“The campsite is empty. No one in sight,” Kinnell said, perplexed. “I followed the trail, and it appears as if Mordred is in retreat, an anxious one.”
“Retreat?” Walsh questioned. “Why would he suddenly retreat?”
“There is only one reason,” Torin said.
Walsh’s eyes went wide. “No bounty!”
* * *
Torin foundhis wife sitting in front of the hearth in her solar upon his return. When she turned to see who had entered the room and saw it was him, she raced to him, throwing her arms around him.
She held him tight almost as if by doing so he could never escape her. “I do not know how I will cope when it is necessary for you to ride into battle. I worried endlessly over your safe return, fearful I would never see you again. I cannot bear to live without you. The very thought turns my stomach and hurts my heart. I have tried to understand it, reason it, but I have come to accept the obvious that love is not meant to be understood… it is meant to be felt. And I feel it deeply, down to my very soul—”
Torin kissed her, taking hold of her chin to turn her face up for his lips to reach hers and silence her. Otherwise, he worried she would never cease talking. Besides, he had thought about kissing her the whole ride home.
He needed to feel her lips on his, her body resting against him, her arms around him, and know that she was safe and that she was his and always would be.
Flora remained silent for only a brief time after the kiss ended. “You must be tired and hungry. I have food and drink waiting for you in our bedchamber. You will eat, rest, and tell me all that happened.” She continued talking as she led him out of the room and to their bedchamber. “I am curious to what may have happened. You do not look as if you battled, a relief for sure. But what prevented the battle? I do not believe Mordred was a man, from what Lester and Gordy said, who would surrender. So, what prevented the battle?” She stopped abruptly upon entering the room and turned wide eyes on him. “He was not there. You did not find him, but you found something.”
He had promised to never lie to her, and he could see now how that was a wise decision, for he doubted there was a secret he could keep from her.
“Retreat,” he said, going to the table and filling a tankard to the top with ale, parched from the ride home. He downed a good portion, and his wife filled the silence with her chatter.
“That is odd. Why would Mordred retreat when he was so keen on the bounty?” Her brow shot up. “Something happened with the bounty. It was found to be false. The person proved not to have sufficient funds. The person who offered it met a mysterious end.”
“Or it could be as simple as Mordred being alerted to another mission that proved less difficult,” Torin suggested.
“I do not believe that a good theory,” she said, “since I have come to understand that coins mean much to a mercenary. He could have sent men to see to another task while still carrying out the one here, securing him even more coins.” She shook her head. “The only thing that makes sense of his departure is that it did not benefit him to remain here. I assume you sent men to see what they could find out.”
It continued to amaze him at how fast his wife’s mind worked, providing him with good counsel.
“Aye,” Torin said. “Two of my warriors and two of Walsh’s went to see what they could find out. Until we know for sure what goes on, we continue to take precautions.”
“Of course,” Flora agreed. “Though, I cannot help but wonder over it. What happened for the bounty to be rescinded? Unless they only make it appear that way.”
“I thought the same, so we spread out and searched the area, which is what delayed my return. Another campsite was found deserted, though it had been a day or more since it had been abandoned.”
“Why would that group leave before Mordred did?” she asked, turning away from her husband as if asking herself the question and expecting an answer, which she continued to contemplate. “They could have received word from what they believed a reliable source whereas Mordred’s source took longer to confirm, since I doubt anyone would not confirm such news. Most would think it is a way to get rid of those vying for the bounty. Unless—” She shook her head as she looked directly at her husband. “The campsite belonged to someone simply passing through.”
“You know what I think, wife?” Torin said, placing his tankard on the table.
“What?” she asked, eager to hear his opinion.
“That it has been far too long since I kissed you.” He was about to walk over to her and stopped when she began to strip off her garments. Shocked, he stood staring at her.
“And I think, husband, it has been too long since we made love,” she said as she eagerly shed her garments.
His wife forever surprised him with her enthusiasm for intimacy.
“Why do you wait?” she scolded, placing a hand on her naked hip. “Do you not want to make love?” She looked puzzled. “But you never deny me. Have I been too demanding? It is up to you to tell me, for I do not know if a wife should trouble her husband too often with her needs and—”
Torin rushed to silence her with a kiss, his hands going to her bare backside to press her against him, then silently cursed himself for not stripping off his garments first.
“There is not a time I would deny you, Flora,” he said after reluctantly ending the kiss so he could hurry and shed his garments.
Flora helped him along, wanting him naked, wanting their bodies to join, wanting to feel the potency of his manhood inside her.
His wife’s anxious hands fired his already heated passion and when her hand eagerly settled on his shaft, he was not sure how long they would be able to linger.