“The thanks should come from the man whom you have trusted.”
“Well, we will exchange our gratitude.”
“And I can swear to being flattered by the bargain.”
He bowed to her, and for the moment she felt herself a mere ignorant girl, uneasy and half abashed under the eyes of a courtier whose manners were too splendid. Tinteniac’s stateliness made her sincerity seem incomplete. It was difficult to repulse a man whose methods were without aggression.
“Sire, I had almost forgotten that I have your ring.”
“My ring?”
“Yes,” and she slipped it from her finger and let the circle of gold lie in her white palm.
Tinteniac looked at her, yet without a stare, and was slow in the stretching out of his hand.
“Can you not keep it?”
Their eyes met, but Tiphaïne’s were the first to fall.