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)
Elsie turned to see why Ann suddenly smiled then waved. It was May.
“I promised to join May on her visits today with a few of the clan women who will give birth over the next few months. I look forward in helping May deliver yours and Chieftain Cavell’s bairn one day, first of many to come, God willing.”
Elsie waved to May as Ann went to join her, then she turned and continued to catch up on her many chores that had been neglected while she was gone. Unfortunately, her mind lingered on Ann’s comment about delivering Elsie’s first bairn. It was too soon to tell if she was with a child, but the possibility filled her with joy. She had always wanted a sizeable family to fill the keep with endless talk and laughter and nieces and nephews that Sky could spoil since she and Leora intended to see their sister kept safe and that meant remaining with the clan. Neither she nor Leora would ever trust any man to wed Sky, and luckily their da had agreed.
She stopped, pressing her hand to her chest. Her heart hurt thinking that Leora, in her stubbornness to seek help, could be dead, and the innocent Sky could be suffering horrendously at the hands of the leader of a group of Gallowglass warriors.
With her heart aching and her mind much too occupied with worrisome thoughts she went about her chores and time passed much too slowly for her, but as dusk finally settled over the land, she gazed off into the distance wondering how long her husband would be and what news he would bring.
She reluctantly returned to the keep after night had fallen and with her anxiety growing, she paced in front of the hearth in the Great Hall. Every creak and rustle of the castle had her heart skipping a beat, hoping it was the sound of her husband's arrival. He should have returned by now and while she worried over the news of her sister’s fate, she also worried something may have happened to him.
“You worry needlessly,” Melvin scolded. “Cavell is Gallowglass. No rogue mercenary has a chance against him or a few for that matter. He fights like a heathen just as all Gallowglass do. I have seen him take five men down within the blink of an eye, he is that fast and precise with his weapon.”
Elsie stopped pacing and smiled sparingly. “You try to save me worry by telling me this and for that I am grateful.”
“I speak the truth,” Melvin said gruffly and parked himself on a bench at one of the tables and filled a tankard with ale.
“You have been a longtime friend of my husband?” Elsie asked and joined him.
“Not long to most but for those who fight in battles together it has been a lifetime. The Gallowglass share a brotherhood, and I am proud to call Cavell my brother.”
“Were you in the battle that scarred his face?” she asked since her husband never mentioned it, she hoped Melvin might shed some light on it since she could not help but be curious.
“Aye, and it was a vicious fight, unexpected invaders from the north, more crazy than fierce warriors. Cavell was fighting a horde of them when one was able to slash him in the face. Blood poured from the wound, but he kept fighting, and even when he was slashed again, he kept fighting. By the time it was done, a dozen invaders lay at his feet, and he was unrecognizable, blood covering his face, running down his neck and soaking his garments.” Melvin grew silent for a moment. “The scars changed him. He once had a charming, teasing nature, and women flocked around him, not so afterward. He withdrew as men avoided him, his scars a stark reminder of the exceptional warrior he is and fearful they had no chance of surviving should he raise a weapon against them. And the women?” He shook his head. “They favored him no more, his alluring smile and charming tongue gone.”
“His charming tongue returns,” Elsie said, her smile brightening as she recalled the few times she heard and favored it.
Melvin smiled broadly as he pointed at her. “Aye, that is the smile I saw Cavell draw so easily from women.”
Elsie’s smile grew seeing Melvin smile, never having seen him do so before now. He appeared much less threatening when he smiled. A thought tugged at her, one she tried not to think about too often. What if her husband’s scars healed and he regained his fine features? Would he once again be tempted to charm women? The honey was working well on his scars and if she did not apply it to his face, May chased after him insisting she be allowed to apply it. The scars were beginning to look less angry as well as appearing as if they were finally healing. He might soon be as handsome as he once was while her plain features had not changed at all and never would.