“None,” he said.
Why wouldn’t he tell her about the so-called ghost? Did he feel she would recoil in fear and refuse to ever step foot in the keep? That would not happen. She was curious about the giant and his tale. She could just imagine how excited her da and mum would be to discover the truth, to prove the tale nothing more than just that, a tale or prove the myth true. How then would one get rid of a ghost? The prospect was exciting to her, a distraction from the sorrows that continued to plague her since her parents’ death. It also offered her a way to be close with her parents once again, share in an adventure as she had done with them.
“I will have a hot brew and food sent here and I will return as soon as I can,” he said, “then we will talk.”
“How is Kinnell? He looked to have been in a fight and I know he was not with us during the attack,” she said, adding the last part since she knew he would use the attack to lay blame on his friend’s wounds.
Again, he was struck by his wife’s keen observance and wondered over her true nature. He had thought her the perfect wife, demure in manner, quiet, dutiful. He was beginning to think he may have rushed into the marriage, but he needed a wife. He had put off wedding long enough. Besides, he found her appealing from when first he laid eyes on her, and that appeal had grown on their journey here.
“You need not concern yourself with that,” he said. “Now sit and rest. Brew and food will be here shortly. There is time to talk later.”
He walked out the door without another word to her or allowing her another word. She stood staring at the door, a scrunch to her brow, wondering how she could sneak into the keep and explore rather than consider that tonight she would share a bed with her husband until… she turned, and her glance caught the bed, and she realized what would take place there tonight.
CHAPTER3
“The cleric is settled?” Torin asked, seeing Kinnell approach him.
“Aye, but I think he is useless to us,” Kinnell said.
“I thought that might happen,” Torin admitted and shook his head. “I should have known better once I found out he was dismissed from the monastery, too heavy into his drink to perform his duties.”
“You were desperate.”
“Aye, that I was and still am,” Torin admitted. “Have you seen Iona?”
Kinnell cringed. “That woman sets me on edge.”
“Come, I will go with you?”
“Haven’t you got your wife to settle?” Kinnell asked with a humorous snicker.
“She is settling in the cottage and does fine, though she is full of questions.”
“Odd. She didn’t seem the curious type,” Kinnell said. “She was quiet, barely saying a word when at Clan Strathearn.”
“I know that’s what makes me wonder if there was a reason Newlin was so eager to accept my marriage proposal,” Torin confessed, it having preyed on his mind with how many questions she asked of late.
“You could wait and find out more about her before you seal the marriage vows. Then it would be easy to dissolve the marriage,” Kinnell advised. “Though a man would not tire of glancing on her, if that should matter to you.”
“She is a beauty that’s for sure, but a man could grow tired of her quickly if she chatted endlessly and forever asked questions.” The thought had him scowling.
“True enough. But do you want to start over in search of a wife? You could always teach her to curb her words.”
Torin nodded. “She spoke with the cleric, and he advised her to submit to the wisdom of her husband.”
“There you go. Impart your husbandly wisdom and see it all settled.”
“She does seem to acquiesce easily, so perhaps I worry for naught,” Torin said. “And I have no desire to search for a wife again. This one will have to do. I will need to teach her to follow my rule.”
“A good plan,” Kinnell said.
Torin intended to make it work since when Kinnell mentioned about dissolving the marriage, he had felt a twist to his gut. He barely knew his wife, but he would admit, to himself of course, that he liked her and oddly enough something in him did not want to lose her. So, though he questioned that she might not be as quiet as he first thought, his attraction to her had not changed, if anything, it had grown with their journey home.
He had enjoyed watching the way she would stretch her body awake in the morning and turn a smile to the sky as if she was happy to greet the day. He also enjoyed the way she easily returned his smiles as if she could not resist them. Then there had been the jolt of pleasure that had hit him when he had run his hands over her chest and along her waist to see that she had not been harmed after the attack. He had not expected that, nor had he expected to experience a sudden arousal. At that moment, he had wanted his wife, had ached to have her and that had been a surprise and a pleasant one at that.
“What happened to you?”
The strong, demanding voice had Kinnell cringing and Torin smiling.