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)
“Elsie is wed, and you should know that your father secured a marriage for Leora as well. Both will have their own families. Do you not want a family of your own?” he asked his own question, giving him pause to think about it himself. He had not given much thought to having a family but now that he ruled the clan, it was his responsibility to produce heirs and secure the clan’s future. And the thought of having bairns with Sky surprisingly appealed to him.
News that Leora was wed as well did not shock her. If her da had secured marriages for her and Elsie, it would make sense he would do the same for Leora. Sky never expected to have children since she never expected to wed. She had looked forward to her sisters making her an aunt so she could not only indulge the little ones but satisfy her own need for bairns she would never have. Marriage to Slayer would give her a chance to have her own home and bairns. It could be a viable choice, a sensible one, but did she have the courage to make it so?
He could see she was giving it thought as was he. The marriage was secured. There was no changing that and he would see it sealed with the consummation of their vows. Neither of them had a choice. Fate had settled it for them. Besides, something inside him urged him not to lose her, to keep her close, to talk with her and enjoy her gentle voice and her kind nature.
“I suppose our marriage could prove sensible,” she said while still considering it.
“Yet something gives you pause. I can see it in your scrunched brow.” He reached across the table and gently stroked her brow to chase away the deep lines.
An ease settled over her as though his touch held the magic to dispel her worries. Or was it simply that he noticed and tempted to vanquish them? But then he was a warrior, a conqueror who vanquished his enemies, so how difficult would it be for him to dispel her worries when he was the one truly in command?
“There is something I need to know, and I need you to be honest with me about it,” she said.
“Concerning our marriage?”
“Aye.”
“There is nothing I hide from you about the marriage agreement,” he assured her.
“Except that you have not told me why your father chose me to wed Warrand, then you, when I bring no benefit to the union.”
Slayer never expected her to ask that, but he had said he hid nothing from her about their union. So, honor dictated he speak the truth. “You asked for the truth, and I will tell you it. My father was a man who put Clan Ravinsher before anything else. He claimed that wives were more a hindrance than a benefit. He told me that he wanted to find a wife for Warrand who would not consume him with desire or one he could not possibly lose his heart to. He assumed Warrand would have no interest in a woman with two different colored eyes, nor would he find any passion with her.”
Sky stared at him, his words sinking in deep, squeezing at her heart. “So, your father believed me undesirable, unlovable, and all Warrand would need to do is tolerate me when it came time to get me with child.”
“To him it was a marriage of convenience like most marriages, nothing more,” he said, to make it sound less hurtful, but it did nothing to stop the hurt gathering in her eyes. While he kept his feelings stoic, necessary for a Gallowglass commander, he could not stop the anger that sparked in him for causing her pain. He never expected to hear her say what she said next.
“If he expected that of Warrand, then he must have expected the same from you. So, tell me, Slayer, will you only tolerate me?”
Sky had learned for herself that a lack of a quick response demonstrated shock and the inability to answer. She watched as Slayer sat there silently, staring at her. It was all the response she needed. She got up and ran out of the cottage into the rain.
CHAPTER 7
Sky ran. She didn’t know where she was going and did not care. She just needed to escape the hurt that tore at her heart and soul.
Unlovable.
She had heard that before and had gone with tearful eyes, though she would not allow herself to shed them, to her sisters to tell them what the women had said about her that no man would ever love her. That she was unlovable. Worse they had laughed about how a man would have to slip a sack over her head, so he did not have to look into her evil eyes. Leora demanded to know who the women were, but Sky had refused to tell her, knowing it would only make matters worse. Elsie had told her they were jealous of her beauty and that was why they were so mean. She wanted to believe her sister since it helped lessen the hurt, but the women were right, and Slayer’s words had just proved it. No man would ever love her. She was unlovable. Slayer would tolerate her, do his husbandly duties, and care nothing for her.