Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 99325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Once at the wall she bent down and ran her fingers over the words etched into the stone. It had to have been difficult and painstakingly slow to write in the stone, but then all Magnus’s mother had had was time.
She ran her fingers over the writing, stopping here and there to make certain she understood what the woman had written. She shook her head and read again a passage near the bottom of the wall.
Could she be wrong in her translation?
She read it again and wept.
Chapter 28
Reena woke alone the next morning. She had felt Magnus stir earlier, his warm fingers gliding over her naked flesh ever so lightly, stirring her senses. He had pulled the blanket down to taste her hard nipple, and while her body had tingled with pleasure, she had just been too tired to respond with interest. She had not fallen asleep until just before dawn, and her body and mind had been exhausted and ready for slumber.
Magnus had whispered, “I love you” in her ear and kissed her cheek before leaving the bed, and she had fallen into a deep slumber, only waking now because of the heavy rain pounding the windows.
The information she had discovered late last night continued to disturb her. What should she do? Did Magnus know what his mother had written on the stone wall? And if he did, should she wait for him to tell her? And what if he did not know? Should she be the one to tell him? The information would prove painful to him, and she did not want to see him suffer any more than he already had. She would bide her time and see if he confided in her what she already knew. If not? She did not wish to think on it, for it would grieve her to deliver such startling news to him.
She hurried to dress, choosing a shift and tunic in shades of green and plaiting her long, dark hair so that it would stay out of her face—not that several silky strands did not fall lose and frame her visage.
Her cheeks held a faint blush, and her blue eyes shone bright as she entered the great hall. Magnus sat in discussion with Thomas at a table near the hearth, Horace at his feet, gnawing on a sizeable bone.
Her heart filled with joy at the sight of him, and she smiled as she hurried to him. He was dressed all in black but the darkness did not disturb her, for she knew that beneath lay a person filled with light and love.
He turned and saw her, and his joyful smile matched hers as he stood, stepped over Horace, and opened his arms to her.
She raced into his embrace, and he lifted her up off the floor and hugged her tightly to him.
“I missed having you beside me at the morning meal,” he whispered in her ear before nibbling the lobe.
Her arms circled his neck and she laughed softly, rubbing her cheek to his. “I was lazy this morning.”
“You had difficulty sleeping?”
She did not want him to worry or discover her little escapade last night. “Nothing of importance.”
“You should have woken me.” He lowered his voice to a mere whisper. “I would have made certain you grew tired enough to sleep.”
She laughed and kissed him. “I will remember that and make certain to wake you the next time I have trouble sleeping.”
He kissed her before lowering her to the floor.
She turned to Thomas. “Good morning . . .” He did not look happy, and she grew alarmed. “What is wrong?” She looked to Magnus. His smile had faded.
“A message from the king.”
Reena braced herself for the news.
“The king orders Brigid to produce the map that Kilkern has accused her of stealing, and if she does not, then the king’s men will journey here to question her and determine who speaks the truth.”
“They will torture her,” Reena said on a whisper.
“They will not touch her,” Thomas said, his large fist pounding the table.
Horace jumped, whimpered, and attempted to bury his head under Reena’s dress.
She soothed him with a pat on the head and a few soft words, but still he kept his snout under her dress.
“What can we do?” she asked. “And does Brigid know of this?”
“Nay,” Thomas said quickly, his voice low. “And she will not know. She is happy planning our wedding, and I will not see her robbed of her happiness. Magnus and I discuss now what can be done.”
“Then I join this discussion,” Reena said and walked around Magnus to take a seat on the bench next to where he had been sitting. Horace was quick to trail her, bone in mouth. He slipped beneath the table for added protection, lying beside her.
Magnus returned to his seat.
“You have the map to show the king’s men,” Thomas said. “Will that not satisfy them?”