Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I can see to washing myself,” Sky said softly, understanding the servants’ misgivings. “Please let the servants go.”
Sky said no more since it truly was not her decision to make. She was not the lady of the keep. Though she wondered if she was receiving such attention because she was believed to be the widow of the previous lord, the large room alone alerted her to that possibility since it appeared fit for the lord of the clan. Everything seemed large in the room, from the fireplace to the chairs, to several chests, and a huge bed, four thick posts reaching almost to the ceiling from its four corners. She would have to ask Slayer if she was thought to be Warrand’s widow. But for whatever reason, she did not feel comfortable with the attention. She was accustomed to seeing to her own needs and required no assistance.
She repeated herself softly. “Please, let them go, Euniss.”
Silence followed and she realized that please was not something the servants heard from nobles, but she was not a noble. And she could not be something she wasn’t.
“Be gone with you,” Euniss ordered the two servant lasses.
“You need not stay either, Euniss,” Sky said upon hearing the two servants rush out of the room as if the devil was on their heels. “I can see to taking care of myself.”
“Nonsense.”
Her voice sounded as if she stood beside the tub and Sky’s eyes flashed open to see Euniss standing near the rim, folding up her sleeves.
“I will see to washing myself,” Sky said quickly. “I need no help, but I am grateful for the offer.”
Euniss picked up a slab of soap that had been placed on top of a stack of folded cloths sitting atop a high stool. “I will wash your hair.”
Sky thought to argue but when the woman’s hands began working the soap into her hair and scalp vigorously, she sighed with pleasure.
“You must be tired after your long journey,” Euniss said.
Long journey. The woman was curious as to how long she had been with Slayer. Surely word must have reached here about Sky. She did not believe warriors would hold their tongues. Unless Slayer had issued orders.
Sky kept her response simple. “I look forward to some sleep.”
“Sit up some and tilt your head back so I can rinse the soap from your hair.”
Sky did as she asked, almost sighing with the pleasure of the still-heated water running over her head and shoulders.
“Will you be staying with us long?” Euniss asked.
“I am not sure,” she said, fearful of saying too much or saying something she shouldn’t.
“I should warn you.”
“Warn me?” Sky asked, concerned as the woman squeezed the water from her hair.
“Lord Slayer is a good man, not always kind, but a good man. The not always good part is thanks to his father who forced him to become the mighty warrior that he is today. Lord Bannaty wanted to assure that no one dared oppose Clan Ravinsher. It left little time for Lord Slayer to know anything other than the constant need to protect his brother and the future of the clan. Now he is the future of the clan and there is no one to protect him.”
Aye, there is… me.
A foolish thought since what could she do to protect Slayer?
Love him.
She did not know how that would help, but since her heart believed otherwise, she would trust it. She would protect him and shield him with her love.
Slayer was disappointed that the captured men he spoke with had no new information to give them. It was the same news he had discovered himself. Mercenaries, whether small or large groups, were crawling the Highlands with hopes of being successful in killing the reddish blonde-haired Murdock sister and claiming the sizeable fortune offered to complete the mission. The only lead to who wanted them dead had something to do with the Lowlanders who had entered the Highlands.
He was glad for the late-night hour and the quiet of the village. He often walked through the village at night to check on his sentinels, keeping them alert since they never knew when he might show up. It also left him time alone. Undisturbed time, when he let his thoughts run wild before forcing them into order, into making sense and making decisions. Though some remained stubborn, refusing to comply, refusing to make sense, and that frustrated Slayer. But it always proved only a mere delay in the end since he refused to accept defeat. He was a Gallowglass warrior and the Gallowglass never surrendered.
Once in the keep, he made his way to his bedchamber and approached the bed quietly to see Sky sleeping peacefully. Strands of her reddish blonde hair, much like the colors of the flames that flickered in the fireplace, lay across her cheek, the ends curling slightly. He went to move it aside with his finger, but instead he caught it between two of his fingers. Soft and silky. He favored running his finger through her hair to hold her head still when he kissed her. And he could not get enough of her lovely face. It was flawless, not a blemish on it and pale in color, except for the two, faint pink stains on her cheeks which appeared often, another thing about her that he favored.