Page 4 of The Rumpled Gentleman
Chapter
Four
I n the soft moonlight dancing upon the garden foliage, Elara gazed up at the mysterious figure who had saved her from potential disaster. His question hovered in the air, waiting for her answer.
“I was told to never make a deal with High Fey,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, still unsure of the true nature of her savior. “That it could lead to consequences far beyond my understanding.”
“That is wise advice,” the man replied, his voice low and measured, giving her no hint of his identity. Yet he seemed oddly familiar. “Deals with the Fey often come at too high a price.”
Elara’s fingertips went cold, and she tightened her hold on the stems in her hand. “I’m grateful for your intervention. I wasn’t thinking about the implications of taking flowers from these gardens.”
He looked at her from behind his mask with an unnerving intensity. “It’s also dangerous to express gratitude to the Fey.” He sounded severe. “Why were you collecting these blossoms? What purpose could they serve you?”
She hesitated, debating how much to reveal, but his protective presence and the intelligence in his eyes encouraged her. “I’m gathering a bouquet to present to the duke. I hope to ask for his leniency and patience.”
His lips turned downward beneath his mask. “Leniency? From the Duke of Sutton?”
Elara sighed, a sense of resignation washing over her. This man already held her fate in his hands, were he to take the story of her garden theft to her captor. “My father and I are in a precarious situation. He’s not well, consumed by memories of his past. He presented himself to the duke, claiming he could transmute flora into gold. I fear the consequences when we fail to prove his claims.”
The man remained silent for a moment, seemingly to consider her words. “That is indeed a grave situation.”
“Yes,” Elara agreed, her voice weak with worry. “Hence my attempt to gather these flowers. If I can enhance them with a touch of magic, just enough to encourage patience, perhaps it will buy us time to find another way out of this predicament.”
He considered her words, his posture reflecting a contemplative stance. “You have magic, then? The ability to influence through plants?”
“A modest talent,” she admitted, feeling suddenly vulnerable at having revealed this much to a stranger. “I’ve used it before, to help in small ways. Never for something this significant.”
He nodded slowly, as if weighing her words. “It seems you are in dire circumstances indeed. And in need of aid.”
Elara couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope at his words. “Do you have any advice? Any knowledge of how to navigate this treacherous situation?”
He paused, his gaze lingering on her with an unreadable expression. “I may not have immediate solutions, but I understand. Be cautious in your actions. Your approach must be clever and well-conceived.”
A sad, weak laugh escaped her lips. It wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for. “Good advice. But that hardly helps matters. Perhaps it would be better to make a deal with a Fey, if there are any at this ball who would show my situation even the smallest measure of compassion.”
The stranger turned still as stone and looked like a statue in the silvery moonlight, except for his eyes. They flashed, gleaming in the darkness, as he stared at her. “You would risk it? Even after being warned of what such a deal could mean?”
“I would. I see no other way. I know nothing of alchemy, and my father is in no state to contribute to the work beyond making endless notes. My only ability lies in plants, and I cannot imagine how to make gold from green and growing things.”
Her rescuer spoke in his dark, low voice. “I’ll help you. If you want to make a deal.”
Unable to see his ears, or anything else that might give away his ancestry, she didn’t know if he was Fey. And she didn’t care. She was desperate. He knew it, too.
“What sort of deal? I have little to offer in exchange for whatever magic can accomplish what I need.”
“Magical deals rarely work on the basis of monetary value.” The stranger’s gaze seemed to pierce through the shadows, focusing intently on her. “It must be something of value to you . Something that belongs to you, freely and absolutely.”
Elara’s mind raced. She had so little of material worth, but then it dawned on her—the one item she held dear, a connection to a past filled with love and warmth. She’d already removed her gloves to skulk about the garden, not wishing to stain the fingers green.
“This is my most treasured possession.” She held her arm toward him, turning it to reveal the simple brass clasp that kept it secure about her wrist. “My sisters made it for me. As a parting gift.”
The stranger observed the trinket, the moonlight glinting off the delicate glass beads. There was a moment of silence, a heavy pause where the air itself had stilled.
“I accept your offer,” he finally said, voice surprisingly gentle. “This bracelet, in exchange for my assistance.”
Elara hesitated for a moment, the weight of her decision pressing down on her. Yet, the necessity of her current situation left her with no other choice.
“Could you—? It’s difficult. To unclasp it. I bent the catch not long ago. Would you please remove it for me?” Her cheeks burned as she asked, holding her wrist up higher.
He removed his gloves, tucking them away in his cloak, then one of his hands—larger, warmer than hers—slid beneath her wrist and turned it, his touch gentle and feather-light. Then he carefully undid the clasp, his fingertips brushing the sensitive skin of her arm. The beads slid across her wrist as he took the only physical reminder she had of her sisters.
Handing it over felt like letting go of a part of herself. But the safety of her father and their future hung in the balance, as well as that of her sisters, who were dependent upon the funds she sent to keep the goodwill of their reluctant kin.
Elara looked up into the stranger’s obscured face, searching for some assurance she hadn’t made a grave mistake.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I hope this will be enough.”
The stranger nodded solemnly. “I will do everything within my power to aid you.” He bent closer to her. “I promise.”
As he tucked the bracelet into his cloak, Elara felt a chapter of her life close and an uncertain new one begin. She had made a deal that might change her fate forever, and the weight of it settled around her like a snow-sodden cloak.