Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Dawn watched her husband and Sloan exchange glances, and she wondered if the name that had popped into her head had also invaded theirs.
Cavell.
“How were you to deliver the drawings to this man?” Cree asked.
“He told me to be done with the drawings in three days’ time from when William was abducted. A man would arrive here disguised as a monk shortly after and I was to give him the drawings, and William would be released soon after.” He gripped his hands. “I have not gotten the drawing he wanted the most done yet.”
“The watchtower,” Cree said.
“Aye.” Tate nodded. “The view from the watchtower in all directions. Also, the new keep and village, though I have managed to draw them.”
“You need not worry about that now, though there are drawings you will do for me,” Cree said. “The monk will have no time to care about your drawings. He will be too busy begging for mercy.”
CHAPTER 10
Dawn turned slowly, glancing around her new bedchamber. She had only seen it empty and thinking the room too large but seeing it now, she thought differently. A new, larger bed than the one they had shared in the old keep drew the eye upon entering the room. Its massive four posts nearly reaching the ceiling. The bark had been stripped bare and the wood made smooth while intricate designs had been carved in the top portions of the four corner posts. The mattress was thick, the bedding fresh, and wool blankets were folded neatly across the bottom of the bed.
Small tables, the wood the same as the bed though lacking the carved designs, sat on either side of the huge bed. Candles flickered in metal candlestands atop each table, casting a gentle glow upon the bed. A large fireplace occupied the wall to the right of the bed, a fire burning softly in it. A table and two chairs sat to the left of the fireplace and several wood chests were stacked around the room.
What caught her interest the most though was the sizeable rug that covered an area of the room and extended to one side of the bed. At first, she thought a tapestry had been left on the floor, but then she recalled William telling her of rugs that covered floors in foreign lands and how beautiful their designs were. Looking closer and seeing the amazing design and colors were like nothing she had ever seen, she realized it had to be a rug just as William had described to her. He must have found it on one of his purchasing trips.
She could not help but take off her shoes, lift the hem of her garment, and place one bare foot carefully on the rug. It was not soft nor hard. It was, however, warm to the touch and she eagerly placed her other foot upon it and walked all around on it. She hoped it would be that warm and welcoming in the winter and she would no longer have to suffer the cold when her bare feet hit the cold floor in the mornings.
“You like it?”
Dawn smiled at her husband, standing in the open doorway, and nodded.
“I know how the cold runs through you in the morning when you first leave our bed and I thought a rug might help with that, so I told William to find one,” Cree said, entering the room and removing his boots to give the rug a try. “Feels better than I thought it would.”
Dawn nodded again and gestured.
“We think alike as usual, wife. I told William to purchase a few rugs. I thought if you liked this one you would want ones for the children’s rooms. They are stored in one of the empty rooms along with other items William thought you might like as well as ones I requested with you in mind.”
How did she get so lucky to have a man as thoughtful and strong as Cree to love her so much? She had believed she would never wed or had feared she would be forced to wed a man who would treat her poorly. And never had she believed anyone would ever love her—a woman without a voice.
Cree reached out, his hand going to his wife’s face to wipe away a tear that was about to fall from the corner of one eye. “I hope that is a happy tear.”
Dawn latched onto his wrist and turned her face to rest her cheek against his warm palm as she nodded. She then pressed her hand to her chest and then firmly to his.
“I love you more, wife,” he said and cupped her face in his hand and kissed her.
He ran his hand down along her neck as he ended the kiss with a brush of his lips across hers. “We will make endless happy memories here, Dawn, and we start tonight.”