The knot in my stomach returned.
Chapter 19
Hew left right at sunrise just as he’d planned. It was not a far journey to Mae’s resting place. In fair weather he could have made the trip there and back in a day, but with the snow still so deep, he knew it would take him at least two.
Just two days away from Adelle seemed too many. He wondered if she’d been disappointed that he hadn’t asked her to marry him. He hoped she was not, for he intended to do so as soon as he made it back from bidding Mae one final farewell.
He wished to marry Adelle with all his heart, but some small piece of him would not allow himself to ask it of her when Mae still lingered in the back of his mind. He knew she would have been pleased for him. He’d come to that realization soon after he arrived at Conall Castle, but he wished to spend a few moments alone with Mae so that he could truly put the past behind him.
The day trickled by slowly as he lost himself in a sea of past memories. Memories of loneliness and the choices he’d made that had caused him to be so. A new future lay ahead of him. He couldn’t wait to embrace it with all that he had.
He stopped often to allow his aging horse to rest and to clean the icy chunks from the horse’s hooves and coat. He asked much of his beloved beast to accompany him on this trip. His horse was old. Hew knew the animal would not make it another year. It seemed appropriate that Greggory’s last journey be the last time he would journey to Mae’s grave, as well.
Slowly, dark descended over Hew and the great beast. He knew he should stop for the night, but no good place offered shelter from the snow. He knew there to be a small village just outside of the Conalls’ territory. So against his better judgment, he nudged the horse on, praying with each soft kick of his heels that his companion could make it into the village.
It happened quickly. The horse stepped upon a rock buried out of sight, deep within the snow. He heard the creature’s leg snap and did his best to throw his own leg over the side so that he could dismount before the animal fell, but Hew was not quick enough.
Just as he threw his leg over the side, Greggory fell in the direction he dismounted, pinning him beneath. As his own elbows sunk into the wet snow, they crashed roughly into the same rocks that had felled his horse. His left shoulder dislocated on impact.
Pain coursed through him. The weight of his horse on top of him knocked all the breath from his lungs. The stars in the sky melted together, turning into darkness as he lost consciousness.
* * *
Present Day
“Morna…Morna, wake up, lass!” Jerry shook his wife’s shoulder with as much force as his thin arms could afford. He watched terrified as she tossed in her sleep, making noises as if she were injured. He could see her eyes darting back and forth beneath her closed eyelids, and he held his breath in fear until she opened her eyes to look at him.
“I must gather me spells. They are in need of us once more.”
Jerry sighed in relief, his whole body trembling from the remnants of his worry. He’d seen his wife often stir during fits of her dreams, but never so much as he’d just witnessed. For a brief moment, he’d worried that it hadn’t been magic that caused her to do so but perhaps old age.
He had every intention of passing from this life before his beloved. He knew he would not be able to live a day without her. “Ye scared me to death, Morna. I was afraid…well, I doona wish to speak of what I thought.”
He smiled against her hand as she lay her palm against his cheek, knowing what he meant well enough. “’Tis not a worry ye should have. I shall no leave this world until I am good and ready to, and that willna be for a long time. Come.”
She stood and waved at him to follow her. He did so without question. His wife carried a great burden, one he was eternally grateful he didn’t possess. “What is it, lass?”
“A lad I knew as a child has taken a fancy to Adelle, and he finds himself in need of help. I must warn them, send Adelle the dreams that were just shown to me so they may have a chance of reaching him in time.”
She didn’t stop to explain more to him, and he didn’t ask any further questions. This was an urgent matter, but he didn’t worry over such things as his wife did. He’d yet to see one of her spells go awry.
Chapter 20
I’d slept so little the night before Hew departed that I would have been on edge the next day even if the pups had not chosen the exact moment of his departure to whine as if wounded. I spent the entire next day sick with worry, and it exhausted me. My only relief was that my face no longer ached, and the swelling had diminished greatly throughout the day.
As I travelled upstairs to my bedchamber, a pup under each arm, I was sure I would spend another sleepless night worried over Hew. Much to my surprise, a sense of drowsiness so strong that I felt halfway asleep by the time I reached my bedchamber door overcame me.
It seemed a great effort to change into my nightgown. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
* * *
I woke in the middle of the night with sweat beaded on my brow. The covers were off of the bed, mangled on the floor as if I had fought a great battle in my sleep. Screaming had pulled me out of the horrific dream I was having, and for a moment I thought I had heard my own yells.
I felt the need to scream now. Visions of Hew crushed beneath the weight of his horse, unable to scoot from beneath the animal, burned in my mind. I stilled in the bed, sitting up so that I could listen.
For a moment all remained quiet, but it took only a second before another scream ripped through the castle corridors.
I leapt out of the bed. Bri. She must have gone into labor sometime in the night. I could only hope that it was just starting, and I had not missed being there for her.
I burst into her and Eoin’s bedchamber, relieved to see that Mary was already making preparations, ordering others about while Blaire administered Morna’s mixture to Bri.
I ran to her side, giving her my hand as she squeezed it tightly with an incoming contraction. “How are you? Is everything well?”
She grunted in between words, determination set in her face. She was beyond ready to get the child out of her. “Yes, as well as it can be, I believe. Will you get out there and tell Eoin he better get his ass in here this second? I don’t give a damn it it’s unusual for men to stay at the bedside during delivery. If he misses the birth of his child, I shall never forgive him.”
“Of course.” I had to pry her fingers loose and turned to Mary only briefly before leaving. “Is she close, or do we have some time before the baby arrives?”
Mary must have been able to tell something else distressed me for she answered me quickly, waving me on to whatever other task sat on my mind. “Nay, she isna as close as she wishes. We have some time still.”
I nodded and ran out of the bedchamber, nearly running into the three men—Eoin, Arran, and Kip—huddled together in the hallway. I knew I must do as Bri bid first. Although I was certain my dream had meant something, I couldn’t know for sure that what I had seen had been real.
I grabbed Eoin’s arm and pulled him away from the circle, smacking him lightly as I scolded him. “What on earth do you think you are doing? You better get in there with Bri right this instant or I am going to drag you there myself.”
He looked back at me nervously. “I am afraid to, Adelle. I doona think I can bear to see her in such pain, and I couldna live with the guilt if something happened to her and the babe.”
I softened, feeling sorry for him. It was easy for women to forget what a terrifying ordeal childbirth was for the father. “Nothing is going to happen to them. Morna’s drink will help with the pain soon and all will go well. Trust me, if you miss this, Bri will not understand. Go. Now.”
He nodded and hurried down the hall, leaving me to turn my attention to Arran and Kip. “I need to ask something of both of you. I know that you may think me mad, but please I beg you, listen to me before you dismiss me.”
Kip stood
silently, giving me an expression that I knew meant he dreaded whatever I was about to tell him. He knew it would only mean more work for himself.
Arran nodded and reached out to lay a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Aye, of course, Adelle. What is it?”
“I had a dream, a terrible one. I’ve never had one quite so vivid. It was dark, and Hew was lying on his back in the snow. His horse had fallen on top of him, crushing him, and one of his arms hung oddly to his side.” Saying what I’d seen out loud made it seem more real to me. As I finished, my voice cracked. I couldn’t keep a tear from falling down my face.
Arran glanced quickly at Kip and then back at me. “Do ye think that he is in danger, lass, or did ye only have a dream that has upset ye?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I’m afraid that he might be. I know it seems crazy.”
Arran squeezed the shoulder he held under his hand. “Nay, it isna crazy. We have all seen too much of what Morna can do to think so. Kip and I will ride at once.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry to send you, but I can’t leave Bri right now.”
Arran was already moving down the corridor, Kip following silently behind him as he called back to me. “Of course you canna. Doona worry. We shall find him in time.”
I believed that they would. They had to. I couldn’t bear to think otherwise.
Chapter 21
Once Morna’s medicine worked its way through Bri’s system, her screams lessened substantially and things began moving rather fast.
She dilated more quickly than Mary had expected. Much to her dismay, she was forced to enlist the help of each of us to help in some way. Blaire did whatever Mary asked of her while Eoin and I set on either side of Bri, coaching and calming her with each set of pains.
When it came time for Bri to push, I watched in awe and astonishment at her strength. It was a miraculous thing. The love that filled the room in the moment the tiny bundle arrived into this world was enough for me to momentarily push away my worries over Hew.
While here, there was nothing I could do, and my heart nearly burst through my chest when I held my granddaughter in my arms for the first time.
I’d heard it said before that grandchildren filled you with a kind of love that was not even matched by your children. I’d always thought it a crazy notion, but as I latched on to her tiny fingers, I finally understood.
To hold a little human, one that came from a very piece of me, allowed me for an instant to believe that I would truly live on forever, in Bri, in her daughter, and in whatever children this child would one day have. It was all that one could ask for in life, more than I ever thought I would receive.
“Mom, you’re crying more than I am, more than Eoin.”
I glanced over to see Eoin practically blubbering in the corner and laughed as I carried the child to Bri’s loving arms. “I don’t care. I have never seen anything more perfect in my entire life.”
Bri smiled, bending to kiss her daughter’s head. “I know. Me either. Where’s Arran? I’m sure he’s ready to meet his niece.”
I didn’t wish to burden any of them with bad news, but I knew I must tell them. “It’s nothing to worry over I’m sure, but I had a dream about Hew. I became worried that perhaps something had happened to him on his journey. Arran and Kip rode after him to make sure that he is all right.”
Bri looked up at me, clearly seeing past the calm façade I was doing my best to put on. “Go.”
I shook my head, dismissing her. “No, I’m not going to leave you so soon. You just had a baby for goodness sakes.”
She raised her left hand and shooed me from the room. “Mom, go. Everything is fine here. I know you need to be there. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
I couldn’t deny she was right. I bent quickly to kiss her and the babe on the forehead before turning to leave the room. “I will.”
I ran to the stables, mounting the first horse I saw and took off at full speed away from Conall Castle.
Chapter 22
I’d left the castle before sunrise, and it neared dusk when I found them. The vision before me was just as I’d seen it in the dream. I had been right. I was certain it was Morna who’d sent it to me.
“Is he…” I could hardly force the words out of my mouth. “Is he alive?”
“Aye, lass. I am verra alive and intend to stay that way.”
When Hew’s voice answered, the relief that washed through me was enough to nearly bring me to my knees.
My legs were shaky as I approached him, the adrenaline that had allowed me to ride to him so quickly suddenly receding. I knelt next to him, grabbing both sides of his face as I examined him for injuries. I spoke to Arran and Kip behind me, “Why haven’t you moved the horse off of him? He’s going to lose his legs if the horse stays on him much longer.”
“We only just arrived as well, lass. Ye must have been riding verra quickly to have caught us.”
Hew reached his right hand up to touch my face. The other arm still dislocated. “Nay, lass. If I hadna thrown me shoulder out of place, I would have been able to scoot out from under him. I willna lose me legs.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” I stepped out of the way so that Arran and Kip could get on either side of him. Together they lifted him, avoiding his injured shoulder so that they could pull him out from under the horse whose breathing was shallow. My heart winced in sadness at the creature’s pain. His suffering would have to be ended.
Once his legs were free, Arran had me move to Hew’s right side so that I could hold him down and steady while Kip secured his feet. Once he was as still as we could get him, Arran asked him to bite a rag as he jerked the shoulder into place. It was a horrible sound but after the initial pain, the relief became instantly visible on Hew’s face.
With help, the two men pulled him to his feet. After a few moments of allowing his blood to re-circulate, he moved about to get his footing under him.
Eventually, he turned to address all of us. “I am verra grateful for yer help. I hate to ask it of ye, but would ye all mind riding ahead a ways, only for a few moments?”
“Why?” The word slipped out quickly, but as I looked at the way he stared down at his horse, sadness in his eyes, I knew.
“It must be I that end this for him, and I wish to do it alone.”
Silently, we turned and left him.
He’d not taken long. Once he joined us, we made plans to stay in the village where Hew was heading when his horse had fallen. Close to Mae’s grave, Hew was determined to complete the journey he had intended.
Although I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him alone once again, I understood his need to do this one last time.
* * *
Arran, Kip, and I had been at the small inn a few hours when Hew arrived. He said little as he entered, only asking which was his room and leaving us in the dining hall to retire for the evening.
We followed him shortly, separating as we each made our way to our rented rooms. We were all exhausted. I couldn’t blame him for not wishing to speak with us when he’d arrived. I was just happy to know that he was safe.
He’d suffered much the last few days. He was sure to be sore, tired, and heartsick at the loss of his beloved horse, not to mention the melancholy I knew he must feel after having visited Mae’s grave.
For this reason I expected it to be Arran or Kip at the door when I heard a soft knock right as I had blown all but the last candle out for the evening. Instead, when I opened the door, Hew stood before me, his eyes hungry and in need.
Chapter 23
“You should be in bed. You’re injured and it’s been a long day.”
He didn’t answer me, only moved into the room shutting the door behind him. He reached out to me with his good arm, pulling me close to him as he kissed me desperately.
After a moment, he pulled away breathlessly. “Doona tell me what I should do, lass. I had to see ye.”
He released me and I stepped away, hoping that putting
some distance between us would dim the fire he’d lit within me. It did nothing to help. “Is everything all right?”
“Aye, lass. Will ye marry me?”
The words caught me off guard. He spoke them so quickly, I wondered for a moment if perhaps he hadn’t meant to say them. “What? What did you just say?”
It took him only two strides until he stood before me, clasping tightly onto both of my hands. “Ye did hear me, lass, but I shall ask ye again. Will ye marry me, Adelle?”
A pleading in his eyes nearly broke my heart. After everything, he still worried that I might say no. “Yes, of course.”
“Really, ye will, lass?”
“Aye,” I mimicked his brogue in jest, reaching up to kiss him gently before standing on my tip-toes to whisper into his ear. “I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
At once, the hunger I had seen in his eyes when I opened the door returned. He kissed me wildly with no sort of restraint. He held me flat against him as he groaned into my mouth and dug his hips into me. I moaned at the sensation.
“I’m verra pleased to hear it, for I dinna wish to bed ye if ye werena to be me wife. Now that ye are, I doona believe I can wait until we are married. But I willna touch ye if ye doona wish it.”
“You’re joking, right?” My fingers immediately flew to help him in the removal of his shirt. It felt like I’d been waiting years to see what lay beneath it, and I couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath the sight of him caused me. He was beautiful, perfect, and now he was mine.
He laughed at my hastiness. “Tit for tat, lass. Turn yerself around.”
He did his best to untie my laces, but his shoulder was still so sore that he could scarcely use one of his hands. “Go get in the bed,” I demanded.
Morna's Legacy: Box Set #1 Page 48
