He tilted his head, but not fast enough, and as the young woman straightened from her curtsy, as she caught sight of his face, Petra could see untempered surprise cloud her features. Surprise darkened to veiled discomfort, and she did not, of course, look at him again. Not even now that he’d turned so she could not see in full the right side of his face.

“Petra, this is the Lady Celandine.” Eckhart gestured with one gloved hand for the young woman to sit, but she remained upright, her hands clasped nervously. “My lady, if you would explain your situation as you explained it to me.”

The young woman nodded but, not yet recovered, did not respond. Clearly she regretted her show of surprise, but no exhibition of court manners could undo her lapse in composure. Petra watched her struggle for politeness and tried not to think of the moss caught beneath his fingernails or the earth caked into the soles of his boots.

Her hands stilled, finally, and then she began to speak in a low, steady voice, as if she’d rehearsed the words: “There were so many of us, I don’t think you would remember, but I was a guest at Prince Fier’s final party those three years ago. I did not dance with him, although I had hoped to.

“Late in the evening, after the dancing began, I slipped upstairs to his bedroom and left my ring on the nightstand as a token. I took nothing,” she added quickly, in response to a chastisement that had not come, “I only wanted a way to stand out from the other young women in attendance. I thought that if I left the prince something of mine, he would think of me more often than any of the others.

“I returned to the ballroom with none the wiser. Almost as soon as I stepped off the last stair, the... outburst happened.” She glanced, briefly, at Eckhart, who nodded to encourage her to continue. “I gave my ring next to no thought, either then or in the years following. In truth, I would not pursue its recovery at all, except that I want very much now to give it away in earnest.

“It’s a simple ring, just a thin golden band with etched petals.  Even with the... the rumors, I don’t know why it wouldn’t still be on the nightstand. I know you’re the only one who can go inside the house. Please, please bring it back.”

It was Petra’s turn, then, to glance at Eckhart, who nodded again in silent encouragement, her expression carefully blank.

“I’ll look for it. If it can be found, you will have it by this time tomorrow.”

The young woman closed her eyes and let out a deep, shaking breath. “Thank you.” She ducked into a hasty bow, her braid coiling over her shoulder. “Thank you, sir – from the bottom of my heart.”