Willow laughed softly. “And here I thought I was the sensible one.”
“Love distracts,” Snow said, laughing herself. “And don’t bother to deny you love your husband. I can hear it in your voice when you speak about him just as I can hear it in his voice when he speaks about you.”
“You think Slatter loves me?” Willow asked.
Snow tilted her head at her sister. “Isn’t that why he wed you?”
Guilt poked at Willow for not telling her sister the truth. The three had always trusted one another, knowing anything they shared would not be shared with anyone else.
“I need to tell you something,” Willow said.
“I was wondering when you were going to get around to it.” Snow lowered her voice, though the door to the room was closed. “So tell me why you truly wed Slatter.”
It didn’t take long for Willow to explain it all and finish with, “How I fell in love with him I’ll never know.”
“Fate, I suppose. And truth be told when I spoke with him this morning I couldn’t seem to align him with the man who had set fire to our shed or did the many things said of him. I know his tongue can charm but he doesn’t strike me as a scoundrel.”
“I have seen him kill without hesitation,” Willow said, recalling the men who had meant them harm and explained to Snow.
“He killed to protect you. That is different from luring a man into the woods and murdering him.”
A soft rap on the door and Eleanor calling out that she had hot cider for them had Willow hurrying to open the door.
“Join us,” Snow offered. “We are trying to find a way to keep Slatter from hanging for this killing. Another’s thought is always helpful.”
Eleanor looked hesitant.
“The truth is, Eleanor, Snow and I know that you and James are falling in love.”
Snow giggled. “I so enjoy hearing you two tread lightly around each other, complimenting and finding reasons to be with each other. I don’t understand why James doesn’t admit he loves you and be done with it.”
Eleanor’s cheeks blushed red. “I think I lost my heart to him when I arrived here and he caught me after I almost collapsed once off the horse. He was so gentle yet strong. I never had a man treat me with such kindness. But it isn’t me we should discuss.”
“You have a thought on the problem with Slatter?” Willow asked anxiously.
Eleanor spoke hesitantly and in a whisper. “I overheard the Lord of Fire speaking to one of his warriors as he walked through the Great Hall.”
“Do share,” Snow urged.
Willow pointed to the chair, her sister Sorrell usually occupied, for Eleanor to sit, and she did.
As soon as Willow saw Eleanor worry her hands, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“What is it? Did something happen?” Snow asked, leaning forward in the chair and causing Thaw to pop up out of his sleep to give a yawning yelp.
Eleanor spoke reluctantly. “I fear what I overheard.”
Willow’s stomach knotted. “What did you overhear?”
“Lord Tarass ordered his warrior to send a message to a man. That he would pay handsomely if he could get here as soon as possible and handle a disturbing matter.”
“Are you familiar with this man Lord Tarass sends for?” Willow asked, her apprehension growing.
“I know the name. A man showed up at the abbey one night begging for help. He insisted that one of the devil’s strongest demons was after him and the only place he’d be safe was on sacred ground. Mother Abbess allowed him entrance, thinking him ill of mind and once he calmed down she’d send him on his way. He ranted for two days, begging God to protect him, not to let the mighty demon get him.” She stopped and shivered. “One night the whole abbey woke to agonizing screams that seemed to come from the stone walls themselves as if they suffered along with the man. Mother Abbess had me and another postulant lead the way to the man’s room, her and only two other nuns following. I knew she meant to sacrifice the two of us if necessary.”
Willow listened intently, fear tugging at her stomach.
“When we reached the room, Mother Abbess ordered me to open the door and go inside. She kept the door locked at all times, according to the man’s instructions, but she didn’t hand me the key since we had all assumed someone had already gotten inside. I tried the handle, shocked to find the door locked. How did someone enter a locked room? Mother Abbess’s hand trembled when she handed me the key and she hurriedly stepped far away from the door with the others.
“My hand shook so badly that it took me several minutes to unlock the door. The room was dark, since the man had insisted on a room without a hearth. He lay on the ground dead, his body misshapen by all his broken bones, his eyes wide with fright, and his mouth open in his last scream. I could still hear the name he screamed over and over. I never wanted to hear that name again, but I did when Lord Tarass said, ‘send for the Slayer.’”