“Tell me,” Torin ordered, angry that his wife once again came near to losing her life and here on home soil where she should not have to fear anything.
“They are both dead. Walsh killed the other one. He was close by and did not hesitate to help. Some of the warriors were quick to respond to your roar but were too far away to reach you in time.”
“No one, not one single soul is permitted to cross that bridge unless I give permission,” Torin ordered, keeping his wife tucked firm against him.
Kinnell shook his head. “No one gave thought to the clerics.”
“They were not clerics,” Flora said. “Their belts were different. If they were from the same monastery, their attire would be identical. It is a rule that must be followed in the monasteries.”
“Is that why you were headed their way?” Torin asked.
Flora went to explain and stopped a moment. “I see your point. It would have been wiser of me to tell you what I surmised instead of going to speak to the two men. I should have thought better of it since I also questioned why a monastery that cast out a cleric would care if he was properly buried and how did they find out he had died in the first place.” She looked from her husband to Kinnell. “Did either of you send word to the monastery?”
“Bloody hell,” Torin said never having thought of it.
Kinnell shook his head, annoyed himself.
Flora shook her head as well. “The bigger question though is why does someone want me dead?”
* * *
Flora satin the Great Hall, her hands cupped around a tankard soaking in the heat of the chamomile brew. She had sustained a chill from sitting on the snow-covered ground and needed to warm herself. What warmed her more, though, was the laughter she heard and the smiles she saw when she had entered the Great Hall. There was a contentment and joy in the keep that had not been felt for an awfully long time and she had not been the only one to have restored it. It had been her husband as well. He had shown his clan strength and that in turn had encouraged them to do the same. The Clan Norham had needed uniting, and they were now engaged in doing just that.
Torin finished talking with Kinnell and joined his wife at the table closest to the hearth after sending the man off to carry out his orders.
“Are you still chilled?” Torin asked and seeing that her hands still trembled, he was about to grab her cloak left on the bench to drape over her shoulders when she stopped him.
“I prefer your body’s warmth. It chases the chill much faster.”
Her remark stirred him, but then it had not taken much lately for him to grow aroused around her. That he was attracted to her was undeniable but what also was undeniable was how much he cared for her.
He sat next to her and before he could tuck her tight against him, she settled against him, tucking herself as close as she could, and his arm wrapped tightly around her.
“You had no answer for me when I asked why someone would want me dead,” she said, content in the safety of his arms and the warmth of his body.
“I suppose it is because I do not want to think of why that might be,” he admitted.
“That it is someone who wishes to hurt you?” she asked. “It would be the most logical conclusion since I have not been here long enough in the Highlands to make enemies or for anyone to know me. It would then seem reasonable to believe that it had more to do with you than me.”
“On that we agree, wife.”
Flora wished to ask more but Walsh entered the room, and she held her tongue.
“You wish to see me, my lord?” Walsh asked, stopping in front of their table.
“Aye, Walsh. I am appreciative of your quick action in helping me a short time ago. Tell me about it,” Torin said. “I am searching for clues as to who these men might be.”
“That’s easy. They are mercenaries,” Walsh said and sat on the bench opposite them at the table before given permission to do so.
“You know that for sure?” Torin asked more concerned by what he knew than by his lack of manners.
“I have seen them around some mercenary camps. They worked for whoever provided the most coin. They are some of the worst of the lot which means more will follow when it is learned they failed at the mission.”
“The coin must be substantial for this mission if three have attempted it so far, though how the two men posing as clerics thought to get away with it holds no logic,” Torin said.
“Their plan went awry when Lady Flora approached them,” Walsh explained with a nod to Flora. “No doubt they planned to befriend her, kill her, and be off the isle before they were discovered,” Walsh said.
Anger fired in Torin thinking how easily he could have lost his wife.