B
liss appreciated Dolca’s help and had been glad for her company, but what she now sensed would soon bring her to tears, and she simply wished to be alone.
“Dolca, I need to—”
“Think,” the older woman finished.
“I forget how wise you are.”
Dolca walked over to where Bliss sat on the bed and offered her a comforting hand. “I am here whenever you need me.”
Bliss gave her hand a squeeze and smiled. “It will go better than you think. Do not worry.”
“I did not give you my hand with expectation of—”
“I know you didn’t,” Bliss assured her, “but I cannot control what I sense or see.”
“I’ve often wondered if what you and your grandmum shared is a gift or a curse.”
Bliss didn’t respond; she just smiled, and was glad when Dolca closed the door behind her, for at the moment she felt cursed. With a heavy heart, she sensed that Trey was being warned of his marriage to her. She wasn’t surprised that he had confided in his father and brothers. She had seen for herself how close the family was and could not blame them for warning him.
Trey had returned home with a bride after being gone for only a few weeks. His family would be foolish not to question the circumstances. And to add to the problem, the woman he loved was not dead, but alive and well and loved him as strongly as—
Bliss threw the soft wool blanket off her and got out of bed. She walked over to the hearth and held her cold hands out to the flames’ heat, rubbing warmth into them.
When Leora had taken hold of her hands, Bliss had sensed that she wasn’t telling the truth, but about what she wasn’t sure. She also sensed that she was worried about something, but what would concern her when she was finally home with the man she claimed to love?
Bliss walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. Many secrets were about to be revealed. How they would affect Trey and her, she didn’t know, and she wondered if she was better off not knowing.
She was about to climb back in bed when she sensed that someone needed healing. It would happen like that with the Picts. She would sense when someone would arrive at her cottage or that someone needed her, and she would go to the person’s home before she was summoned.
This, however, was a bit different. It was an odd sensation, almost as if someone called to her. The more she paid heed to it, the stronger the summons grew, and she hastily slipped into a dark blue wool gown that Mara had brought for her. It was a bit large and revealed a bit more of her breasts than she would have liked, but it was warm and clean. Her stockings were being laundered, so she slipped her bare feet into her leather boots and, tossing her cloak over her arm, quickly crept out of the room and down the stairs.
The voice directed her to a narrow passage that sat away from prying eyes, and, before she knew it, she was out of the keep and walking through the village. Her footprints quickly disappeared behind her, the snow having turned heavier.
It wasn’t until she came to the far end of the village that she stopped and tapped at a cottage door. It swung open.
“Good, you heard me,” Stone said. “Hurry in out of the snow.”
Bliss shook the snow from her cape and entered. “Someone is ill?”
“I am fine, Stone worries too much,” Willow said from where she sat in the bed in the corner of the room.
Bliss walked over to her after Stone took her cape to hang on a peg. He quickly followed behind her.
“Her stomach has not been well,” he said, sitting on the bed beside her.
“Can’t keep much in it?” Bliss asked though she knew the answer and already knew her problem though it wasn’t a problem.
Stone jumped up off the bed, realizing the cause, “Good, lord, Willow, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why didn’t you know she carried your child?” Bliss asked with a smile. “And when did this happen?”
“You want details?” Stone grinned.
“Stop teasing her, Stone,” Willow chastised and held her hand out to him. He took it and joined her on the bed. “It just happened. One day I looked at him and knew that I loved him.”
“It was the same for me,” Stone admitted.
“He didn’t bother to wait to see if I felt the same,” she chuckled. “He blurted it out before he ever kissed me. And I did the same. We’ve been joined as one since that day.”
“I am happy for you,” Bliss said, “and there is no need to worry that you will lose the babe. She will be a healthy one and much like her da.”
Stone sat speechless for a moment, then shook his head. “I am going to have a daughter?” He took Willow’s hand in his. “I’ve been feeling your fear, but I thought it was because you were ill. You frightened me. I thought you seriously ill, your fear was so great.”
“It was foolish of me, but having lost one babe—”
Bliss put her mind at ease. “You will lose no more, and it is a large brood you’ll have.”
Willow reached out to her. “I am so glad you were here and that Stone sent for you.”
Bliss squeezed her hand. “His love is so great for you that it doesn’t always allow him to see clearly of things to come for you both. So I will tell you both now. You will have a good, long, and happy life together.” She yawned. “Forgive me, I am tired from my long journey here.”
“Stone should have never bothered you,” Willow said. “I hadn’t known he had until you entered. I’m so sorry we troubled you.”
“Nonsense,” Bliss scolded with a smile. “It was no trouble, and the visit has made me happy to know how much in love you both are. But now I bid you good-night.”
With a quick hug to Willow, she went to retrieve her cloak off the peg. Stone was beside as she did and placed the cloak over her shoulders.
“I will walk you out,” he said.
Bliss didn’t object; she knew he wished to speak with her in private.
“You have set things in motion, and there is no stopping them now,” he said. “Be careful.”
With a hug, he was gone, the door closed. It was just as well. She was too tired to enter in any discussion right now. All she wanted was to go to bed and sleep well into morning.
“Bliss.”
She turned immediately, recognizing the voice. “Roan.”
He stepped out of the shadows and offered his hand. “Langward has taken ill.”
Bliss didn’t hesitate; she went with him.
“G
ive yourself a few days, son,” Carmag advised, “though be careful. Your mum can sniff out a secret like a prized hound.”
The brothers laughed; Trey didn’t.
Bryce clamped a hand on Trey’s shoulder. “We will wish you well whatever your choice.”
“I would pay heed to da’s words though,” Reeve said. “Mum is as good at uncovering secrets as she is in keeping them.”
“You should go and talk with Leora,” his da said. “Since her arrival, she has talked with no one. All she would say is that she wanted you.”
Carmag spent a few more minutes outlining who would be sent to scout the soldiers’ encampment and the area around it. They also discussed briefly the failed attempt of having a spy infiltrate the king’s castle. Though none would say it, they all knew that time was drawing near, and what they had worked so hard for would soon be upon them.
They would fight to the death if necessary to see the true king claim the throne.
The meeting dispersed, the men going to find their women and Trey reluctantly heading for his bedchamber and Leora. His father’s words haunted him.
Love doesn’t die easily.
He had been devastated when he had believed Leora dead. He would have given anything to get her back, and now that he had her back?
His father’s words rang strong in his head again.
Love doesn’t die easily.
He agreed. Love didn’t die easily, and, therefore, he had to ask himself if he ever truly loved Leora, for right now he wanted nothing more than to hurry to his wife, climb in bed with her, hold her close, and never let her go.
Instead, he did the honorable thing and he rapped lightly on the door to his bedchamber before opening it and entering. The room was quiet, the hearth’s glow the only light.
He walked toward the bed though he slowed his steps as her familiar scent drifted around him. After he had lost her, he had spent many a night with his arms wrapped around her pillow, breathing in her sweet scent. She had always smelled like a field of freshly bloomed wildflowers.
It had upset him when her scent began to fade. It had been like losing her all over again.
He approached his bed to find her sprawled across it, the wool blanket tangled around her. He had to smile, recalling how many times he had woken to find himself clinging to the edge and chilled from having no covers.
The thought hit him suddenly like one of Bliss’s visions. He slept wrapped around Bliss. They fell asleep cuddled together, and they woke that way. And whenever in bed, they were always wrapped in each other’s arms.
He stepped closer and saw that one leg lay exposed, pale and slender and silky soft. Leora was always soft to the touch and had responded to his touches most willingly—a good portion of the time.
Bliss had simply surrendered to his touch all of the time. Her passion constantly simmered at the surface, and all he needed to do was place a hand on her, and desire would stir in her eyes.
There was no choice here for him to make. Bliss was his wife and carried his child and, most importantly, he loved her like he had never loved before. Standing by the side of the bed staring at Leora made him realize that and made him question the love he had believed he had for her all the more.
She stirred and turned restless, as if in the throes of a bad dream. He thought of Bliss and how frightened he would get when she became lost in a vision. It angered him that all he could do was sit by helpless, unable to do anything but hold her. And it worried him that she would get stuck in a vision when he wasn’t with her, and what then?
Leora’s fitfulness worsened, and he couldn’t stand there and watch her suffer. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her arm.
“Easy, Leora,” he whispered, “you’re safe now.”
She sprang up, startling him and stunned him even more when she threw her arms around him and pressed her body against his. The soft wool nightdress provided only a thin barrier between her abundant breasts and his chest. And guilt washed over him like a tumbling wave. This was not right; he belonged with his wife.
“I’m so frightened, Trey, please hurry into bed and hold me.”
That was not going to happen. He
would not
betray his wife; he
did not
want
to betray his wife. And as much as he wanted to tell Leora that he was wed and intended to remain so, now was not the time.
Just as he was about to ease her away from him, she tilted her head and planted her lips on his.
B
liss gasped, her hand rushing to press against her stomach.
“Are you all right?” Roan asked.
Bliss forced a small smile to her face. “Yes, a sudden vision that startled.” It was the truth, and how could a vision of Leora kissing Trey not startle her?
“Langward will heal?” Roan asked.
“This wound should have been seen to immediately,” Bliss said, wishing her focus could have remained on the vision so that she could have made some sense of it. But the young Pict needed her attention more at the moment, and so she let it go.
Besides, if she believed and trusted their love, she knew that there was nothing for her to worry about. Though what of that separation she had seen? She shook her head; she had no time for this now.
“The others did what they could for him, and once they arrived here, one of the local women cleansed it and did what she could.”
“There is a small piece of the arrow that pierced his arm embedded in his wound. It must be removed for me to heal him properly. You will need to help me, and you will confirm what I already know, that it is a soldier’s arrow that struck him.”
Roan nodded.
“The soldiers attacked the Picts,” she said, already knowing that it was true.
“Aye, they did just as you once predicted.”
Bliss felt the knot in her stomach worsen and worried over the future, for she could not see it clearly. Had fate yet to decide it?
The cottage was small where Roan and she worked on Langward, but at least they had shelter, Roan explaining that Carmag had offered it to the Picts anytime they passed through MacAlpin land. It sat a distance from the village, alone, with no neighbors in sight. A place no doubt frequented by travelers needing shelter for a night.
It didn’t take long to tend Langward’s wound though it did take longer to heal him. She had sensed that the wound had turned poisonous and had seen indications of it while working on him. That meant she would need to spend more time healing him with her hands.
Battling fatigue, she knew her strength was dwindling, so she placed a shield around herself so that no one could disturb her and she could concentrate on healing Langward. She rubbed her hands together and went to work.
T
rey had feared that the kiss would flood him with a wave of memories that would cut deep, but it didn’t. Where had the passion gone? It had been there once; he wouldn’t deny that. But not now, and not for either of them—that he strongly sensed, and he didn’t need Bliss’s ability to confirm it.
He eased Leora gently away from him. “You are overwrought from all you have suffered, and, no doubt, your head still pains you.”
“It does,” she said with a sigh that sounded more like relief.
“And there is much for us to discuss.”
“Like when do we wed?”
“That and much more,” he said, not wanting to start any discussion that could lead to tears and disappointment.
She moved away from him to snuggle beneath the blanket. “Remove your garments and join me as you always did.”
That was definitely not going to happen. The only one he’d shed his clothes for and climb into bed with was Bliss.
“I can’t bear being alone,” she said with tears in her eyes. “The nightmares are”—she shuddered—“Please, I don’t want to be alone.”