Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
He almost shook his head at the thought. He had not even considered love when Slayer had presented the marriage proposal to him. He thought it was nothing more than a means to fulfilling his dream. Whether he would get along with the woman who would be his wife did not matter to him. What had changed that?
Leora.
He had been warned she could be a handful but there was a courage to her that he admired and that the only reason she had agreed to leave her home and go with him was the love she had for her sister Sky, which proved she was selfless and would do whatever was necessary to protect her family.
He leaned over the table, a bit closer to her. “Are you afraid to let yourself love me, Leora?”
With a slight tilt of her head and a soft laugh, she said what her mum had advised, “Love controls us. We don’t control it. We couldn’t stop ourselves from falling in love if we wanted to.”
“So, if you did fall in love with me, you would not deny it to yourself or me?”
“One cannot deny love. I would embrace it, keep it close in my heart, and cherish my love for you every day, though—” She grinned. “It would take a miracle for that to happen.”
Noble scrunched his brow. “What was it you said to me once?” He turned a matching grin on her and not waiting for a response, said, “Miracles do happen.”
Leora was still thinking about what Noble had said to her as the day began to wane. She had not seen him since then, Finley having arrived in the Great Hall and the two men going off to talk. She had never wasted time thinking about love. What was the point? Marriages were arranged for women, and a woman only hoped the husband chosen for her would be suitable or at least tolerable. So, why concern herself with love? It would make no difference when it came to selecting a husband and only leave a woman longing for something she would never have.
She had to admit, though, that having seen Elsie and Cavell so much in love had her thinking about how nice it would be to have someone feel as if you are the most important person in the world to him, that life would be meaningless without each other.
Could she possibly ever feel that way about Noble? She did not dislike him and maybe she cared a bit for him since he protected her, though she had thoroughly enjoyed his kiss, but did that equate with love?
She shook her head for the umpteenth time since she had last seen her husband, her thoughts drifting to him far too often, and reminded herself that Sky came first. Once she was sure her sister was safe, she could tackle her own situation.
Not one to sit long, Leora had gotten herself busy with seeing to what needed to be done in the keep. She had learned that Chieftain Argus had failed to place someone in charge of the keep’s servants, so the staff had worked together to see to the running of the keep. From what Leora could tell, they had done a good job. They were already busy scrubbing, cleaning, and changing the bedlinens in the chieftain’s bedchamber. She was even more pleased that the servants were doing the same to the bedchamber the old chieftain’s wife once occupied.
What upset her the most was how thin the servants were, just like many of the people she and Noble had seen upon entering the village. She headed to the kitchen after checking on the pup. He continued to sleep, cuddled in the bed she had fashioned for him from a blanket and placed near the hearth in the Great Hall for warmth.
Leora could not help but smile, thinking how proud and pleased Sky would be that she was tending to the pup. She hoped with all her heart that whatever was happening to Sky that she had animals around her, for at least then she would know some comfort. She left the Great Hall and headed to the kitchen, entering a narrow passageway just beyond the Great Hall that connected the two but was barely lit. She heard voices as she got nearer to the end, and she stopped to listen.
“What if he feeds us now to win our trust, then leaves us to starve?” a young male voice asked.
“We can only pray that he will treat us well,” a female said.
“He is Gallowglass. They are vicious warriors,” the young male said.
“Then he will surely see that his clan is protected,” the female said. “Besides, what choice do we have? He is our new chieftain. Pray he will be a good one.”
Leora stomped her feet, so it sounded as if someone approached, and silence quickly followed. She entered the room with a pleasant smile.