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)
The kitten had crawled over Sky to get to Fane and once at the edge of the bed fell off. Fane quickly scooped up the little ball of fur by the rough of her neck and carried her to the hearth where he plopped down after releasing the kitten only to have her curl against him.
“They have grown fond of each other. They are an odd but loving pair,” Sky said with a gentle smile.
Odd but loving pair. Would people think that of him and Sky when it was found out they were wed?
Sky sat up and placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Fane would serve you better if he remained by your side rather than closed away in the pen and Angel is my friend and I prefer she remain with me.”
My friend.
He felt a pang in his chest that spread into annoyance, realizing that Euniss was the only person in the clan who spoke with her. No one had attempted to make friends with her. The animals were her only friends.
He hooked her around the waist and fell back on the bed with her. “Keep Angel off the bed. It is for you and me alone.” He kissed her and did not stop, so it was sometime later that they left their bedchamber. He left first, though not before stopping at the door to say, “I detest not being able to take your hand or grab you in a hug. This must end soon, for I will not be kept from you. Fane! With me, now!”
The hound got to his feet and the kitten was ready to follow him, but Sky scooped her up and when the door closed behind Slayer, Sky said, “We will go soon and see if my husband heeded my words and kept Fane with him or returned him to the pen. Where, of course, we will rescue him.”
Sky made her way to the kitchen, staying out of the way of the busy servants preparing the morning meal and fixed a bowl of food for the kitten and took it outside. She ignored the stares and whispers of those who worked in the garden. She expected both after the incident with Fane. But having her husband to talk with, and Angel, as well as Fane in the last few days, she felt she had an abundance of friendship.
“Angel is doing good. Soon she will no longer fit in the pouch you carry her in.”
Sky turned and smiled at Euniss. “She does do well.”
“It is your loving heart that grows her strong and it touches more than only Angel.”
“Aye, Fane has recovered well.”
“It is not Fane I think of, and I am pleased to see it. He deserves it. It has been too long since he has known a loving heart and touch. You are good for him.” Euniss said, her eyes tearing. “His mum would be relieved and pleased.”
“What was his mum like?” Sky asked, curious to know all she could about her husband.
“Lady Candra was a sweet woman, too sweet for Lord Bannaty. She obeyed his every command. She did not want her son to be named Slayer, but Lord Bannaty insisted that he would grow to be a great warrior. She was not strong enough to defy him and he cared nothing for her. Theirs, like most, was an arranged marriage. Lord Bannaty was not an easy man to be wed to. His concern was always for the clan, the land, and sustaining it beyond his years. The two lads spent little time with their mum thanks to their father. Lady Candra spent time in her solar and would retreat in prayer often to Whitehall Abbey, not far from here. I believe she died of a broken heart.”
Sky’s heart broke for the woman. She understood the isolation and loneliness she must have suffered, having experienced some herself. But at least she had had her sisters. Lady Candra had had no one, not even her sons. Lord Bannaty had been a cruel man, and she did not want to think about what life may have been like wed to Warrand if he had inherited his father’s traits.
“Did the clan favor Lord Bannaty?” Sky asked.
“He was respected and tolerated since he took good care of the clan. All had shelter, no one went hungry, and the clan was well protected, even more so when Slayer became part of the Gallowglass. So, there were no complaints just as it is now with Lord Slayer.”
“Yet someone poisoned Lord Bannaty. Why, if he was at least respected?”
“A question we all ponder,” Euniss said.
“Do you recall any visitors he may have had before he took ill?” Sky asked, aware Slayer had probably asked the very same question of her but thinking it would not hurt to ask again. More importantly she loved her husband and wanted to keep him safe just as much he wanted her kept safe.