Torin glared at her. “Are you telling me I am not wise?”
Again, Flora lost no time in responding to him. “In this situation, aye, I am, and you are stubborn as well.”
“Watch your words with me, wife?” Torin warned.
“Why? You are my husband, I should be able to say anything to you without fear or worry.”
“And you should obey my word, then you would have no fear or worry.”
“You want a servant that blindly obeys, not a wife.”
“I want an obedient wife,” Torin argued.
Flora poked him in the chest as she spoke. “And I want a husband who trusts and respects my opinions and thoughts enough to share everything with me.”
Torin grabbed her poking finger and went to argue, then stopped. How many times had he had a similar argument with his da? How many times had his da refused to listen to his son’s opinion? How often had his da believed himself right above all others and was proven wrong? All because he refused to consider another person’s opinion, refused to believe he could be wrong.
“This is why I suggested we give it time to see if this marriage between us would work,” Flora said. “I am different than most women. I am eager to offer my opinion, to discuss matters whether trivial or important, to learn from my husband and he learn from me, to share things whether good or bad and to accept your word, when necessary, though not without discussion. I fear that given time you will grow annoyed and come to dislike my curious nature. Where then will that leave us? For me to spend my days closed away in a room like your mum did? I can tell you now, that is something I will not do. You tell me that we are wed, and we will stay wed, that that will not change, and I tell you that I will not change who I am. Knowing that do you still want me as a wife?”
Flora knew her speech would make little difference. She had no place to go, her life would be here on the Isle of Outerson as wife to Lord Torin. But she would have her say, keep her voice, not remain silent, and her husband needed to know that.
“I remind you as I said I would. You are my wife and will stay my wife,” Torin said. “And you and I, wife, will find a way to make it work which means—”
“We will compromise,” Flora said with glee and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “A perfect solution and a wise choice on your part.” She slipped her finger from his grasp and took hold of his hand. “Come, we must see what the two bodies can tell us.”
Torin was out the door of the cottage before he regained his senses and tried to recall when or if he had agreed to allow her to see the bodies.
“Before we see the bodies we should speak to the merchant,” “Flora said and headed that way. “Did you question Hadwin? Could he have possibly killed them, though that does not seem likely since he reported the dead men to you.”
Torin listened, though he had little choice since his wife just went on talking. But he did learn something. In his wife’s continuous talk, she often came up with her own answers and solutions. So, it would prove wise to allow her to talk at times.
It was odd but he found the way she sorted through things with constant chatter interesting. Much of what she said gave him food for thought and had him considering things he might not have considered. It was another aspect of her he found appealing. Normally, a quick glance told him if a woman appealed to him or not, which was exactly the reason he had wed Flora. Now, however, he was discovering different things about his wife that added to her appeal.
“Had they been moved?” Flora asked.
Torin cleared his head with a shake. “What?”
“The bodies of the two men, had they been moved?
“Why would they have been moved?” Torin asked.
“I suppose for various reasons. The merchant may have taken things off their bodies to add to his ware. Or perhaps an animal dragged one away from where he had fallen… oh, that’s another thing. Had the animals gotten to them?”
She had his head spinning and he feared he would never stop shaking it around his wife.
“Let’s see what Hadwin has to say first,” he suggested.
They had taken only a few short steps when a scream erupted, bringing them to an abrupt stop. They watched as servant after servant ran out of the keep.
“The ghost! The ghost has returned!” several servants called out.
Flora let go of Torin’s hand and ran straight for the keep.
Torin shook his head and ran after her.
CHAPTER9
Flora almost ran into Anwen as she rushed into the Great Hall. “Where?” she asked the woman anxiously.