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Her voice trailed off after that, leaving Magnus struggling not to look appalled by the whole thing.

She was staring at her lap at that point, comb still in her hand, her glorious hair almost completely dry in the warmth of the fire.

Now he was beginning to see the human cost of someone being labeled a courtesan, the price paid by a woman with no control over her destiny or her life.

The price of being a pawn, used like a servant, treated like a whore. Less than human.

Less than a woman.

God, she didn’t deserve that.

“You do not have to tell me any more than you already have,” he said softly.

“I can see that you have been treated horrifically, so you do not need to speak on your past anymore. I will spare you that pain. But just know that I have come to help you, Lady Delaina. Now that you are free of your prison, I will help you do what you wish to do. And I will not expect anything for it. Is that clear?”

She lifted her head, looking at him with those sea-colored eyes. “Nay,” she whispered. “You do not understand. I want to speak of this. No one has ever told me they were interested in my life. You are the only one who has ever shown enough compassion to ask.”

There was a plea in that, a hint of desperation.

The wall of self-protection she’d kept around herself was crumbling, and all Magnus could see was the vulnerability.

Therefore, he slid off the chair and ended up on his buttocks in front of her, both of them sitting in front of the fire, facing one another in the glow of the flames.

“Then tell me,” he muttered. “Tell me everything you wish to tell me. You have suffered terribly, and as a man of honor, when I see suffering, I am inclined to help. But I do not know if I can help you, and that is troubling to me.”

She smiled faintly, reaching out to put a soft hand on his arm.

“You already have,” she said. “Do you not understand that? It all started when Sir Denys called me stupid. No one has ever called me stupid before. But he did it out of concern. I have become so accustomed to men showing a lack of concern toward me that I almost didn’t recognize it. ”

Her hand was searing his flesh like a branding iron. He was afraid to look at it where it touched his skin, afraid he’d see smoke. Smoke and something more. Something more that was causing his heart to race.

He’d never experienced anything like it in his entire life.

“Then tell me how I can help you,” he said.

“Tell me, and if I can do it, I will. But you should know that Hugh Despenser knows of Daventry’s death, and he further knows that you, the Ruby, were in Daventry’s possession.

He has asked me to bring you to him, but I will not do it.

God only knows what he wants to do with you. ”

A ripple of fear crossed her face, but she settled down quickly. She was, if nothing else, a strong woman. She was a survivor. She was also resigned to her lot in life, no matter how much she wanted to be free.

“I am certain he wants to use me to bribe another lord to do his bidding,” she said softly. “But you must not disobey him. He is a powerful man.”

Magnus cocked an eyebrow. “And I know how he came into power,” he said. “I would be doing England a favor if I turned him over to the warlords who hate him, so he will not tangle with me. My loyalty is to Edward, not to Hugh. He knows that.”

“But I still do not wish for you to be punished because of me.”

“No one will punish me,” he said. “I am the one who does the punishing, so no one will touch me. But the fact remains that Despenser knows you are no longer with a lord. That means you must leave London as soon as you can until Despenser forgets about you and moves on. Based on this conversation, the cloister is not a choice any longer?”

Delaina didn’t respond right away. She took her hand off his arm and simply sat there, gaze averted.

“It is not,” she finally said. “But mayhap I should reconsider.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Because I will never marry,” she said.

“Soon, I will be too old to be the Ruby. Men do not want courtesans or mistresses who are too used. I’ve already had five lords.

Let us be honest, my lord—I can speak of freedom and of going to France to earn my own way, but is that really the best choice for me?

I do not know. England is my home, and I do not particularly want to leave it.

If I remain, then what is left for me? If I do not go to the cloister and, eventually, no man will want me, my only alternative would be to return to Margit. ”

So what Cassius and Hugh had told him was true.

Training, or at least some sort of guidance, had come from Margit Barkwith, the London proprietress of the most famous brothel in town.

But hearing she might return to Margit because no lord would want her didn’t sit well with him.

She was a Jewel—she was a woman who should be prized above all others.

He couldn’t imagine her returning to a brothel.

Nay, that didn’t sit well with him at all.

“What about marriage?” he said. “Certainly you would be able to find a husband, as the dowager Countess of Somersby.”

Delaina looked at him then, a weak smile on her lips. “There was no marriage.”

“No one needs to know that.”

She laughed softly. “So I should lie about it?” she said. “Lying about being a countess on top of my unmentionable past would not be a good way to start a marriage. Moreover, I’m far too old.”

He frowned. “I do not believe that,” he said. “How old are you?”

“I have seen twenty and eight summers.”

He was surprised to hear that. She looked ethereal and ageless, not a mark or a line on her exquisite face. “I would have believed you had you told me you had only seen eighteen,” he said. “You are ageless, my lady.”

The smile faded from her face, but it was because she was awed by his words. And touched. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “That is very kind of you.”

“It is the truth,” he said. “And I say that without guile because there is nothing I want from you. I do not resort to flattery. I only speak the truth.”

Her smile returned, modestly. “Again, you are very kind,” she said. But her smile soon faded. “I do not know what I did to warrant attention from such a noble knight. I had forgotten such men existed in the world, my lord. Thank you for showing me that men with good hearts still live.”

It was his turn to fight off a modest smile. “We do,” he said. “There are many of us, believe it or not.”

“I was fortunate enough to find one in you, my lord.”

“And you will call me Magnus. We have become friends, and friends are not so formal with one another.”

Her grin blossomed. “I do appreciate that we have become friends,” she said. “You have been kind to me from the beginning, and I thank you for that. Even though you knew who I was, you were still kind. That is a quality I do not see much of.”

Magnus found himself staring into her eyes.

Her cheeks were pink from the warmth of the fire, giving her an incredibly alluring look.

But he didn’t dare let his attraction to her show because it would damage the trust they were building.

He’d told her he wanted nothing from her, and that was the truth, but if she realized he found her beautiful…

and there was infatuation there… it would ruin everything.

And he didn’t want to ruin it.

“It has been my pleasure, my lady,” he said, rising from the floor and returning to his seat because he was beginning to sweat. “Now, plans must be made. You cannot stay at The Pox for the rest of your life, so you must decide where you want to go and what you want to do.”

Delaina stood up too, swamped by the beautiful, flowing sleeping shift she was wearing. “I know,” she said. “We have spoken about a great deal this evening. May I at least have the night to think about it?”

“Of course,” he said, picking up the pitcher of wine only to realize that it was empty. He set it down. “Sleep on it. See how you feel come the morning. I will return at some point and we will discuss the situation.”

She nodded, putting her comb back into one of the satchels. “Sir Magnus,” she said, then realized she’d agreed to drop the formalities. “ Magnus . I realize you may have no answer to this question, but I have no one else to ask. May I?”

“Of course.”

“What would you do in my situation? Do you think it wise to go to France and try to start a new life?”

Because the wine was gone and he was still feeling flushed being in her proximity, Magnus began leaning toward the door. “I do not know,” he said honestly. “This is a new situation for me, also. If you would like me to give you my honest opinion, then I must think on it, as you must.”

“I would very much like your opinion,” she said. “Truly, I have no one else to ask. I have no friends, no family to speak of. Being a Jewel… it is a very lonely profession in so many ways.”

He made it to the door, his hand on the latch. But his gaze never left her face. “I cannot imagine,” he said quietly. “You have endured much in your life.”

She headed in his direction. “And that is hopefully behind me now,” she said. “But you must have many friends and family. You have probably not known a lonely moment in your life.”

He smiled weakly. “I have three brothers and two sisters,” he said. “My mother, my father, a grandmother, a grandfather, grand-uncles, five additional uncles, two aunts, and their families. There are dozens and dozens of us. Nay, I’ve never been alone in my life, and I like it that way.”

“Are you the eldest son?”

He shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “I am the third-born son. I have two older brothers, one younger brother, and two younger sisters.”

She stopped her approach when she came to within a foot or so of him. “You mentioned that you have sisters,” she said. “Are they married?”

He laughed softly. “Those two?” he said. “God help the men who marry them. They are as annoying as vermin, and there are times when I would like to swat them, but my mother will not let me.”

He meant it as a jest, because she could see the twinkle of warmth in his eyes. It was quite endearing.

“But you love them anyway,” she said.

“I do.”

She was smiling because he was. “That tells me a good deal about you,” she said. “ Il cuore è fedele alla famiglia. ”

He cocked his head. “What does that mean?”

“The heart is true to family.”

“What language is it?”

“The language of Rome,” she said. “One of the few I speak. But it means that a man’s heart is true if he loves his family. And you love yours, which means you are a good man.”

His smile waned. “I hope I am always considered a good man,” he said quietly. “On that thought, I shall leave you now, but I will return on the morrow. I will make sure they send you food in the morning so you do not have to leave your chamber. Stay here and do not wander.”

“I won’t.”

“Good,” he said, throwing the big bolt and lifting the latch. For a moment, their eyes locked and something passed between them. At least, Magnus thought so. Something warm and shocking that filled his veins with liquid fire. “Good sleep, my lady. Lock the door behind me.”

Delaina nodded, smiling at him as he quit the chamber. Throwing the bolt, she leaned against the door, visions of his handsome face lingering in her head.

She had felt something warm and shocking, too.