Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Then I shall torture you more often,” he said relieved, and kissed her warm cheek.
“I will have your word on that, husband,” she demanded with a soft laugh.
“You have it, wife,” he said, feeling a happiness he never thought possible but was so grateful to have found with her. And to think he had not wanted to remain wed to her. “I will be forever grateful that you pursued me and trapped me in this marriage or else I would have lost the best, most loving wife a man could ever hope for.”
Elsie turned to face him with a slight frown in her brow. “You don’t feel trapped anymore, do you?”
“We both stayed wed of our own choosing, neither of us are trapped, but,” —he grinned playfully— “if I had to be trapped I would want it to be with you.”
“Likewise,” she said and shivered.
“Your chilled,” he said and hurried a blanket over them.
“We should return to our duties,” she said, though she did not want to leave her husband’s strong arms.
“The only duty you have right now is here with your husband,” he said as if it was a command.
She smiled. “Aye, husband.”
“A good, obedient wife, I like that.”
“That reminds me,” she said excitedly, snuggling against her husband, and proceeded to tell him about her talk with Mab.
He tapped her nose gently. “You, wife, will not be traveling anywhere when you are with child,” Cavell ordered, his thought only of her and their bairn’s safety. “And how could your da let her travel when she was with child? And how odd that not one out of the three of you and your sisters were born here at home.”
“That was my thought,” she agreed. “I mean, I could see one possible delivery away from home, but all three doesn’t seem likely.”
“And it has you wondering,” he said, seeing curiosity swirl in her soft blue eyes. “What are you thinking, wife?”
“I don’t know, but something is amiss.”
He caressed the spot between her eyes when it narrowed in concentration. “Maybe your da could explain it to you.”
“Can he?’ she questioned. “Or is it part of the secret he keeps from us? And I wonder if he wants us to discover the secret so that he does not break his promise to my mum.”
“I can understand that, for I would not break a promise I made to you.”
“I would want you to if it meant it would help someone,” she said.
“But not if it was meant to harm and with your da worried for you and your sisters’ safety then to break this promise could bring harm to those he loves.”
“I am going to talk to a few more elders and see what they know of my mum’s travels while with child and see if I can piece this puzzle together. If I at least get close to solving it, my da will have no choice but to confirm what I know, allowing him to keep his promise.”
“A wise choice,” Cavell agreed, wondering how anyone could have thought his wife insane. She was an intelligent woman possessing the skill of numbers and dedicating herself to overseeing the clan, which left her little time for anything else. She did more for others than she did for herself.
“You will not wait long to send word to Slayer, will you?” she asked anxiously.
“You want word on your sister, don’t you?”
“I worry about Sky every day. I need to know she is safe and not in harm’s way.”
“I will have Melvin take a message to Slayer soon and request word on Sky,” he assured her.
Her brow shot up. “Request?”
“No one ever, not ever, demands anything from Slayer, or you will learn a difficult lesson,” Cavell warned. “I will make sure Melvin tells Slayer how worried you are about your sister. I am sure he will allow her to send a message to you.”
It wasn’t until the next day that Elsie got to speak with another elder in the clan and she laughed at Clara’s tales of when she was young, finding them amusing and interesting.
“Stubborn is what my da called me. Persistent was my mum’s name for me. I was forever getting into something, my da would say, whereas I believed them to be adventures. My da worried I would never meet a man who could tame me.” Clara laughed. “Luckily, I met a man I could tame.” She lowered her voice. “Every time he went to admonish me, I kissed him which, of course, led to other things. Never had a problem with him.” She laughed again, her full cheeks dusting a gentle red. “It wasn’t until years later when age withered us both that my Walter confessed that it hadn’t taken him long to realize that I was distracting him on purpose. Instead of telling me, he used it to his advantage. It is no wonder we had nine children.”