The Greenwood Shadow (40 page)

"Take that up to my chambers, Alan."

"Yes, sir," the dark-haired boy replied. He hefted a large box, and turned with it to the stairs.

Alan? Not Robert? If that boy was just a servant then... Her eyes immediately darted to the doorway. A figure approached slowly, looking sullen and defeated. With a flash of her old fire, Evey thought,
Great. Sullen is just what I need in a husband.

"Terribly sorry to be late," the older Robert announced. "Broken carriage wheel, you know. Had to stop and fix it."

"It's quite alright," Emeric began, but Evey didn't hear anything else. Young Sir Robert had just stepped into the light, and her insides began a jig at high speed.

She stood so quickly that her chair crashed to the ground. Young Robert stopped as well, staring at her with a faintly confused air. Both were frozen in place. Emeric and the steward finally noticed this and cut off their discussion to watch the mysterious scene.

Suddenly Robert's face lit up, and Evey dashed over the table as fast as she could vault it, not caring what anyone thought of her. She threw herself into his arms so violently that he had to spin her around twice in order to keep them both from falling over.

"Isaiah!" she shouted, but the sound was muffled by his shoulder, into which she had buried her face.

"So Evey is short for Evanly." His voice cracked, and he held her tight.

"For Evelyne. Sir Robert never did get it right. But you told me Isaiah was your real name?"

"It is. Isaiah Robert Wolff." She raised her eyebrow, and he explained, "My father likes to call me Robert because I was named for him. Mum liked Isaiah better."

"So do I. You know, you look absolutely nothing like your dad."

"No. Not at all. And I was wrong about you, too."

"Huh?"

"When I said you were a goddess. I was wrong. No goddess in any world is as beautiful as you are."

"You are such a liar," she whispered as tears began to flow. She had no way of stopping them, and had to wipe her face in a thoroughly unladylike manner before she could ask, "Wait, how could you have possibly known what I looked like?"

Isaiah turned bright red.

"I might have sort of spied on you once. Just for a few minutes. You were in your window, wearing that red dress. And you were yelling." He smiled. "It was about me. And I could tell just from that one glance that you were much too good for me."

Evey was shocked but pleased. "Well, that just goes to show that appearances can be deceiving."

"Indeed it does. Greasy with overlarge arms, am I?"

He wore a completely false look of indignation.

Evey pointed to Alan, who had just re-entered the room. Somehow Isaiah's grin grew even wider than it was before. She hugged him close again which thankfully muffled the tears that were threatening to become hiccups.

"Are you really here, or am I just daydreaming?" he whispered in her ear.

"I don't know."

She couldn't say anymore for laughing and crying together.

He picked her up by the waist and swung her around again. When he finally set her back on the floor, he brought her in close. His face was inches from hers. He caressed her cheek and leaned in. She closed her eyes.

"Not that I'm unhappy, but what's going on here?" Emeric asked loudly.

She pulled away awkwardly. Her face turned beet red, and she looked over to see Sir Robert and Emeric staring so slack jawed that their chins practically hit the ground. It was the funniest thing she had ever seen, and she doubled over with silent giggles. Isaiah joined her, and they both laughed until neither could breathe.

"This is Isaiah," she finally explained.

"Isaiah? But... wait, really?"

"Really," Isaiah answered. "And I suppose you must be her uncle. I thought you were her father."

"No. But I'd be proud to call her a daughter."

Evey could have sworn that tears were running down Emeric's face, but her own eyes were so blurred, it was impossible to be sure.

Isaiah then took Evey's hand and knelt on the ground.

"Evey, my best friend and the love of my life, will you marry me in twelve days?"

She rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Then she whispered in his ear, "Of course I will."

Isaiah beamed. He locked his right hand into her left tightly, and sat down next to her at the table. Sir Robert still stared, completely nonplused.

"Dad, you look like a fish," Isaiah told him.

Sir Robert worked his jaw a few times, which enhanced the fish-like impression. Then he chuckled, and said, "Well..." five or six times. The four of them laughed together, and the meal finally started. Evey didn't let go of Isaiah's hand through the entire four courses, and decided that this would go on record as the best dinner she had ever had.

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

Epilogue:

The wedding went much better than she expected. Of course, that probably had quite a lot to do with the identity of the groom. Aside from that, though, Evey had to credit Sir Robert for putting together a splendid celebration.

John and Will were invited, although Evey wasn't sure that they knew why. Emeric practically glowed the entire time, and definitely cried at least once. Even the dress was fabulous. It wasn't fancy, or complicated. In fact, it was so simple that she actually enjoyed wearing it. The steward had spared no expense, either. Say what she would about dresses in general, that material was like wearing clouds and starlight.

The exorbitant price was all worth it when she saw the look on Isaiah's face. The moment he saw her, his slack jawed, dumbstruck expression rivaled even his father's from two weeks earlier.

There were hundreds of people at the feast, and every single one of them found it necessary to congratulate them lengthily. Evey didn't mind at first. She had a comfortable chair, plenty of food, and the best companion.

It got to be a little wearing after a while, though. The feast continued for hours, and as good as it was, she really wanted some quiet. Isaiah looked like he completely agreed. And so, after a particularly long speech from a rather didactic man, Isaiah nudged her and whispered.

"Let's get out of here."

"I've never agreed with you more," she replied.

Isaiah pulled a sling from his tunic pocket and loaded a large rock.

"I see you came prepared," she remarked approvingly.

"I learned from the best."

He spun it as covertly as he could, and let the rock sail over the heads of the guests in the huge hall. It smashed into the stone wall with a resounding crack that drew every eye.

The instant they all looked away, Isaiah grabbed her hand and darted behind a tapestry. There, she saw a door. A hidden passageway led out of the castle. Trying hard not to laugh, she followed Isaiah out through the courtyard. They sprinted past the shocked guards at the gate and into the woods nearby.

They didn't stop until they reached a tiny meadow. The moon shone brightly, covering the scene in silver. Evey kicked off her shoes, and bent double to catch her breath. The grass tickled her toes. She closed her eyes and breathed in the wet earth smell of the surrounding wood. Perfection. The most beautiful place on earth.

"I've got a wedding present for you."

Evey turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Oh please. The last thing I need is more stuff."

"Oh, I think you'll like this one."

Isaiah smiled that impish grin. She went a tiny bit weak-kneed.

"So, what is it?"

From his pockets he pulled two lumpy sacks. They jingled with the sound of silver coins. Evey smiled so wide that her cheeks hurt.

"Alright," she said. "It's official. I definitely love you."

His eyes sparkled, and he pulled her toward him.

"Think they'll miss us?" she asked.

"Nah," he replied. "There's plenty of food and drink. They'll never notice. Besides, we have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Do we?"

"Yeah." He brushed the hair from her face and leaned in close. "We were sort of interrupted last time."

She didn't reply. There was pounding in her ears, and she found herself forgetting to breathe. She didn't even give a thought to how stupidly romantic anything was. When his lips met hers, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him right back.

The End