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 was left no choice but to tell her da the truth. “Leora is missing, Da.”
Norris bolted forward. “What? What do you mean she’s missing? What happened to her?”
“It is time he knows everything, Elsie,” Cavell encouraged.
Elsie started with her sisters and their arrival at the abbey, ending with the burning of the abbey and the deaths of all there. She did not mention Edith, now Ann, being the only one to survive.
Her da glared at her in disbelief. “Good God, what have I done to my daughters? I would have never sent you there if I—”
“We never thought that, Da, not me, Leora, or Sky,” Elsie assured him, the hurt in his eyes undeniable.
“Oh God, what they must have done to Sky,” he said, tears rapidly welling in his eyes.
When Elsie remained silent, Cavell spoke up. “They kept her chained to a wall and a hood over her head. If I had been made aware of the situation, which I should have been, I would have gotten her out of there.”
“Why didn’t Elsie tell you when you fetched her from the abbey?” Norris asked confused.
Cavell left his wife to answer her father.
“I wasn’t there. Thinking no one would come to help us, I escaped and went looking for Cavell to help me free Leora and Sky,” Elsie said, a sense of guilt striking her. “If I had only stayed there, we would all be safe by now.”
Surprisingly, it was her da who came to her defense. “Nonsense, Elsie. You believed you had no other choice. You did what you had to do.”
Elsie realized then that her da must have felt the same when learning she and her sisters could be in danger.
“And more importantly,” her da said, “you succeeded. You found your husband and brought him home and he will help bring your sisters home, for whether you share the same blood or not you are sisters of the heart and always will be.”
“You are right about that, Da,” Elsie said, tears she had been fighting close to spilling. “Leora and Sky will always be my sisters and you will always be our da.”
“That I will be,” Norris said shedding more tears.
Elsie was quick to hug him, and he was quick to return the hug. His hug lacked the strength it had only a short time ago and she realized how much their talk had cost him.
“You need to rest, Da. We can talk more another time,” Elsie said.
“But Leora, we need to find her,” her da said, his voice trembling with worry.
“I will see to it, Norris. You have my word,” Cavell said.
Elsie was as relieved as her da when he dropped back against his pillows, his head sinking into them.
“I will keep you apprised of all we learn, Da,” Elsie assured him.
“I know you will, Elsie. You are the strongest of your sisters and the wisest, though I wonder if Sky is wiser than she lets people know. I am glad Slayer looks after her until we can bring her home. And I am glad that I chose wisely for a husband for you.”
“As am I, Da, for I love Cavell with all my heart,” she confessed with a soft smile.
“And I love her,” Cavell said, his strong voice booming in the room.
“I am relieved I did well for you, Elsie,” her da said, fighting to keep his eyes open. “I only pray I did the same for your sisters.”
“Sleep, rest, and worry not, Da, Cavell and I will see to Leora’s and Sky’s safety.”
Cavell took hold of his wife’s shoulders to bring her to her feet. “He will sleep well knowing he is no longer alone in this.”
Elsie leaned into her husband, and she let herself rest against him, relieved when his arm went around her and kept her snug against him as they left the room. He settled her in his solar, having a hot brew brought for them both and sat in the chair next to her after adding more logs to the fire to chase the chill from the room.
Cavell did not wait. He delivered the news he was sure his wife wanted to hear quickly. “I know who your sister was wed to.”
CHAPTER 21
Elsie thought repeatedly of the conversation concerning her sister’s husband that she had had with Cavell several days ago.
“Ingeuus is Latin for Noble. Leora is wed to the fiercest of Slayer’s Gallowglass warriors and his best tracker. He follows Slayer’s commands without question and Noble expects obedience from all he commands, and no one dares do otherwise. He will find Leora… of that I have no doubt.”
Her response to her husband upon hearing that had been, “You do not know my sister.”
His response had continued to worry her. “Noble is an honorable man but also a rigid one. It is why his troop of men is an elite troop within the Gallowglass. His warriors obey him, and he will expect the same from his wife. And I can tell you now that Noble is a decisive man. He will not take his commitment to the marriage lightly. He entered it with all intentions of keeping Leora as his wife.”