Chapter 59: Chapter Eighteen

ADA

“I’m sorry I did not share more about my life before Oranmore with you, or the situation around my arrival at the castle. But it is not what you were told.”

“What do you mean?”

“My husband is a Dane. I was kidnapped... I was not ‘found’ or ‘saved,’ as you were told. These men we are with, they rescued me. They are my friends, my family.”

“That is great for you, but what about me? I want to go home.”

“Sable, you and I both know that if I had left you, they would have tortured you for information. Ciaran was killed in order to protect my son, and they would have thought you knew of this plan.

“I could not leave you to die.” I paused for a moment and then held up the baby in front of her. “We both would like you to come back to the fire and eat something.”

I waited for her to say something, but she remained silent. I needed to find the right words, the words that would bring her the most comfort right now.

“If you decide to stay with us, you will stay as my companion. You will no longer be a servant, but a free woman. You have my word. So, what do you say?”

“Fine, I will come back to the fire. For you, Cay,” she answered after a moment, smiling at my baby.

We walked back to where Padriac sat. Caxton held out a piece of meat and bread for her, and she looked at him with disgust, taking the food anyway.

“Is she not a delight?” he said in Danish, staring at her. Padriac smirked at his comment. I scolded the two of them, causing Sable to look at me in shock.

“You know their language too?”

“Yes, my mother was Danish.”

“I want you to tell me everything they say about me. ~Everything~,” she demanded, taking a bite of her bread. “What are we waiting here for?”

“The rest of the men. They should be here by now, should they not?” I asked the other two. Both shrugged and went about eating their food. Sable looked down at the ground, letting out a huge sigh.

“Oh, good…more Vikings.”

As nighttime settled in, a coldness fell about the forest, and I grew worried about the baby. It would be too cold to lay him on a blanket next to me.

Padriac suggested that whoever stood guard would hold him. He would take the first watch, followed by Caxton.

“Is there not another blanket to lay over us?” Sable asked, looking at the one on the ground. I shook my head no. A smile appeared across Caxton’s face, and he began to speak in Danish.

“I would be happy to act as her blanket.”

I looked at Sable to translate and she held her hand up to my mouth, saying, “I can tell by his look that I do not want to know what he just said.”

I laughed in agreement, and we huddled together on the blanket. I could not help but worry about Cayden. It had been several hours since we had arrived at the meeting place.

I hoped nothing had happened to any of them. I would never forgive myself if one of our friends had died just to rescue me.

I woke up with my breasts feeling full; the baby usually cried by now for a feeding. I lifted my head in a panic to see if he was all right. Someone was holding him near the fire.

I quietly got up so as not to disturb Sable. I noticed Caxton leaning against a tree, trying to sleep and fighting to stay in a comfortable position.

“Caxton, lie down on the blanket. I have to feed the baby anyway.” He nodded and stood up. Before he walked away, I firmly grabbed his arm. “You touch her, you die.”

As I walked up to the fire, I felt my heart flutter. Cayden was holding our son, sitting on the tree trunk opposite to where the embers floated.

It was the first time he’d held our child in his arms, and I hoped to always remember this moment. He looked up at me and smiled.

“You’re a natural,” I whispered. The baby must have heard my voice or smelled my scent because he started to whimper. Cayden looked concerned.

“What do I do?”

“He is hungry, that’s all,” I said, taking him from Cayden’s arms.

“I was beginning to worry when you did not come. What took you so long?”

“We wanted to make sure you were not being followed.”

He moved one of his legs to the other side of the log and slid closer to me, placing me in between his legs. I looked at him with a curious grin.

“You are even more beautiful than I remember.” He kissed my cheek. “There is nothing more attractive than seeing you care for my son.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” He kissed my neck this time, and I felt my body shudder. It had been so long since I felt his lips on my skin. “What if we go into the woods for a few minutes?”

“Now?”

“What else do we have to do?” Cayden started rubbing my back in a very sensual way. He kissed me again near my ear and started to whisper.

“I have missed you. All of you. Your lips…the touch of your skin…the noises you make when…”

“When what?” I looked at him, wondering why he had stopped. He sat up a little straighter, staring past the fire.

“Your friend.”

“My friend?”

“That woman you brought is walking toward us.”

I looked over to see Sable heading our way. She looked a bit wary as she approached the fire. I smiled at her, making sure she knew it was okay to sit down with us.

“So, he is alive? This is your husband.”

“How did you know?”

“Cay looks just like him. You were not lying when you told me that.”

I looked over at Cayden, whose face remained unchanged. I could tell he did not trust this woman. Cayden was still rubbing my back.

I knocked his hand away, but that only made him pull me closer.

“Yes, this is him,” I said. “He is also Cayden, the son of Chief Barra. You could not sleep?” I asked, turning my attention back to Sable.

“Let us say when you go to bed with your friend and then wake up to a snoring Viking next to you, it’s a little hard to fall back to sleep.”

“Well, I cannot argue with you on that. I’m sorry to have startled you.”

“I’m sorry too…”

“For what?”

“I can see now that it must have been very difficult for you two to be separated, especially while you were pregnant. I don’t understand why they told us your husband was killed by Vikings.”

“That’s what they told you,” Cayden interrupted. I reminded him that he was holding our son and needed to control his temper.

“That is what they told the kingdom. I will tell you what ~I~ was told.”

I started with my arrival at the castle. How I was warned not to speak to anyone about my past, or I might be accused of treason. I spoke about how Myrna did her best to counsel me.

How she gave me information about my mother and warned me of Silas. Sable looked horrified as I continued to speak, and I dared not make eye contact with Cayden.

I knew how upset he must have been in that moment. Finally, I found the courage to tell them that two weeks after the baby was born, King Toren told me Cayden had been killed in the clan wars.

This made it easy for him to betroth me to the English, binding the alliance with our neighboring country. Sable’s whole demeanor changed upon hearing my story.

She was upset I had not confided in her but ultimately agreed it would have put me more at risk.

“Have you thought any more about our earlier conversation?” I asked her. She gave me a wary look and switched from Gaelic to English to answer me.

“I have…a great deal. I just cannot imagine that there is a life for me at your home.”

“What type of life would you have back in Oranmore?”

“I don’t know.”

“I won’t force you to leave with us,” I said, switching back to Gaelic so Cayden understood. “If you wish to return to the castle, we will provide you a horse. You are not too far away.”

I looked over at Cayden, who was still focused on the baby. He looked up at me for only a few seconds, not protesting.

I continued, “Or you can start a new life with us. You will have the protection of our family.”

“If I come with you as a free woman, then I will have the choice to leave at any time?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will come.”

^End of Book Three^