“What other problem?” Rannock asked.
“There’s another problem, m’lady,” Nettle whispered to Snow, having stepped closer to her, though Nettle’s whisper wasn’t much of a whisper.
“That does not concern you,” Rannock said.
“Anything that concerns, Lady Snow, concerns me,” Nettle argued.
“Enough! I’ll hear no more about it,” Tarass snapped. “If I wish you to know, you will be told.” He turned to James. “This is best discussed in private.” He leaned down and whispered in his wife’s ear. “I suppose there’s no point in telling you to wait here.”
Snow whispered back, “Not if you don’t want me to disobey you again.”
She caught his muffled oath as he straightened and took her arm, and she smiled.
Snow sat after entering the solar again and Thaw planted himself next to her leg. She reached down to pet him while her husband wasted no time in detailing what had happened last night.
“Good Lord,” James said when he was done. “This is terrible and bodes worse than I thought for you both. When Polwarth learns of this, and he will learn of this—wagging tongues spreading news fast—he will claim it some barbaric ritual to prove Tarass practices a heathen belief and have further proof to invalidate your marriage.”
Snow’s stomach churned with worry. Her brother was right. This did not bode well for them at all.
“Perhaps I should take Finn’s body home,” James said. “It’s obvious someone is out to cause you harm, Tarass, and at least with Finn’s body gone, he can’t be used to cause more distress.”
“You’re probably right, James,” Tarass agreed. “I’ll have a cart prepared that will make it easier for you to transport Finn’s body in the snow. While I see to it, why don’t you join Snow for some food and drink, since her grumbling stomach tells me she’s hungry.”
“Be careful, Tarass,” James cautioned as he took Snow’s arm, “Polwarth is a powerful man with many friends.”
“I’ll heed your warning, James,” Tarass said and kept his eye on the door after James and his wife left. It wasn’t long before Rannock entered the solar, closing the door behind him. Still, Tarass kept his voice low, taking no chance anyone would hear him. “I have a matter that needs immediate attention.”
“What are you doing here? You have a bedchamber,” Tarass said, finding his wife in the room, sitting by the hearth her bare feet stretched out to the flames, she had occupied when she had been a guest.
“I wanted a quiet place where I wouldn’t be disturbed,” she explained.
“No one would dare disturb you in our bedchamber.”
“Even you?” she asked with a smile and stretched her hand out to him.
“You got me on that one,” he said with a brief chuckle and scooped her up in his arms.
He carried her to the small bed and sat, bracing his back against the wood headboard and positioning her comfortably on his lap, making sure to tuck a blanket over her bare feet.
Thaw joined them on the bed to cuddle at her feet and Tarass didn’t chase him away.
“Are you troubled over what brought James here that you seek solitude?”
“It’s more than that,” she admitted. “I feel like I’m suddenly in a giant puzzle with pieces that don’t seem to fit, which means there are pieces missing, but where are those pieces? How do I find them?”
“That is how I feel about the murder of my parents. I have some pieces but not near enough to see the clear picture.”
“Why did your father leave here suddenly and leave you and your mum behind? I recall people talking about it, and my da shaking his head over it. Then one day you and your mum were suddenly gone. What happened?”
“That’s another mystery I’m trying to solve.”
Chapter 21
Snow gazed at him in confusion and for a brief moment, thought she caught sight of the outline of his chin, but it was gone so quickly she believed it her imagination.
“You were never told of the reason for your hasty departure from your home?” Snow asked.
“Or the reason for my da’s sudden departure,” Tarass said. “I was told he’d been called away on an important matter, but I never learned what that matter entailed, though not for lack of trying. I often asked my parents about it and was told it was nothing to be concerned about.” Tarass shook his head. “I knew it wasn’t the truth, but I thought one day they would finally tell me. That day never came and I believe it has something to do with why my parents were killed.”
“Do you think they were trying to protect you from something?”
“Why not tell me?” He shook his head. “It makes no sense.”
“I recall my parents mentioning something about your family leaving because of the way your mum was treated. That many in your clan didn’t like that she was of barbarian descent.”