“She tried to ease my sorrow,” Kirk said. “She was such a loving child. I didn’t know true pain until I lost my Teressa. She died two years ago from a sudden illness. There is nothing as painful as being helpless in saving your child.” This time Kirk couldn’t prevent his tears from falling.
“Not long ago,” Torr said, “an old friend of my father’s, who we hadn’t seen in years, passed through our land and stopped to visit. He had known my sister and was heartbroken to hear she had died. He then told us of a young woman who he had seen that had suffered the same affliction as Teressa. Neither Father nor I thought much of it since there were other people who could not speak, though they could make a minimal of sound. This fellow had insisted that the lass he had seen had been exactly like Teressa.”
“It was when I learned that the lass lived on the Earl of Carrick’s land that I became more curious,” Kirk said. “You see the woman I fell I love with was Ann Gerwan, the Earl of Carrick’s wife.”
Dawn stared at Kirk, her eyes wide.
“I decided it was time to see this lass for myself, so Torr and I journeyed here with the sole purpose of finding you. The snowstorm was a God-sent landing us right where we needed to be. You look much like my daughter Teressa, but then my wife and Ann had similar features.”
Dawn continued to stare at the man who could very well be her father, still too shocked to make a gesture.
“I was stunned when I first saw the similarities and upset that you had been forced to become Cree’s—”
Dawn’s hand shot up, stopping Kirk from going any further and shook her head adamantly wanting him to understand that Cree had not forced her. She had joined willingly with him. The doubtful look in his eyes troubled her and so she made it clear how she felt about Cree.
With slow, precise gestures she let the two men know that she loved Cree.
Neither men smiled and it was Torr who finally said, “But does he love you enough to let you go?”
Dawn’s brow scrunched in confusion and she shook her head.
“The reason someone wants you dead is because they have discovered your true identity,” Kirk said. “One of two people could possibly be responsible, Gerwan and Lucerne. Naturally, if Lucerne found out, she loses everything if the truth is revealed. If Gerwan knows, then he fears that he has no bargaining power to retain his lands, no daughter to wed Cree.”
Dawn felt a seed of excitement start and smiled as she gestured—
Kirk raised his hand to stop her. “I know what you’re thinking that if you are my daughter, no longer a peasant, then there is a possibility that you and Cree could wed.”
She nodded slowly desperately hoping it was possible, though a thought poked at her… would Cree want to wed her?
Kirk hesitated. “You are not my legitimate child, therefor the King could refuse to recognize you and with Cree gaining a title and power, having a bastard wife might not be to his liking.”
A pang to Dawn’s heart had her fighting the suggested rejection. Though Cree’s love was silent, she didn’t doubt that he loved her. But was that love strong enough to for him to accept a bastard as his wife?
“There is something else we must consider… your true mother,” Kirk said. “Her life could be in danger. She is the one person who could verify that you are Gerwan’s daughter, and I fear for her life.”
Dawn felt a sense of protection toward the woman who gave her birth. Perhaps it was because she carried Cree’s child and understood the motherly instinct to protect. And there was part of her who would like to meet the brave woman who had so unselfishly saved her life.
“I thought by removing you as a threat, it could save your life and Ann’s,” Kirk said sounding as if he searched for a miracle. “But to completely remove the threat,” —he paused and took a breath— “you would need to wed right away. Your marriage would eliminate you as a threat and protect Ann. I have a good man in mind for you. He will treat you well and you would have a good life with him.”
Dawn stood so fast that her chair flew back and fell to the floor. She waved her hands back and forth adamantly and shook her head just as furiously.
“It’s the only way,” Kirk said as if he wished differently.
She gestured repeatedly for him to take her home.
“You are home, Dawn,” Kirk said. “And your safe and so is Ann. It is the way things must be.”
Dawn shook her head and gestured slowly and clearly enough for Kirk to understand that to her he was not her father, for a father would not cause his daughter such pain. He obviously understood her since he recoiled, as if slapped in the face.