A Dove's Tale

Chapter 130

"I see you're still as unobservant as ever, little dove."

Gilbert's pleasant voice didn't trigger fear or anxiety in me, just resignation. I sighed heavily and closed my book. Maybe it was the day. Chevalier and I were each doomed individually to suffer constant interruptions, together or apart. Leon was grating on his nerves in the back room, and now I had Gilbert here to grate on mine.

Of course, it wasn't much of a surprise for Gilbert to bother me, regardless of day or circumstance.

"That was rude," he commented, sitting on the sofa across from me.

"Sorry." There was a coffee table between us, and I appreciated the distance and the obstacle. "I was sighing because I'm frustrated about how the day has gone, not because of you. Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

Sometimes, I really hated that charming smile.

Most of the time.

"Thank you - again - for helping to keep me safe. I don't know what you did in Obsidian, and I don't want to know, but whatever it was, it put Chevalier's mind at ease. And I know he agreed with...that meeting." I took a deep breath, steeling myself for another round of insults. "But I didn't. And I don't want to be a part of something like that again."

He chuckled. "You're too soft-hearted, little dove."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said coolly.

"I meant it as one."

That gave me pause. I studied him, wondering what his angle was this time. The crinkles at the corner of his eye said his smile was genuine, but that didn't elaborate on its meaning to me. Was this just a game to him? It probably was. And, of course, I didn't know the rules, which made me intensely uncomfortable.

"Well, thank you," I said slowly.

He closed his eye and sat back against the cushions, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter, and the unease I always felt around him grew.

"Care to share the joke?"

He shook his head and opened his eye, leveling it on me again. "I was just thinking you'd defend even the woman who tried to poison you, wouldn't you?"

A cold chill settled in my stomach. "What do you know about her?"

"Quite a bit, since I'll be handling her punishment."

There was a challenge in his blood-red eye, as if he was daring me to question him further. That, and my churning stomach, warned me not to continue.

But I was curious.

"Why are you handling her punishment?" I asked, against my better judgment. "She committed a crime in Rhodolite."

"Under the orders of a high-ranking official in Obsidian," he replied casually. "That little detail gave Chevalier an excuse to pass her off to me. It seems the Bloody Tiger is more selective about whose blood he'll spill these days."

Execution. And not in a quick, painless manner, knowing Gilbert. It was probably just punishment for treason and attempted murder, but I still didn't like it, and - a high-ranking official in Obsidian? Why would anybody there want to kill me? Gilbert was the only high-ranking Obsidianite official I knew, and he certainly didn't want me dead.

I didn't want to think or talk about this anymore. I stood up, grabbing Chevalier's book from its place beside me on the sofa and stacking it on top of my book as I headed for the door.

"Going somewhere, little dove?" Gilbert asked, amused.

"Tell Chevalier I'll be waiting for him in the gardens," I said coolly.