okay.”