Torin’s arm shot out to snag his wife around her waist and yank her against him. “Be careful, wife, for I may show you just how uncivilized I can be.”
Voices were heard as the door creaked open.
Before Torin stepped away from his wife, he whispered, “We will discuss the consummation of our vows later.”
The servants who entered stopped when they caught sight of the heavy scowl on Lord Torin’s face.
“You will follow my wife’s orders in the keep, but if you have any issues with anything Lady Flora demands of you, you will seek me out immediately and I will see it settled,” he commanded and strode out of the room.
Her husband made sure to leave her with a reminder that his word was final and that her word mattered little in any and all decisions. She lost all desire to see the keep brought back to life and the ghost dispatched. Why bother when she would need to seek approval for everything she did or know that if a servant disagreed with her that it could be immediately disputed?
She was about to dismiss the small group, using the long journey here as an excuse to her sudden fatigue and that the chores could wait for another day, but held her tongue. Her parents would be disappointed in her if she simply surrendered to her fate instead of seizing upon it, learning from it, and gaining the knowledge she needed to make a good life for herself regardless of the circumstances that fate had forced upon her.
Flora smiled and was about to issue orders when an agonizing roar echoed through the Great Hall followed by a rush of frigid wind that shivered everyone there.
Every servant paled, ran, dropping brooms and buckets as they tripped over each other while fleeing the room as fast as they could.
Not so Flora… she remained where she was.
CHAPTER6
Flora paid the retreating servants no heed. She glanced around the room waiting to see if anything materialized while hugging herself against the cold that swirled through the room. She turned swiftly when she heard a strange noise and found the shutter that had been broken was in worse shape than before, almost ready to break free of its hinge.
Curious, she pulled a bench tucked under the closest trestle table over to place beneath the window. Seeing it would not give her enough height to reach the window, she pulled another bench over and with effort she got it balanced on top of the first one. She then moved a small stool over to the two benches so she could get herself up on the benches without difficulty. Still, though, the benches swayed a bit once she climbed atop them. She kept to the center of the bench, knowing if she weighted to heavily on one side, the two would topple.
The broken shutter trembled against the stone wall and Flora smiled, feeling the rush of air that shot through the window being the cause of it. She then did her best to examine the window, a theory beginning to form in her head.
* * *
Torin had almost reachedthe practice field with Kinnell, his friend having waited for him, curious as to what had gone on in the keep. Kinnell had laughed when Torin had finished explaining to him.
“Well, you always did love a challenge and it appears Lady Flora is definitely going to be that.”
“Quiet and obedient, that was all I wanted in a wife,” Torin argued. “We are home not even a day, and she creates havoc.”
“You will never be bored with her as a wife,” Kinnell said with more laughter.
Torin shook his head. “You are no help, but you soon will be when you face my frustration on the practice field.”
“THE GHOST! THE GHOST!”
Torin and Kinnell turned at the chorus of screams and ran toward the people they spotted running away from the keep.
As Torin reached two of them, he halted them with a command. “Tell me what happened.”
The woman shivered badly and shook her head, leaving the man to speak. “The giant made himself know. He roared at us and sent his mighty breath spewing throughout the Great Hall.”
“Where is Lady Flora?” Torin demanded.
They both shook their heads.
“Did she rush out with you?” Torin demanded harshly and with a bit of anxiousness, and they both shook their heads. “No one saw to her safety?”
The man and woman shook their heads again, then lowered them, avoiding Lord Torin’s angry glare.
Torin rushed to the keep, Kinnell right behind him. He sped up the stairs, fear for his wife’s safety squeezing his chest, and burst into the Great Hall, yelling out, “FLORA!”
His sudden scream startled Flora and she lost her balance on top of the benches and as the one bench tumbled out from beneath her, she cried out, “Torin!”