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And so we made our way through the next month, planning for the adventure while I taught my students to speak without their tongues. It was a sweet time, an easy time. With the burden of entertaining my lord carried more by Sharp than myself, I found plenty of opportunities to steal away to the hayloft and entertain my lady. I let my beard grow, to mark my new status with Elise. My lord did likewise, though his reason was disguise. It did make him look older, and more mature. Not at all like himself.
One thing bothered me, as the days went on. I saw no sign of Danial, the messenger Lord Reinard had sent before me to Rockridge. Knowing the depth of Lord Geurney’s cruelty, I feared what might have been done to him. A Silent Monk gave me the answer.
"He was beaten at Rockridge. Beaten so hard that he lost his sight, and it has not returned." The Monk paused to clench his hand, then slowly opened it. "Your lord shelters him, and his daughter cares for him, but he has locked himself away with self-pity and anger."
I understood that. There was little I could do for him, I thought. I could not speak words of comfort, and he could not see his gestures. But he could hear me play. I resolved to take my harp to him.
