A fortnight had passed since the knights’ first meeting over swords, and more good had come of it than she had dared hope. Though it could not be said their friendship had revived or ever would, there seemed something of a truce between them—not easy, but not uneasy either. Regardless, it was enough that Durand appeared at meals more often than not and the tension wrought by his presence was no longer thick. Helene was grateful to see prayers answered that she had feared would not be heeded, and though still the wager she had lost to Abel held, she was gladdened to know Durand’s loss of her companionship could not be as deeply felt now that he no longer held himself apart from others. It was good to see him laugh. Where she had paused in the kitchen passageway, she smiled as the knight’s teeth flashed at something another knight said. It was a pity she could not ask him to go to the wood with her—not only for his sake but hers, for Baron Lavonne would arrive some time near the nooning hour as told by the messenger received from Castle Broehne on the day past.
