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“So ninety barons?” I wondered as Ben led me toward the fields behind the barn.
He nodded. “Ninety barons.”
“How many villas would that buy?”
“My villa with all its amenities is worth a great deal more than that.”
“So what would it buy?” I persisted.
He raised his chin and furrowed his brow. I couldn’t help but admire his handsome features in the emerging starlight. “It would buy several of the rarest of puck cards.”
I pushed against his arm with mine. “I’m serious. What would it buy?”
“I suppose it would buy my ship, with a little extra.”
“How much extra?”
“About eight barons.”
I sputtered out some spittle. “So you’re saying that somebody could buy nine of your ships for that price?”
“Yes, though I do like to think of her as being worth more than that for her sentimental value.”
I shook my head. “That’s a lot of money, and you-”
Ben stopped and swung me around so we faced each other. His arms looped around me and his gentle eyes studied me with a more serious expression. “You know, I didn’t bring you out here to speak about business.”
My cheeks blushed as I gazed into his bright eyes. There was something alluring in their depths that sent a warm thrill through my body.
It was a great effort for me to clear the lump in my throat. “S-so what did you bring me out here for?”
Ben cupped one of my cheeks in his palm and studied my face. “You don’t know?”
My heart thumped loudly in my chest. “I-I think I can guess.”
“Allow me to dispel your guesses.”
Ben leaned down and pressed our lips together in a long, passionate kiss. I leaned into the kiss and he wrapped his arms around me. Ben pressed my front against his warm, muscled body, and I couldn’t help but let out a low moan. A slight growl emanated from him and the sound only thrilled me more.
At the moment of my ecstasy, Ben drew us apart and I opened my eyes to find his attention lay on the starlight behind me. There was such a look of curiosity and concern that my heart fluttered, but for a less pleasurable reason.
“What is it?” I asked him as I turned around to see what he was looking at.
Ben’s eyes glowed bright red in the darkness that now encompassed the world. “I’m not sure, but it’s headed for the villa.”
I followed his gaze and beheld a tiny shadow in the distance. The darkness did indeed dip and curve its way toward us. The creature was ten feet away when I finally recognized the flimsy outline was that of a crow call. The creature landed on Ben’s shoulder and I noticed it carried a rolled-up paper in its beak. There was no writing on the outside.
“Who’s it from?” I wondered.
“Only Tully sends a crow call with a letter attached,” he told me as he took the note from the bird’s beak. “And he was the only person in Validen who knows where we are right now.”
He unfurled the letter and read the contents. My curiosity was greatly increased when he frowned. “What does it say?”
He cleared his throat before reading. “Please allow me to forward the messages sent by Lady Trent to Miss Lucas, or the neighbors will begin to complain.” He lowered the letter and lifted an eyebrow. “That sounds rather dire.”
“And noisy,” I added.
Ben set his upturned palm in front of the crow and the creature hopped into it. He raised it to his face and spoke in a clear voice. “Allow them to come here in the morning.”
