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“Aye. Aye, sir,” Rufus said, bobbing his head and walked over to Shade. “I am truly sory for trying to harm you, my lady.”

“That’s all right, Rufus. You had no choice. You were thinking about your family. I understand.”

“Still, my lady, it wasn’t right of me to do and I truly apologize, and I will do whatever I can to attone for it.”

“I appreciate your apology. Now go be with your family,” Shade said.

Rufus looked to Quint and waited and only until he received a nod from him, did Rufus rush to his daughters and wife.

“You made him apologize,” Shade said when she came to stand beside her husband.

“I intended to but he apologized to me of his own accord and asked that he be able to offer you an apology as well. That he did so without being forced to made me think more highly of him.” He nodded toward Rufus. “And seeing that he spoke the truth about his family makes him even more of an honorable man.”

Shade watched with joy as the family cried and hugged, none letting go of the other as if they needed to hold onto each other to make sure they wouldn’t be separated again. She also watched the way Quint stared at them. Was he envious of what he saw? Did the loving scene confirm what she would never be able to give him… a true family?

She didn’t know for sure if she was too old to bear a child. She had attended births of women her age but not as frequently as younger women. The older women also presented with more problems than the younger women who gave birth. Her grandmother believed that women could go on giving birth until they no longer had their monthly bleed. Shade wondered why then more older women didn’t give birth. Her grandmother had laughed and told her that after giving birth most women did not fancy going through the pain again. So, women sought healers to help them prevent getting with child while some women told their husbands to find their pleasure elsewhere.

Never would she want Quint to find pleasure elsewhere but that was not a worry for her since her mum was only able to give birth to one child and never conceived again after that. But that had been when she was young. Shade feared she missed her opportunity and would not be given a second chance.

Quint said it hadn’t mattered to him, but did it?

She wished she knew for sure.

CHAPTER 21

“Did you learn anything from the captives?” Shade asked when she reached his side.

Quint glanced at his wife briefly, his eyes going back to the joyous scene of the family being reunited. “I learned that Asher keeps things to himself which means he trusts no one. Anything learned about him is overheard or whispered about which means it cannot be a reliable source of information. I am counting on Dru to return with the truth about Asher.”

“You sent Dru to get information for you?” Shade asked, shaking her head, not believing what she heard. “How could you, she is?—”

“A thief wise enough to take care of herself. Besides, she has never failed to gather information for me. She has proven herself trustworthy and her information accurate.”

Shade leaned against her husband, glad for the comfort of his tender embrace. “I cannot help but think how vulnerable she is, a lone, petite woman, and the dangers she faces. Dru cannot continue to survive like that. One day she will come against a situation she will not be able to escape.”

“You have survived on your own,” Quint reminded.

“Not entirely on my own. I have a home, family, friends, and my healing, and I still felt lonely at times, as if I was missing something?—”

“I was what you were missing,” he said teasingly.

“Aye, it was you I was waiting for.” She smiled and spoke in a playful tone. “Though, I can honestly say that being wed to The Monk makes me yearn, at times, for a bout or two of loneliness.”

He gave her waist a playful squeeze. “Are you saying The Monk is too much of a challenge for you?”

She laughed softly. “He is more of an adventure that I find quite enjoyable, and I look forward to the life we will share together.”

“I will do my best to give you a good life, Shade,” he whispered near her ear then kissed her cheek.

“Together, we will make a good life for ourselves. Always together.” Her smile faded. “We have each other. Dru has no one. She is entirely on her own and I can only imagine how difficult that must be. She must grow lonely at times. She needs a home.”

“I have expressed the same concern to her, but she insists she will live her life as she pleases. Talk with her yourself when she returns. Advice from a woman might make her see things differently.”

“What if she doesn’t return?”

“Then I will go search for her which is exactly what I told her I would do if she doesn’t return in a few days.”

Laughter drew their attention and Quint smiled, seeing the two lasses chasing after each other in play.