Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
The man walked up behind her and Raynor stepped around his mother to greet his father with a bear hug.
He was several inches taller than his wife and there was no doubt he was Raynor’s father, they looked so much alike. Traces of gray, heavy at his temples, ran through his darker shoulder-length hair. His dark eyes were framed with a mixture of worry and laugh lines, which added to his fine features. And love and pride shined in his eyes when he looked at his son.
With their reunion finished, the man took the woman’s hand and they followed Raynor up the steps.
“Aliss,” Fiona said, and stretched her hand out.
Aliss joined hands with her sister and they stood together as one.
Raynor was all smiles as he made the introductions. “May I present our parents, Anya and Oleg. Mother, Father, this is”—he bowed his head—“Aliss and”—he pointed—“Fiona.”
Tears shimmered in Anya’s eyes, and it took her a moment to speak. “I know I am a stranger to you both and I cannot expect you to think of me as your mother, but in time I hope . . .” Her voice faltered.
Aliss went to her and took her hand. “It is an awful tragedy to lose a child, but a miracle has been granted us. It would be foolish of us not to be grateful and take joy in what has been returned to us.”
A single tear dropped from Anya’s eye. “You have the quiet strength of your father, and you are so very beautiful.”
“Then is it your candor that I possess?” Fiona stepped forward.
Oleg smiled at his wife. “She truly is your daughter.”
Fiona knew she must introduce Tarr and chose a simple introduction. “This is Tarr of Hellewyk.”
Tarr paused a moment before stepping forward.
Fiona knew he waited to see if she intended to explain that they were to wed, but she could not offer him that courtesy, her decision yet to be made.
She was not surprised when he clarified his identity.
“Fiona is to be my wife, and I am pleased to meet her parents.”
Oleg and Anya looked ready to greet him warmly when Raynor stepped in.
“There is much for us all to discuss. Let us retreat to the great hall to feast and talk.”
Aliss walked beside her sister, slowing her step for Fiona to keep pace with her and let the others walk ahead.
“Be careful you do not regret your actions,” Aliss whispered.
“Until I come to know these people I cannot treat them as my parents.”
“You know it is not Anya and Oleg of whom I speak. Tarr stood beside you—”
“When it was not necessary.”
“He was there for you,” Aliss snapped.
Fiona stared at her, surprised by her outburst.
“He is trying, Fiona—”
“What is he trying?”
“To love you, if only you would let him.”
Aliss stomped ahead, leaving her sister behind, and walked up beside Tarr.
Aliss never got angry with her. They had had their disagreements, but never had they been angry at each other. The thought upset Fiona and the more she thought, the more upset she got. This was all because of Tarr who had not wanted Aliss around in the first place, and now she defended him?
She marched forward. This was his entire fault. He was using her own sister against her to make certain he got what he wanted. He would probably use her new-found parents as well.
Not if she could help it.
She entered the hall prepared for anything.
“Please, Raynor, a table in front of the hearth where we may keep warm and converse more easily with everyone,” his mother said, slipping her cloak off for a servant to take.
The servants got busy moving one of the trestle tables and benches lengthwise in front of the hearth. Soon platters and bowls of food were being placed on the table along with pitchers of wine, ale, and cider.
Anya sat with her back to the fireplace with her husband on one side and son on the other.
Aliss took the end of the opposite bench and Fiona scooted in beside her, leaving the other end for Tarr. The space was tight between the two, Tarr sitting closer to her than she would have liked, but there was little she could do about it.
His thigh rested against hers, solid and strong. She thought to squeeze closer to her sister, but the warmth of him felt good. His heat penetrated her skirt, sinking deep into her flesh, sending a sensation of comfort coursing through her.
Another thought to add to her already upset thoughts. Here she was annoyed with him yet comforted by him.
His hand slipped beneath the table. He splayed his hand on her thigh just above her knee and squeezed a few times before his fingers drifted slowly up her thigh, kneading her flesh lightly as he went. He stopped with his thumb dangerously close to being intimate when, in a second, his hand reappeared on the table.