Flora stopped, forcing Walsh to do the same. “Your pain does not let you see clearly. Would you rather have never known that love and all the joy it brought you? Would you give up all the beautiful and loving memories for the pain to be gone? Would you let go of the love that brought you so much pleasure, never to know it again? I understand you now. You have so much pain in your heart that you care not if you cause other people pain. You, Walsh, have never truly known love, for a person who loved would never do anything to harm its memories.”
Walsh went to argue, and Flora snapped her hand up in the air. “I am going to have someone speak to you who knows the true value of love.” She smiled when she spotted the person stepping out of the keep just as she finished. “Anwen!” she shouted, and the woman hurried to her.
“I don’t need anyone telling me about love. I know what I need to know,” Walsh snapped and turned to walk away but not before casting a quick glance at Anwen.
Flora spotted it… a quick flash of interest. She would keep an eye on him.
“My lady,” Anwen said when she reached Flora, though her eyes drifted to the retreating Walsh. “Is something wrong? Has that man behaved badly to you?”
“Nay, Anwen. He is a broken-hearted man who has yet to heal.”
“A broken heart leaves a scar, my lady, that tears open now and again to haunt and hurt, but sometimes the loving memories can soothe, and I am grateful for them,” Anwen said sadly.
“I would hurt if I lost Torin,” Flora said, shocking herself, the words falling from her lips of their own accord.
Anwen smiled. “You can see it in your eyes that you care for him and that he cares for you. It is a good way to begin a marriage.”
“You see it in his eyes that he cares for me?” Flora asked anxiously as she hooked her arm with Anwen, shocking her, as they walked toward the keep.
“I have, my lady, and I am not the only one. It is obvious since Lord Torin has never gazed upon a woman the way he gazes upon you.”
“My mum told me she knew she loved my da when she first looked upon him. But I wonder if that is possible… to look at a stranger and instantly know you love him.”
“It was that way with me and my husband. When I first saw Glendon I lost my heart to him. He was so handsome and had the most wonderful smile,” Anwen said, the lovely memory bringing a generous smile to her face. She shook her head. “I almost forgot, my lady, a question has arisen since it has been made known that you and his lordship will move into the keep tonight.”
Flora understood without any further explanation. “I intended to make it known when I returned. No one will remain in the keep after dark tonight. Have our supper left in our bedchamber. We will do fine on our own.”
“Are you sure, my lady?” Anwen asked concerned.
“It is time, Anwen, that the keep is returned to his lordship and the ghost is sent on his way.”
* * *
“What did you find?”Flora asked her husband as they sat eating supper in their bedchamber.
Torin was eager for the intimate night ahead with his wife and he wanted no delays or interferences. To achieve that, he had to first satisfy his wife’s curiosity and questions.
“A campsite was found and farther from the bridge than I expected,” he said.
“Were there any signs of more than one person being there?” Flora asked.
“Not that we could find,” Torin said, noticing how robustly his wife ate. He had thought she might be nervous about the night ahead, but she showed no signs of it.
“How deep was the ash from the campfire?” she asked.
“I do not know. We were lucky to find it with the snow that had fallen and covered the ground and what—” He paused and shook his head. “I was so pleased to find the campsite that I never gave thought that the depth of the ashes could give me an idea of how long he had camped there.”
“I imagine you were more concerned that he may have had cohorts with him which would present a present danger.”
Torin leaned forward, placing his arms on the table’s edge. “I have never known a woman whose mind works so quickly.”
Flora chuckled. “My da said that as soon as I could talk, something I did at a noticeably young age, I asked questions. Gratefully, he and my mum did not mind. I am also grateful that they fed my curiosity. It is something I hope to do with our children.”
She constantly delivered unexpected joyful blows to his heart or gut, not that he minded. He quite enjoyed them.
“I will be honest with you, though, since I expect honesty from you,” she said after taking a sip of wine.
“Please do and I will strive to do the same.”