Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Cavell is lucky to have wed you and have his own clan. I enjoyed going into battle, often looked forward to it, having felt lost without it until… I came here. Your clan has treated me well as if I am one of them, and though May can be annoying it grows easier to talk with her. I now see the benefits of belonging to a clan.”
“Don’t you belong to Slayer’s clan?”
“Nay. Slayer sends the Gallowglass warriors wherever needed.”
Elsie wrinkled her brow. “So, you spend most of your time in battle?”
“Mostly.”
“There are that many battles to fight?” she asked.
“Small ones, large ones, in between ones, we fight them all if asked. Fighting is my only skill. I know nothing but fighting.”
“You probably know more than you think, and you would be a benefit to any clan.”
“Even yours?” Melvin challenged rather than asked.
“You most definitely would be beneficial to Clan Murdock.”
“How so?” he asked, perplexed.
“You could train our clansmen for battle, teach them about battles, but most importantly, you could serve my husband well by being his trusted counsel.”
“You mean that, don’t you?” Melvin asked stunned by her suggestion.
“I do. You and my husband work well together and you respect and trust him as does he trust and respects you. It is important for a chieftain to have a counsel he can speak freely with, trusting his word would never be repeated unless given permission.”
“I would never divulge anything Cavell told me in confidence.”
“I will mention it to my husband,” Elsie said, glad Melvin lingered in talk. It kept her mind a bit occupied, though not entirely. Thoughts of her husband continued to dominate her mind and her worry for him grew as they continued to talk, and the night grew late.
“Can I get you anything, mistress?” Alda asked.
“You are still here, Alda?” Elsie asked. “You need not wait for me. Go and seek your bed. It has been a long day.”
“It is difficult to rest knowing news of Mistress Leora may arrive at any moment,” Alda said, her eyes shining with tears.
“Leora is a strong one. She will survive no matter what it takes to do so,” Elsie said, trying to believe it herself.
Elsie jumped, as did Alda when the door to the Great Hall swung open and their breaths caught waiting to see who it was.
Elsie was off her seat in a flash when she saw it was her husband and she took swift steps to him, flinging herself into his arms when she got close enough, relieved when he caught her in a tight hug. She buried her face against his chest, the scent of the forest thick upon him and she heard the beat of his heart pounding hard and strong from a demanding ride, a sign of his eagerness to return to her.
Relieved he was home safe, she finally looked up at him. “What took you so long? I was so worried something had happened to you?”
That his wife inquired about him first rather than her sister spoke loudly of her love for him, and it was at that moment he knew that his wife was not insane, he, however—without a doubt—was insanely in love with her.
He brushed a strand of her silky hair off her cheek with the stroke of his thumb. The simple touch sent a myriad of feelings rushing through him, relieved to have her in his arms. “I had to make certain of the drowned woman’s identity so that when I told you she was not Leora, you would know I spoke the truth.”
Elsie let out a huge sigh of relief that she was certain had been stuck in her since hearing the news and asked, “You brought her here for me to see?”
“It wasn’t necessary. The news had gone out to other clans besides ours and a woman from a neighboring clan knew at first glance it was her sister.”
“How could she be so sure?” Elsie asked, fearful a mistake could have been made.
“The dead woman was missing a finger not recently severed and the sister confirmed that her sister had lost the exact finger when she was a wee lass. But I waited for the man about to wed the woman to arrive, and one look at her and he broke down in tears.”
“My heart aches for them both,” Elsie said, knowing how the woman must feel, for she would have been devastated had it been Leora.
“It is good news for Clan Murdock,” Melvin said when Cavell and Elsie joined him at the table, Cavell eagerly accepting the tankard of ale he held out to him.
“God bless the dead woman,” Alda said solemnly then smiled. “But wonderful news that it wasn’t Mistress Leora. I will get you food, sir.”
“Not necessary, Alda, ale will do. It is late and all is done here for the night. You are free to take your leave.”