Reena and the healer helped Mary get undressed and settled her in the bed before Decimus was told he could speak with Mary.
“Only a few moments,” Old Margaret warned him before she left. “She needs to rest.”
Reena sat in a chair near the bed and Magnus stood next to his wife.
“I will be alone with her,” Decimus ordered.
Reena did not want to leave Mary alone with him. “I thought to sit with her in case she requires help.”
“Wait outside,” he ordered and looked to Magnus as if ordering him to tend to his wife.
Magnus took his wife’s arm. “We will wait outside the door.”
Decimus sat on the bed beside her.
Mary’s eyes flickered open.
“I have made a decision, Mary.”
She wondered if she dreamed that Decimus sat beside her. Her head felt light and fuzzy, and she did not know if she was awake or asleep.
“We will not wait to wed. By week’s end you will be my wife.”
She sighed. “You are not real. This is not real. Nothing is real.”
“I am real, Mary,” he said and slowly reached out to touch her face. “I am very real. And you are mine.”
Reena returned after Decimus left and let Mary know that she was there and would remain so throughout the night.
“Nay, you must not,” she whispered. “I must be alone, please leave me alone.” She begged until Reena agreed and left her to sleep.
Mary dreamed all night, her aching head playing tricks on her. One minute she thought Decimus was with her and the next she was certain Michael was there, until she finally realized that she was alone in her bedchamber.
Only then when she was certain no one was with her did she close her eyes and whisper, “Michael, I love you.”
Her eyes were heavy with sleep when she heard the faint whisper. She ignored it wanting to remain in the cocoon of peaceful slumber. But it was a persistent whisper and she had no choice but to heed it.
Mary.
She struggled to wake, struggled to open her eyes.
Mary, I have little time.
Michael? Did Michael call her? Was she dreaming again? She fought harder to shake the sleep from her.
“Mary, are you all right?”
“Michael?”
“It is me. Are you well?”
She tried to open her eyes but they were so very heavy. “So tired . . .” She could not get the rest of the words from her mouth.
“Say nothing. Rest.”
She needed to ask him something, but she was not certain what it was. Her mind was too foggy to think. It was important, though; she knew it was. But what was it?
“Question,” she murmured.
“Sleep,” he urged her. “Stay well.”
Important. The question was important.
Why could she not remember?
“I love you,” he whispered.
The words I love you were strong in her mind, but she could not force the thought aloud. And she returned to her cocoon of peaceful slumber.
Mary woke to a clap of thunder the next morning feeling much better, though concerned—she was not certain of last night’s events. Had Michael visited her? Had Decimus told her they would wed by week’s end? She did not know her dreams from reality, but she intended to find out.
After dressing in her green shift and tunic and plaiting her long blond hair she hurried to the great hall ready to eat.
Reena and Brigid sat at a table near the large fireplace where no one else was in sight, a relief to Mary. At least she would be able to eat her meal in peace.
“We heard the news,” Reena said.
Mary shook her head as she joined them. “So it is true, I am to wed by week’s end.”
“You did not know?” Brigid asked surprised.
“After I drank Old Margaret’s brew last night, I was not certain of anything.”
“But you feel well this morning?” Reena asked.
“I have not an ache in my head and I am famished.”
Reena ordered a servant girl to bring food for Mary, then huddled with the women to discuss the situation. “We have not much time.”
“There is nothing we can do to stop this wedding,” Mary said, knowing it was time to face the inevitable. “Even if we discover someone had betrayed me, what difference would it make? Decimus has decreed he will wed me and his word is final.”
“Perhaps this person can protect you,” Reena said, struggling to find a solution.
“If this mysterious person had the power to protect her, would he have not stepped forward by now?” Brigid asked.
“She is right,” Mary said.
“There must be a way—”
Mary placed her hand on Reena’s arm. “There is nothing that can be done. It is my fate to wed Decimus. I would like nothing more than for that not to be true, but it is and I can run from it no more.”
“You are brave,” Brigid said with a tear in her eye.
“I am not brave. I am fearful of wedding Decimus and”—Mary choked back her own tears—“I am glad I have known true love.”