S
now was falling lightly and dusk settling over the land when Trey and Bliss entered the MacAlpin village. Trey wasn’t met with the usual cries of welcome home. Instead, villagers nodded and smiled, then turned and whispered to each other.
“Something is wrong,” he said with a glance to Bliss.
“I feel it as well,” she confirmed.
They clung more tightly, as if their hands were bound by metal.
Inseparable.
Trey intended it to stay that way.
They hurried up the keep’s steps and entered the great hall. Trey smiled, seeing his family gathered around the trestle table in front of the fireplace, their usual gathering spot. He was relieved to see that they were all there, along with a few faces he didn’t recognize. His da and mum, Duncan and Mercy, Reeve and Tara, Bryce, and there was a petite woman sitting next to him, and a thin old man and Dolca sat across from them.
He was about to call out to them when Mara spotted him and yelled out, “My son is home.” She hurried over to him, throwing her plump arms around him. “Thank the Lord you’ve returned safe and sound.”
His mum’s green eyes had betrayed her worry when she had bid him good-bye several weeks ago. She hadn’t said it, but Trey knew she hadn’t wanted him to go. She had thought he required more rest and healing, but the simple fact was that she feared for him. And he could understand why. He had been near to death when the Picts had found him, and if it hadn’t been for Tara’s fine stitches and Bliss’s healing hands, death would have claimed him.
Mara turned to Bliss. “You were with him, this is good. You were there in case he needed healing.”
“He is well healed, Mara, there is no need for worry,” Bliss assured her.
“Bless your heart,” Mara said with a grin, and hugged her.
Trey noticed that the others remained at the table—quiet. His brothers were never quiet, especially when one of them returned home. There was always good-natured ribbing and endless questions.
“Come sit,” Mara instructed, urging them with gentle shoves to the table.
“I have something to tell you all,” Trey said gently, squeezing Bliss’s hand.
His da stood, “We have something—”
A piercing scream ripped through the hall, and Trey could have sworn the scream held his name. When he turned to see the source of the crazed shriek, his eyes rounded, and his heart began to pound in his chest.
“Leora?” he said, barely above a whisper.
The woman he loved and believed dead was running toward him, and he didn’t think twice, he let go of Bliss’s hand and ran to her. She threw her arms around him and clung so tightly that he thought she’d squeeze the life from him. But then he also held her tight, perhaps wanting to make certain she was real, alive, and not a ghost.
“I thought you dead,” he finally said, releasing her and holding her at arm’s length to look at her. She was much as he remembered her, though thinner, but nonetheless beautiful. Her long blond hair fell in waves down over her shoulders, and her skin was flawless. Her full lips were as ripe for kissing as they had always been.
“A ruse by the king’s soldiers,” she said, wiggling out of his grip to snuggle up against him. “The king held me prisoner all this time until he finally realized that I held no knowledge of the true king, then he sent me to”—she shivered—“I cannot speak of the hell he sent me to.”
He eased her away from him. “How did you get here?”
“A tale left for another time, though it was through the good graces of Bryce and his woman Charlotte that I was able to return here.”
He shook his head. Had he returned home to the same family he left? Could he possibly be still recovering from his wounds and trapped in a dream? Nothing seemed to make sense except . . .
He turned and saw Bliss. She stood where he had left her, her face pale as freshly fallen snow. He immediately left Leora and went to his wife’s side.
His arm went around her and tucked her close, and asked, “Are you all right?”
She stared at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “The visions all make sense now. She was calling you home to her.”
He went to speak, but her words stopped him. “You should speak with her first before you tell everyone about us.”
Trey was ready to protest, but the wisdom of her words sunk in. It would not be right to blurt out in front of everyone that he had wed. He owed Leora the truth first, and privately, before he made the announcement.
“Is something wrong with Bliss?” Mara asked, walking over to them.
“A long journey, I but need to rest,” Bliss said.
“She can rest in my bedchamber,” Trey said.
“Leora resides in your bedchamber,” Mara whispered. “She can use Reeve’s, since he and Tara make their home in her cottage.”
“It isn’t necessary that I remain in the keep,” Bliss said.
“Yes it is,” Trey and his mum said in unison.
“Trey?”
He turned to find Leora only a few feet from him.
“Who is this woman you worry over?”
Mara answered. “This is Bliss, a healer of extraordinary power. She saved Trey from death.”
Leora gasped again and hurried over to Bliss, grabbing her hands. “I don’t know how to thank you for saving Trey. His love is what kept me going all through my horrible ordeal. Without it, I would have withered and died. Bless you.”
Trey watched Bliss’s eyes begin to flutter and her face turn paler, and he knew that, in a moment, she would be in the throes of a vision. His arms reached out and caught her just as her body was about to crumble to the ground.
“Oh my Lord, is she all right?” Mara asked.
Trey didn’t answer his mum. He knelt, cradling her body in his arms and watched her. If she didn’t come out of it soon, he’d shake her out of it. And he couldn’t help but wonder if Leora’s taking hold of Bliss’s hands had thrown Bliss into a vision.
“Trey, perhaps—”
“Not now, Mum. I’m doing what’s best for Bliss.”
Her eyes began to open, and relief swept over Trey, along with curiosity. What had she seen?
He didn’t care for the dazed look in her eyes as she struggled to sit up.
“Easy,” he urged as he helped her to sit and lean against him.
She laid her head on his chest. “I need to rest.”
“I’ll take you—”
“No,” she said, as he helped her to stand. “You have important things to discuss with your family.”
Mara stepped forward. “I will help—”
“No,” Bliss said gently and reached past them both, taking the hand extended to her. “Dolca will help me. We are old friends.”
The older woman slipped her arm around Bliss. “I will see her settled safely for the evening.” She looked to Mara. “Could you have food sent to her room?”
Mara nodded. “Of course.”
Trey stared after his wife as she was led from the room, with Dolca’s arm firmly around her. He wanted to be the one going with her. It was where he belonged, by his wife’s side. He suddenly grew annoyed with himself. He should have made their marriage known immediately. He had no intention of being kept from his wife’s side, and definitely not her bed.
She might be too worn-out to make love, but he’d sleep by her side tonight—that he promised himself though a little niggling of doubt tormented him. And damn if he could chase it away.
Leora wrapped her arm around his. “We have much to discuss.”
He rested his hand over hers. “That we do, but first I must speak with my brothers.”
“Can it not wait?” she asked, her bottom lip protruding in a pout.
“No, it can’t,” he said, and directed her to the table where his family sat.
His brothers rang out a greeting as did their wives, their voices no longer silent. Each let him know how glad they were that he was home.
“You’ve missed much in your absence,” Reeve said. “Bryce has found himself a woman, and a good one at that.”
“Yes,” his wife Tara agreed with a nod and a smile. “She was able to knock Reeve right off his feet.”
“Is this true?” Trey asked with a laughing grin.
“He made a foolish move that left him vulnerable.”
Trey looked at the slim, petite woman with hair the color of golden honey and shook his head. “You’re just a bit of a thing. How could you possibly—”
“Charlotte also rescued Leora from a well-hidden prison,” Bryce said with pride.
“I am indebted to you,” Trey said.
“No need,” Charlotte said. “I was there to rescue my da”—she pointed to the thin man with gray unruly hair sitting opposite her—“and, in the process, freed others. Leora was among them.”
“It is so good to be home, to be with you,” Leora said, keeping a tight hold on Trey.
“Dolca told us how busy you have been helping others,” Mercy said. “It is good that Bliss was there with you to help.”
Trey simply nodded. As much as he wanted to announce that Bliss was his wife, he knew it would not be fair to Leora after all she had been through, and so he held his tongue, even though it was difficult.
“I want to hear more about what I have missed, but we need to talk,” Trey said, looking from one brother to the other and settling last on his da.
“I’ll have hot food waiting for you,” Mara said.
Leora clung tighter to Trey’s arm. “It has been so long. I do not wish to separate from you.”
Separate.
The word hit him like an arrow to the heart. Could this be what Bliss had seen, this minor separation? He also realized just how accurate her visions of Leora had been. And he couldn’t help but wonder again about her latest vision. What had it shown her?
“Besides,” Leora said, “there are things I learned about the king while held captive that might be of help.”
“We would be most interested in hearing them,” Carmag said, “but another time.”
Mara slipped her arm around Leora and, with a firm yet gentle urging, eased her away from Trey to the table. “Join us women in a chat.”
“Yes, you’ve hardly said a word since your arrival,” Mercy said. “Do share with us.”
“I’d love to hear what happened to you,” Tara said.
“And how you came to be in such a horrid prison,” Charlotte said.
Leora looked from one to the other, put a hand to her head, and returned to Trey’s side. “I’m sorry, but my head pounds,” she said, her fingers rubbing her forehead. “I will wait for you in our bedchamber. Please do not be long.” She kissed his cheek and walked away, without a word to anyone else.
Trey wondered if it was difficult for her with the other women here. She had been the only other woman besides his mother in the keep. Now his brothers all had women, two of them already wed. And Bryce had a woman, something he had never expected.
The men retired to the solar to talk. The door was no sooner closed than Trey spoke.
“The king is heavily building his army to the north.”
“I hadn’t expected that,” Carmag said. “He takes a risk, gathering his men there with winter upon us.”
Trey continued to detail what he had seen, including how the farmers were being ripped from their lands and the women left to care for themselves.
“It sounds like the king is desperate for more soldiers,” Duncan said.
Bryce shook his head. “No, he attempts to rob the true king of men who would fight for him.”
“A foolish plan,” Trey said, “for it makes the people hate him even more.”
“King Kenneth doesn’t care about the people,” Reeve said. “He thinks only of himself.”
“We need to send some men north to keep watch on the king’s soldiers’ encampment,” Carmag said, and the brothers agreed.
Trey gave Bryce a hearty slap on the back. “I can’t believe I return home to find that you have a woman.”
Bryce grinned though it faded slowly. “And I can’t believe you don’t seem thrilled to see that the woman you love is alive and well and here waiting for you.”
“He’s right,” Reeve chimed in. “You looked more as if you wished to escape her than hold her.”
“I have to agree with my brothers,” Duncan said. “And your concern for Bliss was blatantly obvious. Want to tell us something?”
Trey looked to his da, who simply nodded. There wasn’t much he kept or could keep from his brothers, and that they could be trusted went without saying. He rubbed at his chin, shook his head, and, with a smile, said, “Bliss and I are wed.”
Trey hadn’t expected complete silence to meet his announcement and was relieved when Bryce spoke.
“Are you sure about this? Bliss is not like other women.”
“Something I am grateful for,” Trey said, his smile spreading.
“Don’t you worry that there is nothing you will be able to keep from her?” Reeve asked.
Trey threw the question back at him. “Do you think there is anything you can keep from your wife?”
Reeve laughed. “True enough.”
Carmag rested a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I remember how much you loved Leora and how inconsolable you were when you thought her dead. Are you sure that your love for Leora is gone?”
“What difference does it make?” Duncan asked. “He is wed to Bliss. There can be no changing that.”
Carmag squeezed his son’s shoulder. “I am familiar with the Picts’ ways. Marriages can be ended at their choosing and with only a few words spoken.”
“Damn, I should have married a Pict,” Reeve said with a laugh.
“You would end your marriage to Tara that easily,” Trey snapped.
Reeve’s laughter died quickly. “I but joke. I love my wife and would never think of ending my marriage . . . but, then, I haven’t loved another woman as strongly as I love Tara.”
“Why did you wed so fast?” Carmag asked. “Why did you not wait until you returned home and share the happy occasion with your family?”
Trey hadn’t been prepared for questions. He had believed, or had he hoped, that his family would simply accept the marriage and not pry. But he should have known better.
“Once your mum finds out, and I would not wait long to tell her, she will want answers,” Carmag said.
His da didn’t have to remind him. He knew his mum would question and probe until . . .
He shook his head.
“True love doesn’t die easily, my son,” Carmag said. “Make certain this is what you want.”