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)
“Was she all right? Frightened? Harmed in any way?” Leora demanded anxiously.
Gower clamped his lips shut tightly and worry filled his eyes.
Leora silently cursed herself for frightening the young man with her demanding manner. But if he saw Sky only for a moment, she wanted his honest opinion of how she appeared.
She kept her voice calm and low. “I did not mean to frighten you, Gower, and since you spoke when you obviously fear that you shouldn’t have, I will share something with you that no one need know. This way we both will keep what we share here a secret.”
His eyes turned wide. “I am not good with a secret.”
“I am,” Leora assured him and the worry in his eyes faded slightly. “I ask about Sky because she is my sister.”
Gower’s mouth dropped open.
“People tell me she is safe and well, but how do I know for sure unless I hear it from someone who has seen her or talked with her.”
“I did not talk with her, mistress, but I have seen her several times,” Gower said.
“Please tell me how she is, Gower. Please. I worry endlessly about her,” Leora said, not caring that she sounded like she begged.
“From what I have seen of her, which was from a distance, she appears well. No one harms her, nor would anyone dare to. They would suffer at Lord Slayer’s hands if they did,” —Gower shuddered— “a horrible fate for sure.”
Leora was relieved to hear that, but she was not finished yet. “Was she alone each time you saw her? Has anyone in the clan befriended her?”
Gower stared at her, his silence letting her know he was at a loss for words.
Leora understood without him saying a word. The people feared her because of her affliction and, therefore, avoided her. Her heart ached at the thought of her sister all alone, no one to talk with, no one to care about her, and it made Leora even more determined to see that Sky was returned home to her family.
“All goes well with Lord Slayer?” Noble asked as he and Ross settled with tankards of ale at the table in his solar.
“All goes well at the clan, but Lord Slayer will not rest until he finds out who killed his brother and father and revenge their deaths,” Ross said.
“How does his search go?”
Ross shook his head. “Not as well or as fast as he would like. But he is wise enough to know impatience can be an enemy at times. His men are spread wide, listening, hoping to hear something that will help.”
“His tentacles always stretched wide,” Noble said, recalling the many powerful men Slayer was acquainted with, though he did not call them friends.
“The rogue mercenaries bent on killing or abducting your wife or Sky, since one of them could prove the heir to some Lowlander fortune, is what presently occupies his mind. It has Lowlanders arriving here and he does not like their intrusion upon the Highlands.”
“Cavell saved a troop of Lowlanders from complete slaughter and intends to escort the surviving ones to the border.”
“Then they will likely run into a larger group of Lowlanders who have crossed the border into the Highlands,” Ross said.
“Another troop has arrived?” Noble asked, not pleased by the news.
“Someone wants desperately to find the heir to the Lowland fortune.”
“My wife remains with me. Under no circumstance will I allow her out of our marriage,” Noble said, needing Ross to make sure Slayer understood that.
“Your vows are sealed, your marriage unbreakable?” Ross asked, and when Noble looked away, he shook his head. “Seal your vows posthaste and plant your seed deep so there is no chance of voiding the marriage.”
“I will see it done,” Noble assured him.
“Immediately,” Ross urged. “It will take time for that Lowlander troop to reach us, make sure your wife is with child before they get here.”
Noble nodded, annoyed he had not seen to it sooner so that his wife could possibly already be with child, securing their marriage.
“One other thing,” Ross said, “we ran into a group of mercenaries on the way here. The fools attacked us or at least attempted to. The ones lucky enough to survive were sent to Clan Ravinsher for Slayer to decide what to do with them. Once they heard where they were going, they couldn’t stop talking about their mission and how they were searching for their leader, Kinnel, who a Gallowglass warrior had taken prisoner. I am assuming you were that warrior.”
“I am, and his fate is sealed since he attempted once again to harm my wife, a poor attempt at that, his greed ruling his common sense,” Noble said, his brow narrowing. “Lance was not with them?”
“Your tracker?” Ross shook his head after Noble nodded. “He was not among them, and I doubt they would have harmed him since he could have led them to Kinnel.”