“And what happens when you have a daughter?”
He took her arm and walked to the door. “I plan on having three or four sons before a daughter that way I will have a small troop to keep her safe.”
Wintra laughed again. “What if I have a daughter and she is voiceless?’
Cree stopped and instead of a scowl a worried look crossed his face. “I had not thought of that. The affliction does seem to have roots in Torr’s family. I will have more sons and you will need to have several sons as well that way any voiceless daughters we have will be well-protected.”
Wintra felt a tug at her heart. Her brother would stop at nothing to protect her and now he would protect her family as well. She looked at him with teary eyes. “I love you so very much.”
He lifted her off her feet and hugged her tight. “And I you, little sister, and I am pleased that you are finally home.”
Torr was not in the Great Hall when they returned, though Kellmara waited there. Wintra wondered where her husband had gone off to and was quick to ask. “Where is Torr?”
“A warrior brought a message for him and he left without a word,” Kellmara said and stood. “We will talk now.”
Wintra shook her head. “No, I need to speak with Dawn first, but I shall return shortly.” She did not give him a chance to object. She hurried to the door, grabbing a cloak off the peg before running out.
Cree looked to Kellmara. “Wintra will not be dictated to by a man claiming to be her father.”
“I am her father,” Kellmara said, tapping his chest hard, as if it proved something. “You can see it in our features. There is no way that anyone could deny that Wintra is my daughter.”
“Perhaps, but it does not matter what others believe. It is what Wintra believes that makes the difference. If you truly care that she is your daughter and you don’t want to see her hurt, then have patience with her and talk with her before making demands of her.”
“She is my daughter and must listen to me,” Kellmara insisted.
“Was my mother as obedient as you want Wintra to be?”
Kellmara turned away from Cree to walk to the hearth, brace his hand on the mantel, and stare at the flames.
Cree walked over to sit on a bench facing the large hearth, stretching his long legs out for the fire’s heat to warm, and waited.
“Believe me or not, though I have no reason to lie to you, but I loved your mother with all my heart. I wanted no other woman but her. I still don’t. I mourn her loss every day of my life. She was my sunshine in a very dark world. And I fought the devil himself to get back to her, but my father had many powerful men who were indebted to him and would not dare go against him. He finally grew tired of my endless attempts to return to her and told me that unless I wanted to see her dead, I would obey him. It wasn’t until he died that I was free to seek her out once again.
“I cannot tell you of the deep ache in my heart when I discovered she was dead or the joy I felt when I discovered that she had had my child. We had talked about giving you many brothers and sisters.” Kellmara turned to Cree. “I must say that you do a father proud. You have grown into a strong, courageous man.”
Cree did not acknowledge the compliment. His only thought was of his mother and how this man had loved her and still did. And he knew at that moment that his mother had loved this man very much. The thought that they had never gotten to share a life together infuriated him, for he thought of himself and Dawn. He did not know if he would survive losing Dawn, and he wondered how Kellmara had bared it all these years.
“I would not have known about Wintra if it had not been for the persistent Owen McBride,” Kellmara said.
“What do you mean?” Cree asked, easing his legs back.
“Owen McBride arrived at my doorstep one day and told me I had a daughter. When he told me who her mother was and that you were her brother, and then her age, I knew it was a real possibility. I did some investigating on my own and discovered that he was right. Owen let me know how much he loved my daughter and how much she loved him and that they wished to wed, but she was certain that her brother would never grant permission. He was hoping I could intervene and solve their problem.”
“You believed him?” Cree asked annoyed.