Elysia stood.
“You have not eaten,” Odran said.
Elysia said what she believed would explain it. “I am needed.”
Brit was quick to speak. “I will see that Lady Elysia eats. I have honey oat cakes. She loves honey oat cakes.”
“That she does,” Odran agreed.
To hear Odran say that brought a soft smile to her face. “You know me well, husband.”
“Remember that,” he said.
She understood that he reminded her that he, Odran, knew that just as Saber did—no difference. She nodded and hurried around the table.
“Make sure my wife eats something,” Odran ordered, casting a firm look to Brit and the woman nodded repeatedly.
“At least take it with you, please,” Brit begged, holding a honey oat cake to Elysia. “Lord Odran will be angry with me for not feeding you.”
Elysia’s churning stomach was not fit for food, but she took the cake seeing how upset Brit was that she had not adhered to Lord Odran’s command.
“I should not have disturbed your meal with Lord Odran,” Brit apologized, glancing to her husband playfully poking at their daughter who smiled with delight back at him. “It was nothing that a good belch didn’t cure.”
Elysia smiled glad for the rescue from the Great Hall, though she didn’t let Brit know that. “Nonsense. It is better to fetch me quickly than wait and possibly have the problem grow worse. I was glad to see little Lenis content in her da’s arms when we arrived.”
“We will miss you, Elysia,” Kevin said. “You’ve been a good healer and a good friend to us all.”
“Aye, Kevin’s right,” Brit agreed. “Everyone talks about how sorry they are to see you go and how grateful they are to you. The clan would have never survived the attack if Lord Odran hadn’t arrived when he did.”
“And all know Lord Odran returned for you—his wife. We are alive and now safe under the protection of Lord Odran because of you, Elysia,” Kevin said.
Brit sniffled back tears that were ready to fall before she spoke. “The brave lass who dared to love one of the cursed lords.”
Elysia didn’t feel comfortable with the praise, didn’t feel she deserved it. She had wed Saber because she trusted him, was comfortable with him, and if she was truthful, she loved him. She simply hadn’t admitted it to herself before they wed. And, of course, she questioned if she had been the true reason Lord Odran returned? Or had it been duty that brought him to the Clan Loudon?
“I best be on my way,” Elysia said and made a hasty exit, intending to seek the solitude of her cottage. She needed to be alone to ponder.
She was trying to make sense of why she couldn’t reconcile Saber and Odran. They truly were one and yet they were different to her. The most startling difference was that she hadn’t feared Saber, not so Odran. The powerful strength of his voice, hearing the table crack from his fist, and seeing how easily he had taken a man’s life had put fear in her. Saber had made his strength known but not as harshly as Odran had, but she did need to consider what Odran had said. Saber was a farmer. Odran would one day rule a clan. That thought alone filled her with fright. She knew nothing about a wife’s duties to a lord.
“You made me look a fool.”
Elysia jumped startled by Bram suddenly appearing in front of her and forcing her to an abrupt halt.
Bram stepped toward her, a snarl curling his upper lip. “You had no right.”
She stepped back. “Do you wish to lose the use of your sword arm forever?”
“That won’t happen,” he snapped.
“It will if you don’t rest it for a while, especially after yesterday’s attack. Does it pain you now?” she asked, though she knew it did by the way he held it close to his side.
His snarl remained. “Of course it hurts, I battled yesterday. And what you say isn’t going to make any difference anyway. You will leave soon and I will do what I will with my arm.”
Elysia kept her voice soft. “I thought you a wise warrior, Bram. A wise warrior would not chance losing the use of his sword arm. And you’re right. You will do as you will, then in the end the results will be of your own doing. I wish you well.”
Bram stared after her, rubbing his aching arm, as she walked away.
Elysia entered her cottage and stood staring at the room that had been her home for as long as she could remember. She was protective of the small cottage, wanting it there for Annis when she returned or if Bliss should need to return for any reason. She hoped Annis would not fail as she did. Now none of them would have a home to return to if necessary.