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)
“I love him,” Reena said softly.
Brigid stood and went to her friend’s side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I understand.”
Reena turned and her tears started once again, but this time they fell for Brigid. “I suffered along with you when John died, but until now . . . until I have loved myself, I never truly understood how deep your pain and suffering was, and I am so terribly sorry for you.”
The two women hugged tightly before parting and wiping their tears away.
“I am lucky to have found love again and with such a kind and caring man. Thomas means the world to me and I love him dearly, but if I had the chance to go back to the day Kilkern attacked John I would have responded differently. I instinctively knew something was amiss and that John should have remained silent. I would have been more brave and stepped forward to silence my husband so that he did not have to lose his life so senselessly.” Brigid paused and fought back her tears.
Reena had to wipe at her own tears.
“I tell you this, Reena, for I understand your plight, and while I love you as a sister and do not wish to see any harm come to you, I would warn you to do whatever is necessary to protect the man you love. Death comes to us all, but unnecessary death, senseless death, is difficult to accept and understand. There was no reason for John to die. He died simply because a powerful and greedy man grew angry. And that man will kill again if he thinks it serves his purpose.
“After John died I blamed myself for not defending him and not dying along with him—”
“Nonsense,” Reena said, fast to correct her friend. “There was nothing you could do, and dying along with John would—”
“Would be a senseless death.” Brigid nodded. “It took me a while to understand that my living gave more meaning to John’s death. Falling in love with Thomas made me realize how important it was to live my life, to love again, to wed and have children. John’s love, my loving John, allowed me to love again. And I finally feel alive once more. But if you asked me if I had the chance to go back and change that fateful day, then I would tell you aye, most loudly. I would defend my husband at all costs.”
Brigid reached out and took hold of Reena’s arm. “So I tell you, Reena, defend the man you love at all costs and let no one stop you.”
Chapter 31
Reena needed to clear her mind after Brigid left her bedchamber. She needed to think on what to do. What choices did she have in this matter? Was there anything she could do to keep Magnus safe? Or how could she make him see reason and inform her of his plans, at least easing her mind and heart?
He probably felt that if she did know of his plans it would only cause her more worry. If that was so, then his plans were definitely dangerous and perhaps foolhardy. Either way, she wanted to know.
She decided to map in order to clear her mind completely. Her jumbled thoughts did her no good, and until she could settle them and think more rationally, she would get nowhere. So with candles lit across her drawing table and quill in hand, she proceeded to finish the map of the dungeons. There was not much left to complete: she had worked sporadically on it, the map intriguing her, as each time she returned to it her memory would recall another detail for her to add.
She was meticulous in her details and in attempting measurement. She wanted to draw the dimensions of the rooms and his land on a smaller scale yet provide adequate knowledge for him to understand the depth and width—not an easy task, but one she continued to work on.
After an hour she stopped and rubbed the back of her neck, the painful ache she suffered from bending over the table annoying her.
“You should stop and rest more often.”
Reena was not startled by Magnus’s presence. She’d lost all track of time, and she would hear nothing, not even the latch on the door being lifted, when she was deep in her mapping. And she had been expecting him—or at least she had hoped he would come to her.
“I needed to map.”
Magnus had come to realize that Reena’s work actually soothed her and she would often seek it out if feeling troubled or concerned. When he had entered quietly after receiving no response to his knock he had seen that she was concentrating deeply on her work and he had not wanted to disturb her. But as she needed to map to ease her upset, he needed to see her, if it was only to watch her work to ease his own concerns.