“What?” Greer wasn’t eager to answer questions about things from her past that she hadn’t already shared with Thor.
“He said ye tried to end yer life more than once.”
Greer went rigid. She pulled away from Thor, defiance radiating from her. “I ken it’s a mortal sin. I dinna care.”
“Leannan, I wasna faulting ye for that. I didna when ye said ye wished ye werenae alive that day on the cliffs. I’m nae now. How—how—close—”
“I willna answer that. Nay matter what I answer, ye willna forgive yerself for this. I willna make it worse.”
“Dear God. Ye almost succeeded, didna ye?” Anguish etched Thor’s face and rang in his voice. “If I had only listened to ye. If I’d believed ye like I should have. None of this would have happened. I did this to ye as much as if I held the lash or ordered the men…allowed them…”
“Stop.” Greer’s forceful tone made Thor snap his mouth shut. “Listen to me when I say this, Thormud. Ye are the only reason I didna succeed. The tiniest speck within me held onto hope that one day we would be together. I couldnae let that wish go, and so I couldnae kill maself because then there would never have been a chance. Ye didna do any of this to me. Ye kept me alive.”
Thor didn’t wipe away the tears that dripped from his chin. He could only nod.
“I decided a few days ago that I wouldnae ask ye to keep proving yerself to me. That I wouldnae make every moment of every day aboot what happened to me. I dinna want ye to do that either. Ye dinna have to prove yerself. We are together because we want a future. We dinna need to live in the past. Ye ken the worst of it now.”
“I love ye so much, wee one. I’ll do aught for ye.”
“I ken. And I love ye too. I’ll do aught for ye,mo ghaol.And that has to be we move past this, or it will consume us both.”
“Can I hold ye?”
“Daft sweet mon. Ye never have to ask.” Greer led Thor to the bed and kicked off her shoes. He toed off his boots and climbed onto the bed. He leaned against the headboard, and she shifted onto his lap. They sat in silene for several minutes as they held each other. “Do ye feel better? I dinna like that someone else told ye, but it made it easier. It’s a relief ye finally ken.”
“I do for finally learning it all. And having ye in ma arms makes life right again.”
They remained in their chamber until the bells rang for the evening meal when their peaceful bubble burst.
CHAPTER15
Greer and Thor’s heads jerked up in unison as English warriors stormed into the Great Hall. Keith guards flanked and followed them. Blaine came to his feet immediately, putting his hand out to stay Rose. He walked to the front of the dais but didn’t descend.
“Why are ye here? I certainly didna invite ye back?” Blaine’s voice boomed throughout the cavernous gathering space.
“You knew we would return. You will surrender Lady Greer forthwith. I remand Thormud Sinclair into the king’s custody.”
“Ye’re arresting Thormud?” Blaine questioned. He heard Rose murmur the same question.
“The Sinclair man has impeded the king’s decree. We have the men to ensure neither Lady Greer nor Thormud cause trouble.”
Father Bennett stood from his seat on the dais and stepped beside Blaine. “I fail to see how ye dinna understand that Lady Greer sought sanctuary with me. She is under ma protection as God’s representative on Earth. Last I kenned, our Holy King reigns over yer king. Ye canna deny the sanctity of the Holy Church. Beyond that, Lady Greer canna marry any mon since I’ve already wed the lady to Thormud. Ye may check the parish register if ye so choose.”
No one moved since every Keith and Sinclair knew the priest just spoke one of the boldest lies he could. He’d not only lied before the English delegates and his people, he’d lied before God about a sacrament. But the Keiths trusted him and knew him to be a good man, and they sided with the Sinclairs, even if some were still wary of Greer because she was a Gunn. Eyes darted back and forth between the brazen priest and the invading English.
“Bring the register to me,” Sir Richard demanded, flapping his fingers to his upturned palm. Father Bennett cast him a glare that made the Englishman cease and drop his arm. Father Bennett nodded and left the Great Hall with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his monk’s tunic.
Greer’s hand gripped Thor’s beneath the tablecloth. She didn’t know what to make of the exchange. She feared Father Bennett would take too long to create the entry or that other events had transpired, making it difficult to backdate the supposed wedding. Her stomach was in her throat when three English warriors accompanied Father Bennett. How would he enter anything now?
“Dinna fash, wee one. He wouldnae have said aught if he didna ken it would work. Have faith,” Thor whispered, his lips barely moving.
“Ma faith is all I have right now, but I dinna trust these men.”
“Neither do I. They will nae take ye from me, and we arenae leaving with them. We need to ride at a moment’s notice. If that’s the case, we head for Varrich. They will expect us to ride to Dunbeath. There are Mackays at the border with the Gunns, which we’ll have to pass. They can accompany us. If we push the horses, we can be there in two-and-a-half days. If we canna make it there, then we go into the Ben Griam mountains. There are places we can hide that they willna ever find.”
“But how will we even get out of the keep? Assuming we could slip out, we canna get horses out. We canna do this on foot.”
“I ken. We have to find a way to get our mounts out before us.”
