Page 25

“LEORA!”

Leora jumped at her name being shouted and turned to see her husband rushing toward her and greeted him with a brimming smile.

“Never, ever, go anywhere without speaking to me first,” Noble ordered, his heart having begun to pound in his chest after no one was able to tell him where his wife had gone and thinking the worst of her disappearance, irrational as that was since more than enough warriors surrounded the area.

“It is my fault, Noble,” Mother Abbes said.

“Nonsense,” Leora said before Mother Abbess could say anymore and kept her smile strong when she turned her eyes on her husband. “I am your wife, not a prisoner. I do not need to keep you abreast of my every move.”

Noble stepped closer to her. “Aye, you do, wife, if I command it. And until this threat on your life is settled, you will keep me abreast of your every move.”

“You are right about the threat, but I am confident in your ability to keep me safe.”

She pleased and annoyed him all at once. He was pleased she had confidence in him but annoyed she avoided acknowledging that she would obey his command.

“One of the ways I can keep you safe is by knowing where you are at all times.”

“Where else would I be but here at the abbey?” She waved her hand, turning as she did, acknowledging not only his warriors but Ross’s as well. “Surrounded by endless warriors.”

“Just as you were when the arrow struck you,” he reminded.

“And you do not have warriors in the distant woods making sure that doesn’t happen again?” she asked, having noticed that several of his warriors were not with them or the prisoners as well.

“That makes no difference, wife,” he said.

“It does make a difference, husband,” she argued. “You demand I keep you abreast of where I go, but if you do the same, keep me abreast of where you station your sentinels, then I know better where I can safely go and where to avoid. Working together would make it easier on us both.”

“You are not in command here,” he said, annoyed that he was unable to argue against her sensible suggestion.

Leora shook her head. “Nor would I want to be, but I also do not want to be excluded when it comes to my safety. I am no fool. I prefer to make it easier for you to protect me rather than more difficult, husband.”

“We will discuss this further later,” Noble ordered.

“I would appreciate that,” Leora said with a pleasant smile. “Now, if you do not mind, I think I will go rest a bit.”

Noble reached out to quickly take hold of her arm. “Are you not feeling well?”

The concerned look in his eyes and his worried touch made it obvious to Leora that he truly cared how she was feeling, and since he had demonstrated the same on other occasions, she was beginning to believe that he did truly care about her, and she felt a flutter in her heart.

“Nay, I feel well enough. I am simply tired from the journey and wise enough to know rest would serve me well,” she explained.

“I will show you to yours and your husband’s room,” Mother Abbess said.

“Is it the room I used when last here?” Noble asked, and Mother Abbess nodded. “I will take my wife there.”

“It is not necessary,” Leora argued, preferring Mother Abbess to escort her there and to be left alone for a while to think. “You must have more important things to see to.”

“I will see to you first,” he said, leaving no room for it to be any other way.

A hefty flutter almost had Leora gripping her stomach. That he saw to her before anything or anyone else made it seem that she was more important to him than anything else, and crazy as it seemed, it touched her heart, not to mention that it caused another flutter.

He took her hand as they walked, and she enjoyed the feel of his warmth and the firmness of his grip, and she returned it with a snug grip of her own.

“Clan Skirling will be our home,” Noble said, wanting her to hear it from him before it became known. “Ross informed me that Lord Slayer has given me the clan and though small, he encourages it to grow.”

“I am pleased for you—”

“For us,” he corrected.