Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
“Sim is probably in the kitchen with Tade, trying to sweet talk the cook into sharing some of the food she’s cooking even though Brigid probably already fed them both.”
A laughing screech had them turning to see a young lad racing into the room trying to avoid Sim’s arms that reached out to grab him but missed him. The light-haired little lad hurried to climb on the bench at the table where Dawn sat, and he snatched up a piece of meat from one of the platters.
“Tade, that is not polite,” Lord Tiernan scolded.
“Sorry,” Tade said and popped the meat into his mouth. He went to grab another piece when he spotted Cree and smiled. Then he saw Dawn and he hurried off the bench and around the table to climb up on the bench beside her. “I, Tade.”
Lord Tiernan went to explain to the lad that Dawn could not speak, but Cree shook his head at him, so Tiernan held his tongue.
Dawn smiled, tapped her closed lips, then shook her head.
Tade scrunched his face. “No tongue?”
Dawn kept her smile as she shook her head and stuck her tongue out.
Tade stuck his tongue out as well and scrunched his brow again. “Voice got lost?”
Dawn nodded, knowing it was the easiest explanation for him to understand.
Tade rested his hand on hers. “You be all right.”
Dawn’s smile widened as she nodded and tapped her chest.
Tade tapped his chest in return.
Cree noticed the cloth around the lad’s forearm and as soon as he did Sim snatched him up into his arms.
“You summoned me, Lord Tiernan,” Sim said, grabbing a piece of meat from the platter to give to the lad to keep him occupied.
“Lord Cree wishes to see his horse, please take him there.”
“Aye, my lord,” Sim said and turned to Cree. “Follow me.”
Cree cast a quick glance at his wife, a look in his eyes warning her to be there when he returned before he followed Sim out of the room.
To Dawn’s surprise, Lord Tiernan joined her at the table.
“I shall share a hot brew for a short while before duty calls.”
She smiled and nodded, and a servant hurried to fill a tankard for him and refill hers.
Dawn jumped, startled by a howl that sounded as if it could very well come from within the keep.
“Worry not,” Lord Tiernan assured her. “The wolves call their pack together. It is time for them to rest so they will be ready to hunt when night falls. Do you fear the wolves, Lady Dawn?”
Dawn nodded and tapped her temple and hoped he would understand her response.
Lord Tiernan smiled. “You wisely fear them.”
She smiled, pleased he understood.
“They protect their kind just as we do ours, just as your husband protects you. They have no interest in humans.”
She drew her brow together in question and walked two fingers in a circle while glancing around the room, hoping once again he would understand her.
“If they have no interest in humans, you wonder why they prowl so close to the village,” he said, and she nodded. “Curiosity perhaps and, they are intelligent enough to know the fog provides cover. Wolves have been wrongly blamed for attacks and deaths they had nothing to do with, but unable to find blame elsewhere, people blame the wolves. False tales are often told about them, causing them to be hunted and slaughtered.”
Dawn patted her chest and pointed to him.
“You ask if I care about them?” he asked, and she nodded. “I respect them, my family having dealt with them for generations. There is a story told about a chieftain of the clan, who like many, blamed a wolf for the death of a woman in the village. He gathered men and hunted the wolves, returning with a female wolf he had killed, and the village rejoiced. He kept her fur pelt, wearing it over his shoulder for all to envy. One morning when the chieftain failed to arrive for breakfast, a favorite meal of his, a servant went to his room. He was found with his throat ripped nearly apart, leaving his head barely attached to his neck. The white wolf pelt was gone and not far from the door leading to the bedchamber were claw marks dug deeply into the wood floor. My ancestor, who became the new chieftain, treated the wolves differently and ever since then we have learned to live in peace with one another. And I will say that the old chieftain got what he deserved since he was the one who killed the woman and blamed it on the wolves.”
“Excuse me, my lord,” Olwen said, approaching the table. “Someone needs to speak with you. He waits in your solar.”
“Duty calls,” Lord Tiernan said and stood. He paused before following Olwen who was nearly out of the room. “You should know that wolves have exceptional scent, making it easy for them to track from where they first pick up a scent to where it takes them, leaving it difficult for their prey to avoid them. Do rest, Lady Dawn. You never know when you may need your strength.”