Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
He shook his head. “Could turn more badly than they already were?” He shrugged. “How did you get yourself into that much trouble in so little time? Wait,” he said before she could answer. “I forgot my wife’s penchant to save everyone while worrying her husband senseless.”
She tapped his chest with one finger. “Have I changed since we wed?”
He looked at her oddly. “Nay.”
“Then why should this surprise or upset you?”
“That’s easy to answer. Because when we first met you were nothing more than an annoying waif but now—now you’re my wife, the woman I love deeply. The woman I can’t bear to see harmed. The woman who should consider her husband before creating or charging into a foolish situation that could end badly. Could end with him losing her.”
She rested her hand against his chest and pressed her brow to his. “I understand. I truly do and I know how frustrating that must be for you, but—” She raised her head and looked into his eyes, eyes that flicked with worry, annoyance, and love. “I don’t know how to walk away when I see another suffer senselessly.”
He kissed her gently, her soft response reminding him of her soft heart. “We need to have many sons.”
She shook her head confused. “Why?”
“Because we’re bound to have a daughter just like you and I want her to have an army of warriors around her, so I have help keeping her safe.”
Dru smiled. “That sounds like a good plan.”
Her stomach grumbled.
“Didn’t you eat?” he asked concerned.
“A bit of bread and cheese.”
He lifted her off the table. “Let’s get you more food.”
The air felt colder to Dru when they stepped outside, the clouds overhead promising rain or would they get a hint of an early snow tonight?
“I feel a touch of snow in the air,” Knox said, their arms hooked snugly.
“I thought the same myself and I am glad we will have a roof over our head tonight and a warm bed to sleep in.”
“I forgot to ask if you learned anything helpful before getting yourself into trouble,” he said.
“Mara told me that everyone wonders if Lord Torrance intends to spend the winter here since he had repairs made to the village and the food sheds stocked. Otherwise, why would he make such changes? She says he’s still quick-tempered and harsh when angered and that his actions puzzle the lot of them.”
“He’s not a man who trusts easily or speaks openly about his plans. He never told Brack that he sent a dozen men to escort me here,” Knox explained.
“I wonder why the mystery and why summon you when you have yet to complete your mission. Unless…”
Knox knew her thought. “You think he may have found a woman he believes is Autumn.”
“It’s possible.” She didn’t like to think that but… “What if a desperate woman, looking to improve her lot, approached him and claimed to be Autumn?”
“It’s a reasonable thought and even more reasonable… do we let the lie stand? Would it hurt to let her have a better life?”
“But would she?” Dru argued. “What if she is wed to a brutal man? And what of those who want her dead?”
“And what if she only exists in our minds?” he said with a chuckle.
“We can do nothing but wait and see what Lord Torrance says on his return here,” Dru said and smiled as they neared the kitchen. “I’m starving.”
The cook was generous with them, and they returned to the cottage to enjoy a filling meal and when they finished, they both spied the bed at the same time and tumbled into it eager to make love.
The sudden sound of a horn blaring had them rushing out of bed and Knox rushing for his sword. The sound was one that alerted the village to an unknown troop’s approach.
“You run and hide if fighting breaks out,” Knox ordered her. “And please, wife, do not fight me on this.”
“I will hide,” she promised, though she did not let him know she would also watch and be there for him in case he needed help.
They stepped outside and joined the others waiting to see who arrived.
CHAPTER 28
Tension rippled through Clan MacFadin as riders from the north crested the hill. Lord Torrance’s warriors stood in formation at the entrance to the village, weapons in hand, Brack in front of them.
Knox felt less challenged that the group of ten warriors was no match for Lord Torrance’s twenty warriors or the ten more spread throughout the village. That also didn’t count the sentinels that had yet to show themselves. Of course, the north tribe could have more warriors, hidden in the distance, waiting to advance. But for now, the amount of warriors arriving didn’t pose a significant threat.
Dru stood amongst the crowd that gathered, Knox’s strong, comforting presence close at her back. Her heart beat an anxious rhythm, uncertainty gnawing at her resolve. She feared they had come for her.