His eyes smoldered with anger. “I’ll not lose you.”
“You think I feel any differently. The thought of never seeing you again, never feeling your touch, your kiss, frightens me something fearful. Your lies frighten me as well.”
“I lie to protect those around me,” he said.
“Why not simply speak the truth?”
“The truth is not simple to tell,” he said and released her and walked over to sit on the bed.
Willow went and sat beside him. “It is simple and I’m listening.” She could see the struggle in his dark eyes as to whether to tell her or not, and she waited. It was a struggle only he could settle.
Her stomach twisted nervously about what she might hear when he looked ready to speak.
“Willow! Willow are you in there,” Snow shouted frantically before a rap sounded at the door.
“I am and so is Slatter,” Willow said and they both hurried to the door.
Snow didn’t wait, she opened the door and spoke. “Lord Tarass arrives with more warriors and with an unknown chieftain or lord and his troop of men as well. James wants you to join him on the steps of the keep.”
Willow helped Snow down the stairs since they all were in a hurry, Slatter leading the way.
“I only spoke with James a short while ago and he said nothing of Lord Tarass’s arrival,” Willow said as they descended the stairs.
“James wasn’t made aware of Lord Tarass’s arrival or told anything of the other man and his troop. He’s as shocked as everyone else.”
“You’ll stay close to me, Willow,” Slatter ordered sharply as if he worried she wouldn’t agree.
“That I will,” Willow said, fearful of what awaited them.
“And you, Snow, will stay to the side out of harm’s way,” Slatter said.
“As long as you protect my sister, that is all that matters to me. Besides, I have Thaw to protect me,” Snow said of the pup, who was showing some growth, by her side and following her every step.
The Great Hall was empty when they entered it and so eerily silent that Willow shivered.
“Everyone waits outside to see who Lord Tarass brings here and why,” Snow said as the three walked through the heavy silence.
People stood near their cottages watching the procession of warriors walk through the village. Lord Tarass led the way on his horse and a man atop another horse following behind him.
James stood on the top step, his eyes steady on the approaching men. Eleanor stood beside him, though she rushed over to Snow when she spotted her.
“James says I’m to stay with you and that we’re to keep ourselves out of the way of things,” Eleanor said, hooking her arm around Snow’s.
“I make no promises,” Snow said and went to stand to the side with Eleanor.
Willow was proud of her sister’s courage and that even though she was blind, Snow would come to her defense no matter what.
It wasn’t long before Lord Tarass drew close to the keep. It was difficult to see the man who brought his horse up alongside him, the hood of his cloak partially covering his face. He didn’t toss it back until they both came to a stop in front of the keep and everyone gasped in shock.
The man could have been Slatter’s twin brother.
At first Willow felt a sense of relief, thinking Lord Tarass had found the culprit. That soon faded when she realized the man was not treated as a prisoner, but with respect shown to either a chieftain or a lord. Her stomach knotted painfully fearful of what that meant.
“This is Lord Sterling of the Clan MacBlair from the Isle of Wakelin. He has some information you’ll wish to hear, James,” Lord Tarass said.
Lord Sterling dismounted and approached the steps, staring up at Slatter. “I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. You are the exact image of me.”
Slatter grinned. “I wouldn’t say exact, I’m much handsomer.” His grin shifted to a glare. “Wakelin, you say, isn’t Wakelin that piss-ass isle no one gives a fig about?”
Willow squeezed her husband’s hand in warning. It would do no good to antagonize the man, at least not yet.
He returned her squeeze, though never took his eyes off Sterling.
“Your lack of manners and civility prove what a scoundrel you are without me saying a word. You’re also a sly one, giving me the slip at every turn,” Lord Sterling said.
“This is best discussed in private,” James said.
“Why? Your clan should know that an evil man resides among them,” Lord Sterling said, raising his voice and not taking his eyes off Slatter as if daring him to deny it. “This man has committed endless crimes, some unspeakable. He cares not who he harms or the damage he leaves in his wake. He is a common thief, a thug who does anything for a coin, a liar who charms his way out of things or charms his way into a woman’s bed, mostly married women, then threatens that he will tell her husband if she doesn’t pay him for his silence. And he murders anyone who threatens to reveal his true nature.”