“I am hungry,” she said, though wasn’t quite sure how to tell him that it was him she was hungry for.
“Then we will eat,” he said and took hold of her hand.
His grip was strong, almost as if he feared letting go and losing her, and her own grip grew a bit stronger, for the thought of him never holding her hand again brought an empty ache to her heart. She loved him and she was happy that she was actually wed to a man she loved, a man she so enjoyed making love with.
“Deep in thought again?”
She nodded.
“Share them with me.”
Did she dare take a chance and tell him that she was hungrier for him than for food? Or did she heed the nuns repeated warnings that intimacy was initiated only by the husband?
“They will continue to haunt you if you do not discuss them.”
Her brow knitted. “You know me well? How is that?”
He smiled. “You often make your thoughts known by speaking your mind, so it is not that difficult to get to know you, though I wonder what makes you hesitate now.”
“I speak my mind around you more than anyone else,” she admitted, as if she had just realized it.
“I am easy to talk to.”
“So I have learned.”
“Then tell me what seems to trouble you,” he encouraged.
Her stomach gurgled much too loudly this time and though her cheeks burned with embarrassment, she could not stop from laughing.
“First, I will see that you are fed, and then you will tell me what keeps you from telling me what is on your mind.”
They turned around and headed for the keep, though at the bottom of the keep steps Wintra stopped and said, “Dawn and my brother may still be talking and I do not wish to intrude on their discussion.”
Torr placed his hands on her waist and gently propelled her up the steps. “Cree would have seen to their privacy by now if he intended for them to remain alone.”
Wintra was pleased to see that her brother remained with Dawn at the table in front of the fireplace and pleased that that was where he chose to eat rather than take breakfast at the dais. It made her see that somewhere in Cree still lurked the brother she knew, and he was the one she hoped to talk with.
Dawn’s gestures were easy to understand, she eagerly welcomed Torr and Wintra, urging them to join Cree and her.
Torr did not give Wintra a chance to refuse. With a little push of his hand to the small of her back, she took a seat opposite Dawn. Torr climbed over the bench and gave her hip a bump with his so that she would move down to the end and sit opposite Cree while he faced Dawn.
More food and drink were placed on the table and Wintra was grateful for the diversion. There was much she wished to discuss with her brother, but now was not the time or place, though she itched to do so. Cree had no idea how much she had missed him.
Dawn began to gesture and Cree interpreted. “Dawn is pleased that you and Torr will be staying here until the babe is born.”
Wintra looked to Torr surprised and yet so relieved by the news. She feared she would be pulled away from her brother before she had a chance to be reunited with him.
“You need time with your brother and I need time with my sister,” Torr said, explaining his decision.
Dawn nudged Cree with her elbow, and he scrunched his brow wondering what she implied. She raised her brow at him and tapped his knee under the table.
He watched as she signaled with her hands. She pointed at Wintra and then to Torr and locked two fingers together. He realized what she was saying. The couple also needed time alone, time to discover each other.
“The cottage is adequate for your stay here?” Cree asked.
“I love it,” Wintra replied quickly, not wanting to stay anyplace else. It afforded a sense of privacy and solitude. Both were things she had learned to enjoy while at the abbey, and she wasn’t ready to give up either just yet.
“In the meantime, perhaps you can help Dawn plan our wedding celebration,” Cree said.
“I would love to help,” Wintra said enthusiastically and couldn’t help but wonder if she and Torr would ever have a true wedding.
“I am gone but a couple of days on a hunt and what do I hear on my return? That I have a new daughter,” Kirk McClusky, Torr’s father, yelled out as he entered the keep.
Torr stood and his father greeted him with a bear hug.
Wintra stood to be presented to Torr’s father, feeling apprehensive. She was surprised to see what a good looking man Torr’s father was, though why not? If not for the scar on Torr’s face he would be more handsome than most any man. Actually, the scar did little to distract from Torr’s good looks. In an odd way it added to his fine features, making him appear a warrior not to tangle with.