Marcus removed his medallion and pressed it to the plate. Gavin both heard and felt a click, and then, Marcus swung the door wide and entered.
Gavin followed Marcus into the suite and smiled. The center room was divided in half, the half closest the door possessing a dining table and chairs with the far half a sort of living room. The far wall held a hearth. The table and chairs were wooden and of exquisite craftsmanship. The two armchairs by the hearth were upholstered in a pleasant, very artistic style. A tapestry depicting a battle Gavin couldn’t recognize hung above the hearth.
“This first door to the left is the bathroom. The far door to the left is my bedroom,” Marcus said, indicating each door with a gesture. “The first door to the right is the library, and the far room on this side will be your bedroom. We’ll conduct our studies here in the main room. Any questions so far?”
“Where will Kiri sleep?” Gavin asked.
“There are only two beds in the suite,” Marcus said, “and she’s not sleeping with me.”
“I…I see,” Gavin said. “I want to thank you for helping me, Marcus.”
“You’re welcome,” Marcus said. “However, if you truly wish to thank me, take what you learn, and make it a part of you. Don’t just use the Art; live it. At that point, you will have repaid any kindness by me and then some.”
Marcus turned and walked over to the armchair on the left side of the hearth. He sat and removed his medallion once more. He pressed it to the metal plate on the lid, and Gavin heard the tell-tale click, much like that of the door. Marcus lifted the lid and reached inside. He soon withdrew a silver amulet on a chain.
This medallion looked almost identical to the one Marcus wore. Gavin thought the runes that circled the center, recessed area looked pretty much the same as those on Marcus’s. Unlike Marcus’s medallion, however, this one had a glyph in the recessed center, and it was the same symbol that had been burned into the slaver’s forehead in the alley.
“This would’ve been my daughter’s, had she lived, but I think it will suit you also.”
Gavin accepted the medallion and put his head through the chain. When Gavin first put it around his neck, the medallion rested just below the bottom of his sternum. In a moment, Gavin felt the chain begin to shrink and shift until the medallion rested atop his heart.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to wash up a bit,” Gavin said. “I think I sweated the bed wet at the temple while I was unconscious.”
Marcus gestured toward the bathroom and pulled a brown-leather-bound volume from the chest.
Marcus looked up from the volume as Gavin exited the bathroom and nodded. “If you like, take a quick walk-through of your room, and let me know if there’s anything specific it’s missing for you.”
Gavin walked over and opened the door to his room. The room was about fifteen feet by twenty, and it was well-lit. The bed was in the far corner, and a wardrobe faced it. The wall in which the door was mounted had a writing desk with a comfortable-seeming chair.
“Everything seems to be in order,” Gavin said. “Kiri and I will probably need a set of clothes at some point, but I think I’m good to get started.”
Marcus looked up from the volume on his knee and nodded. “Give me a few moments to finish collecting my thoughts, and we’ll be off to the tailor I use.”
Gavin took a seat at the table and became lost in his thoughts to the accompaniment of a quill scratching at the pages of a journal.
Chapter 8
Later that evening, Gavin was turning down the bed, not even thinking about the sleeping arrangements when he heard the door close behind him. Gavin finished placing the pillows where they belonged before he turned, but when he did turn, Gavin froze.
Kiri stood in front of the closed door. She held her head down, not looking at Gavin, and her dress lay discarded by her feet. She wore nothing underneath.
Gavin’s mind stopped. It was as if his train of thought stopped against a large tree laid across its tracks. A part of him wanted nothing more than to stand there and enjoy the sight of the young woman now standing nude in front of him, for she was beyond pretty. But the rest of him didn’t understand. Why would she do this? They’d only just met, and…then, it clicked.
I own her now. She thinks I’m going to…oh, no. Hell, no.
Gavin cast about for something-anything-he could use to cover Kiri, and he eyed a linen robe hanging on one side of the armoire. He grabbed it off the hook and turned to approach Kiri.
At his first step, Gavin saw sudden tension in her shoulders, arms, and torso; she was fighting to keep from trembling. Oh, damn…is she afraid of me?
Another step, and Kiri flinched. She tried to control it, but Gavin saw it. I can’t do this. Whatever possessed me to think I could do this?
Another step, and Kiri’s hands started to clench and then stopped. Maybe Marcus would let me sleep in the library. Surely, he’d understand, right?
Gavin took the last step to bring him to Kiri, and in one swift motion, he swept the robe behind her and dropped it to hang on her shoulders. He was very proud that he’d managed it without any part of him touching any part of Kiri. Then, he stepped back until his legs met the edge of the bed.
“Kiri, I’d like to talk, but I’d rather not talk to the top of your head.”
Kiri lifted her head, and even though she pointed her face toward Gavin, she still did not make eye contact with him.
Gavin wanted to sigh, but he was concerned how Kiri would interpret that.
“Kiri…” He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to ask the question he feared she’d answer with a ‘yes.’
“Do I displease you, sir?” Kiri asked, her voice little more than a whisper.
“No, you do not displease me,” Gavin said as his mind churned. How can I prove to her that I’m not like the men who’ve assaulted her? What kind of people would just accept living around someone so terrified of them? I know I couldn’t live like this, day in and day out. Why, why, why did this have to happen now? All I want to do is go to sleep, but no…the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen is sharing my bedroom, and she thinks I’m going to rape her. I so did not need this tonight. Heck with it…there must be extra blankets around here someplace; this can be tomorrow’s problem.
Gavin turned to the armoire and pulled open the drawers in the bottom. There were four extra blankets folded in the bottom drawer. Gavin took one and unfolded it until it was as long as the bed but only as wide as one person and laid it on the floor. Then, he did the same with a second. He grabbed one of the two pillows on the bed and dropped it on the blankets by the head of the bed and took a third blanket from the drawer and closed it. Gavin turned and found Kiri looking at what he’d done, her brow furrowed.
“Kiri, I am not about to touch you without your permission. I realize it will take time for you to relax around me, and I hope you’ll see me as a friend someday. I will not treat you like I think you’ve been treated in the past. The bed is yours.”
Kiri stared at Gavin as though no part of her world made sense anymore. Her jaw worked like she was about to speak as she frowned, relaxed, and frowned again.
“Kiri, I do not have the words to communicate how deeply I abhor the concept of slavery. If I had my way, that mark would vanish from your shoulder, and you’d be free to live your life as you see fit. I don’t know if that’s possible; just because Marcus said no one’s figured out how to remove a slave brand yet doesn’t mean it can’t be done. So, until I can deliver your freedom to you, I want you to live as though you were. Do what you want. Go where you want. Now…I am going to bed.”