“Another storm I daresay,” Old Mary said. “It’s a bitter winter we’ll be having this year. It is a good thing Cree stored well for the winter. Not a one of us will starve.”
Old Mary went on about the weather and recalled a few harsh winter storms she had survived, some barely when finally she stopped and looked at the door.
It opened a moment later and in strode Cree, Sloan behind him.
Dawn smiled having wondered while Old Mary chatted if Cree had come to the same conclusion as she had… that Old Mary could be in danger. After all they did think much alike and so she was pleased when he confirmed her suspicions, though he sent her a sharp scowl as he walked over to her. A warning that he was not pleased that she had left the cottage.
“You realized the same that I have,” Cree said and bent down to whisper in her ear while giving her shoulder a squeeze. “And of course you had to come and make certain the old woman was all right, though next time you will notify me and wait until I come for you.”
Dawn kept her smile and nodded.
“What realization?” Torr asked.
“That my life might be in danger,” Old Mary answered and had them all staring at her. She grinned and shook her head. “You need not worry. I was wise enough to keep secrets myself.”
“It’s time to share them,” Cree said and it wasn’t a request. “Let me get you started. The woman, who loving raised Dawn, is Lucerne’s birth mother, isn’t she?”
Old Mary nodded slowly and curled her gnarled fingers around her tankard as best she could. “Yes, Lizbeth is Lucerne’s birth mother.”
Dawn was stunned by the news and glanced up at Cree wondering how long he had known.
He seemed to understand her unanswered question. “I only just realized it myself and came here to confirm it and to make certain that Old Mary was safe.” He looked to Old Mary and commanded, “Tell us what happened.”
Old Mary looked to Dawn and spoke to her as if she was the only one in the room. “Do you recall when I told you that it took a strong heart and much love to do what your mother did that night you were born?”
Dawn nodded.
“It was your mother Lizbeth I was speaking of, for she was the one true mother that night. She had barely given birth to Lucerne when I arrived with you in my arms. Lizbeth had lost her husband two months earlier. He had gone off to battle and never returned and she was barely surviving on her own. She had worried how she would manage once the babe was born.
“Lady Ann had ordered food and items that could be bartered, those combs she gave you being one of them, offered to a woman who would take you and surrender their newborn babe. Lizbeth saw this as a way for her daughter to have a good life and in return she swore to give the precious, voiceless babe, her new daughter, a good life as well. I had no doubts about handing you over to Lizbeth. I knew she would love you as her own and she did.”
Dawn smiled and nodded, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Cree demanded.
“You have a knowing of your own, Lord Cree,” Old Mary said with a grin.
“No, I know people and it’s obvious there is more to your story, so tell us… what caused you to follow Lizbeth?”
Old Mary nodded as if confirming for herself that Cree’s astuteness bordered on the intuitive. “Once a peasant knows a secret, her life is never safe. I made sure that Lucerne was settled safely with Lady Ann who was overjoyed with the blond-haired babe and then I took my leave, meeting up with Lizbeth. It wasn’t easy for her to find a village or clan where she and Dawn would be accepted, which is why they moved around so much. There were times I wondered how she managed. I kept a close eye on them, but never became involved until I settled here in Dowell to make sure it was safe and then I got in touch with Lizbeth and had her join me.”
“Why take the chance of settling in a village that belonged to Gerwan?” Cree asked. “You took a chance of Dawn being discovered.”
“I knew it was inevitable that Dawn’s identity would be discovered.”
“Why?”
“A secret is no secret when more than one person knows it,” Old Mary said and Cree nodded in agreement. “And I knew that fate had great plans for Dawn and nothing I did could stop it, but I could help.”
“So you settled here and waited for fate to show the way,” Cree said.
Old Mary nodded.
“How is Magda involved in this?” Cree asked.