The Bride Tournament by Ruth Kaufman

his new partner were murdered. Two of his many scrolls of notes disappeared. Richard suspected Edmund de la Tour, but neither he nor the authorities had uncovered any proof. But he’d never been granted access to Edmund’s workshop.
    Until now. The proof he needed, had sought for years, could be in this very room. He itched to pull those stones free to learn what they concealed.
    “What brings you here?” he asked.
    She shrugged. “I needed peace. Our healer once lived in this cottage. As a girl I visited often.”
    That sounded plausible, but the way she cast her eyes down told him there was another reason.
    “So your father still plays at alchemy,” he said, eager to hear what she knew of her father’s activities, past and present.
    “More like pursues with a vengeance.”
    “Is he near success?” Richard’s heartbeat sped. Was her father benefiting from his father’s labors or his own?
    “I don’t know. ’Twas only recently I learned he’d returned to this workshop.”
    Richard wanted to be the first to provide King Edward with the means to obtain much needed wealth to fund his new kingdom, if doing so were possible. He needed to give meaning to his father’s years of work. First he had to find the missing scrolls to see if his father had in fact succeeded.
    His wife stood in his way. If he didn’t search the cottage now, he wouldn’t have another chance until they returned from court. Who knew when that would be?
    He lit and held up a candle. Eleanor’s unbound hair gleamed golden as the light passed over her. He had a sudden urge to take her in his arms, to start his seduction anew.
    “Your father was also an alchemist,” Eleanor said, her face unreadable. “My father told me. And I know you seek his formulas for the king.”
    Did she know they’d been partners, that her father had betrayed his? “No one knows when Edward’s alchemists will come up with the mix of ingredients needed to complete the process of transmutation,” he said.
    “The philosopher’s stone.” Disgust laced her voice.
    “And there’s also elixir vitae , the elixir of life.” He couldn’t keep excitement from his. “Such discoveries could change the world. Not only could we turn base metals to gold, wondrous enough on its own, but prolong life. Science and medicine melded for the good of all.”
    She jumped to her feet. “It’s heresy.”
    Unfortunate that their views on such an important aspect of his life were so far apart. “Do you believe in Communion?”
    “I see what you’re trying to do. That’s religion, a ritual passed down through the ages. Faith. Not the same at all.”
    Arguing would get him nowhere. “What do you know of your father’s experiments?”
    “Not much. He wouldn’t tell me when I asked.” A shadow seemed to pass over her. “The hour is late. Perhaps we should return to our room.”
    He bit back frustration. He’d get nothing from her this night. Not information, not consummation. “You’re right, Eleanor. This place is peaceful. I’ll stay for the nonce.”
    Richard moved to the bench, close enough to inhale her sweet lemon scent, and sat.
    “Then we shall share the peace,” she said, sitting beside him. “While we can.”
    She wasn’t going to leave him alone in her father’s workshop. He’d have to find a way to borrow her key.
    He smiled. “Let us share that and more.”

    Richard’s smile was so compelling Eleanor was nearly tempted to stay. But she had to get him out of here. Out of her way.
    He seemed uncommonly interested in her father’s workshop. His gaze had probed every shelf crammed with books, every nook and cranny. Did he want to know if her father was farther along than his had been, or did he seek something specific? She hadn’t mistaken the gleam in his eye nor his determination when questioning her. Had the mania attacked Richard also, driving him to steal her father’sknowledge?
    Fortunately it didn’t matter if he himself played at melting base