Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“On that, we are single-minded, wife,” Noble said.
Leora’s eyes lingered on his face. That he had fine features could not be denied by anyone with eyes. But that wasn’t what she focused on. It was his honorable nature she saw in him that got her attention. He had not hesitated to keep her safe since meeting her, and though he had good reason for doing so, receiving a clan of his own for wedding her, he honored his word, his commitment to their marriage. Though there was that point of him thinking he could tame her, and yet it would not matter to him if he did or didn’t since their marriage—to him—was not debatable. They would remain wed and spend the rest of their lives together.
“Are you all right, Leora?”
His strong voice yet gentle tone nudged Leora out of her musings. “I find myself forever in your arms. You keep saving me.”
She was expecting to hear the usual, it is my duty, but it wasn’t his words that shocked her as much as the force he spoke with, as if he declared it an edict.
“And there is where you will stay, for I will not lose you.” He pushed the last few lingering, damp strands of hair off her face, his fingers stroking along her cheek as he did.
A strange sensation, a flutter of sorts, ran through her and she realized that she liked his touch, and she liked being in his arms. The thought caused her a moment of fright. Why she couldn’t say, but it did. She wished Elsie was here with her. She was wed and had knowledge of the intimacies of marriage that Leora was not privy to. That thought also reminded her of Sky and her reason for remaining in the marriage. Sky came first, then she could decide on her marriage.
“I need to tend to the wound,” she said, needing to focus on anything but her husband.
“I will help you and do not bother to argue with me,” he said, seeing her about to protest.
“I think a dab of honey will suffice. The quick reflection I caught of the wound confirmed what you told me. It was minor,” Leora said.
Noble summoned Finley with a quick wave and in no time the wound was seen to, and they were ready to be on their way again.
“I can ride my own horse,” Leora said when her husband insisted that she ride with him again.
“This is not debatable, wife,” Noble said, then turned to Finley. “Stay with her until I return.”
Leora watched him walk off to talk with several of his warriors.
“I am feeling well enough, riding with him is not necessary and will only slow us down,” she complained to Finley.
“He does it to protect you,” Finley said. “He can shield you better when you ride with him, making it more difficult for an arrow to strike you.”
“But not him,” Leora said, realizing the danger he intentionally placed himself in.
“As I have said, Noble is an honorable man. He will suffer an arrow before he allows one to hit you. Tavish was wise in taking his own life, for Noble would have made him suffer horrendously for what he did to you.”
Out of duty, she thought and startled when a whispery thought struck her, he does so because he cares.
The skies soon began to darken and there was no denying that heavy rain would fall soon. Noble returned to his wife and Finley. “A rainstorm approaches. We need to take shelter. You know where we need to go, Finley. It will take us off our intended path, but it will grant us the shelter we need.”
“Aye, I will inform the men,” Finley said and hurried off.
They were soon on their way and not long after veered off the path, traveling more slowly, the woods denser and the path not as clear. A crack of thunder startled Leora, but not one of Noble’s warriors. It was as if they were impervious to the sudden noise.
“It could cost a warrior his life if he reacted to every unexpected sound he heard,” Noble said, his wife having jumped in fright at the thunder.
“I envy them. It can be quite unsettling.”
Noble heard fatigue in her voice. “You are tired.”
She did not want to admit it, but she would be foolish if she didn’t. She feared the wound had affected her more than she realized. “I will not lie. Fatigue is fast taking hold of me.”
Noble grew annoyed at himself. She needed rest, not endless time on a horse. “We are not far from where you can rest easily.”
She let her head gently fall on his shoulder. “I am glad to hear that, for I fear traveling much longer will not do me well. I need to rest.”
He was glad she was honest with him even though it worried him. She had been strong since meeting her so for her to admit that she needed to rest worried him. He had hoped to reach the abbey so the nuns could tend to her and make sure she was fit for travel before they proceeded to Clan Skirling. The dark clouds had changed all that.