Old Mary was at the door as if expecting them, but then she probably knew they were coming. Her knowing frightened some in the village, but those who were friends accepted her uncanny knowledge.
Dawn was relieved to see her standing there well and safe.
“Come in, come in,” Old Mary said with a smile. “The others will be here shortly.”
“Others,” Torr asked what Dawn was about to.
“Cree and Sloan are on their way,” she said. “Sit and enjoy the hot cider Flanna just brought. It will help warm against the cold.”
Dawn had been so intent on getting to Old Mary’s that she hadn’t realize how bitter the air had turned, but she felt it now in her ice cold hands.
“Another storm I daresay,” Old Mary said. “It’s a bitter winter we’ll be having this year. It is a good thing Cree stored well for the winter. Not a one of us will starve.”
Old Mary went on about the weather and recalled a few harsh winter storms she had survived, some barely when finally she stopped and looked at the door.
It opened a moment later and in strode Cree, Sloan behind him.
Dawn smiled having wondered while Old Mary chatted if Cree had come to the same conclusion as she had... that Old Mary could be in danger. After all they did think much alike and so she was pleased when he confirmed her suspicions, though he sent her a sharp scowl as he walked over to her. A warning that he was not pleased that she had left the cottage.
“You realized the same that I have,” Cree said and bent down to whisper in her ear while giving her shoulder a squeeze. “And of course you had to come and make certain the old woman was all right, though next time you will notify me and wait until I come for you.”
Dawn kept her smile and nodded.
“What realization?” Torr asked.
“That my life might be in danger,” Old Mary answered and had them all staring at her. She grinned and shook her head. “You need not worry. I was wise enough to keep secrets myself.”
“It’s time to share them,” Cree said and it wasn’t a request. “Let me get you started. The woman, who loving raised Dawn, is Lucerne’s birth mother, isn’t she?”
Old Mary nodded slowly and curled her gnarled fingers around her tankard as best she could. “Yes, Lizbeth is Lucerne’s birth mother.”
Dawn was stunned by the news and glanced up at Cree wondering how long he had known.
He seemed to understand her unanswered question. “I only just realized it myself and came here to confirm it and to make certain that Old Mary was safe.” He looked to Old Mary and commanded, “Tell us what happened.”
Old Mary looked to Dawn and spoke to her as if she was the only one in the room. “Do you recall when I told you that it took a strong heart and much love to do what your mother did that night you were born?”
Dawn nodded.
“It was your mother Lizbeth I was speaking of, for she was the one true mother that night. She had barely given birth to Lucerne when I arrived with you in my arms. Lizbeth had lost her husband two months earlier. He had gone off to battle and never returned and she was barely surviving on her own. She had worried how she would manage once the babe was born.
“Lady Ann had ordered food and items that could be bartered, those combs she gave you being one of them, offered to a woman who would take you and surrender their newborn babe. Lizbeth saw this as a way for her daughter to have a good life and in return she swore to give the precious, voiceless babe, her new daughter, a good life as well. I had no doubts about handing you over to Lizbeth. I knew she would love you as her own and she did.”
Dawn smiled and nodded, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Cree demanded.
“You have a knowing of your own, Lord Cree,” Old Mary said with a grin.
“No, I know people and it’s obvious there is more to your story, so tell us... what caused you to follow Lizbeth?”
Old Mary nodded as if confirming for herself that Cree’s astuteness bordered on the intuitive. “Once a peasant knows a secret, her life is never safe. I made sure that Lucerne was settled safely with Lady Ann who was overjoyed with the blond-haired babe and then I took my leave, meeting up with Lizbeth. It wasn’t easy for her to find a village or clan where she and Dawn would be accepted, which is why they moved around so much. There were times I wondered how she managed. I kept a close eye on them, but never became involved until I settled here in Dowell to make sure it was safe and then I got in touch with Lizbeth and had her join me.”
“Why take the chance of settling in a village that belonged to Gerwan?” Cree asked. “You took a chance of Dawn being discovered.”
“I knew it was inevitable that Dawn’s identity would be discovered.”
“Why?”
“A secret is no secret when more than one person knows it,” Old Mary said and Cree nodded in agreement. “And I knew that fate had great plans for Dawn and nothing I did could stop it, but I could help.”
“So you settled here and waited for fate to show the way,” Cree said.
Old Mary nodded.
“How is Magda involved in this?” Cree asked.
Old Mary looked to Dawn. “Someone saw us.”
Dawn nodded and waited, curious to know the answer.
“As I said Lizbeth was the truest of mothers and she wanted to make certain that her daughter was protected against any harm. She had a dear friend, much like Lila and Dawn are friends, whose husband was near to death and when he died she would not be able to work the croft on her own and would soon be homeless.”
“Magda,” Cree said.
Old Mary nodded. “Magda jumped at the chance not only to help her friend but herself as well. I took her to Lady Ann and convinced Lady Ann that she would make an excellent servant to tend the babe. She agreed without hesitation. A few years ago Lady Ann decided to replace Magda with a younger servant. Lucerne had grown very attached to Magda and made a fuss insisting that she be kept on to see to the care and stitching of her garments. Magda is brilliant when it comes to stitching garments. Lady Ann agreed.”
“So her visit was nothing more than wanting to see an old friend?”
“It hadn’t been her first visit to me,” Old Mary admitted and Cree cocked a brow at her. “It seems that Lucerne was not her usual self and either was Bree. When she learned that Bree had accused Lucerne of taking a heavy hand to her, she was shocked. Lucerne had never touched Bree and she asked me to keep an eye on the young lass and see what she was up to.”
“So that was the reason you requested Bree to remain with you,” Cree said.
“I sensed the lass was troubled and with her staying close, I could better understand her problem. But Bree could be a sly one and was gone more often than here, especially at night when she thought I was sleeping. She would sneak out and not return until morning.”
“And you never thought to share this with me?” Cree demanded.
“Magda asked me to give my word that I would say nothing. She feared being taken away from Lucerne and leaving her unprotected. She saw that you had no patience with Lucerne and did not believe that she suffered headaches. She felt she had no choice but to remain silent. It is the way of things with a servant’s lot. Punishment can often be swift and unfair and so silence is often the best resort and—” Old Mary gasped and stood as the door flung open and Elwin rushed in.
“Kirk McClusky confronted Gerwan. Kirk lies injured and Gerwan lies dead.”
Chapter Thirty-three
Torr jumped up. “How bad is my father?”
“A head wound with much bleeding; he lies unconscious,” Elwin explained. “Elsa is on her way to him now. She ordered that he not be moved until she can have a look at him.”
Torr flew out the door.
“What of Gerwan?” Cree asked as Dawn stood. He took her hand and gave it a tug letting her know that she was to go nowhere without him.
“Stabbed in the chest,” Elwin said. “Lady
Cree gave Sloan a quick nod and he returned one in kind and hurried out the door. He then turned to Dawn. “You will remain by my side and if you don’t I will see us shackled together. And it will be done if you do not obey me on this. Do you understand?”
Dawn nodded seeing an uncertainty in his eyes that frightened her.
“You know,” Old Mary said as the two walked to the door.
Cree turned. “That more blood will be spilled before this day ends?”
She nodded.
“Whose blood will it be?”
“That I do not know. I only know that fate has finally revealed her hand.”
Dawn realized that Cree worried that it would be her blood that would be spilled and she worried that it would be his. She squeezed his hand and moved closer to him as they hurried through the village.
He looked to her and gave a nod. “I am glad you comprehend the importance of staying by my side.”
She nodded, knowing her concern showed as clearly in her eyes as it did in his. And then she tapped his arm and held her hand up keeping two fingers close together.
“You are telling me that I must do the same, stay close to you?”
She nodded, her fear of losing him growing and the babe must have felt the same for her stomach roiled with the dreadful thought. Her hand went to her stomach causing Cree to stop abruptly.
“You are not feeling well?”
She shook her head and rested her head to his chest, laying her hand on his chest over his heart.
He slipped his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to look at him. “Do not worry yourself over me. Trust that I will keep you, our babe, and me safe.”
She nodded, glad that the infamous Cree was by her side. They once again hurried along. They could hear Lady Ann’s wrenching cries as they approached the stables where the incident had taken place. At the same time Lucerne rushed past them, Sloan right behind her.
Cree shook his head at Sloan as he passed them and Sloan hurried his pace catching up with Lucerne and stopping her before she could enter the stable.
“Let me go,” she screeched at Sloan, holding her firmly in his arms.
“It is better you wait here,” Sloan said.
Cree and Dawn reached them. “Your mother will join you shortly.”
“I want to see my father,” Lucerne demanded through tears.
“No,” Cree said, as if issuing a final decree and turned away to enter the stable.
“How dare you let your whore see my father and not me,” Lucerne screamed.
Cree swung his head around. “Your grief affords you some latitude and you have just used it all. Another disparaging remark about the woman I love and you will regret it.”
Cree turned, though Dawn caught Sloan’s hand rushing to clamp tightly over Lucerne’s mouth.
As soon as Lady Ann saw Cree, she rushed away from the warrior, who she had been clinging to for support, and dropped before him. “Forgive me, my lord, I could not stop him. Kirk insisted that no one was safe and the truth had to be made known. It was the only way to end all the madness. I begged him not to confront Roland, to let you handle it as you saw fit, but he refused.”
Cree nodded to the warrior who had followed behind Lady Ann. “Your daughter waits outside. We will talk later.” He then motioned for two more warriors to join the other and issued orders. “Escort Lady Ann and her daughter to the Great Hall and remain with them. And tell Sloan to join me.”
“Dawn should not see her father like this. She should join Lucerne and me, so that I may finally tell Lucerne the truth,” Lady Ann said.
“Now is not the time,” Cree said and nodded to his warriors. One took Lady Ann’s arm and hurried her out of the stable. The other two followed.
Cree silently berated himself. He hadn’t given thought as to how Dawn felt about her father being injured. Cree looked to Dawn. “Are you certain you are up to this? Kirk is your father and it could cause you quite an upset.”
Kirk had only entered her life and while he seemed a good man, Dawn still had difficulty thinking of him as her father. It had been her and her mother for so long that a father wasn’t easy to accept. Dawn patted her chest and nodded, and though her stomach was a bit queasy she had no intention of letting Cree know that. And she had every intention of seeing the scene for herself. Her silence allowed her to look and see while others talked and missed things.
“If you are sure and should you feel the slightest discomfit—”
Dawn finished for him, tapping her lips and pointing to him, letting him know that she would tell him.
He didn’t seem convinced but there was little he could do, for he knew she would have her way. He turned and they went to stand opposite from Torr, kneeling next to his father, as Elsa worked on the unconscious man.
“How is he?” Cree asked.
Elsa answered without looking up. “A substantial head wound. It needs to be cleaned and possibly stitched and as with any head wound, I do not know when or if he will wake.” She looked at Torr. “Though I will do all I can to see that he does.”
“Did you know your father’s intention?” Cree asked.
Torr shook his head, though remained kneeling next to his father. “No, though I could see that he had grown impatient with the whole ordeal. And when he found out about Bree’s death today he was even more adamant about everything being brought to light. He felt Dawn would be safer that way.”
“You didn’t agree?” Cree asked.
“No, having heard Bree had been beaten to death made me think that whoever is responsible for it all has reached the point of desperation and that is a dangerous place to be.”
“Do you believe Gerwan responsible and that your father somehow found out?”
Torr stood as two warriors approached with a pallet to place his father on and carry him to Elsa’s cottage. He moved out of their way, though kept an eye on them. “I’ll be along shortly,” he said to Elsa and she nodded. He turned to Cree and finally answered him. “I can’t say for sure. I know my father not only wanted to keep Dawn safe and see her happy, he also didn’t want to fail Ann again. He never stopped loving her and I’m sure he hoped that somehow they could make things work for them. Perhaps he decided to confront Gerwan about his love for Ann. I know how angry I would get if another man dared to tell me he loved my wife; I’d want to kill him. Gerwan could have struck my father and perhaps he had enough time to deliver a lethal blow to Gerwan before he collapsed unconscious. This incident may have nothing to do at all with Dawn or again it may. I do not know. I only hope that my father wakes and is able to settle the mystery for us. Now I must go see to my father.”
Cree nodded and Dawn tugged at his hand. He turned to her and she pointed to Gerwan’s body. He scrunched his brow appearing as if he was about to deny her request to take a look at the body, so she didn’t wait for him to reply. She walked over to it tugging him along behind her.
Once there Cree seemed as interested as she was. He released her hand, though issued no warning for her to remain near. He didn’t need to; he trusted her to keep her word.
“I suppose Torr could be right. Kirk could have expressed his love for Gerwan’s wife, it enraged him, and he struck out at Kirk. But instinct takes hold and before Kirk lost consciousness he pulled out his dagger and stabbed Gerwan.” Cree rubbed his chin giving the scenario thought. “Torr is right about one thing.” He looked at Dawn. “I wouldn’t think twice about killing a man who claimed he loved you. Then I’d throw his carcass in the woods for the animals to feast on.”
The gruesome thought turned her stomach and she shook her head.
“You don’t know men, Dawn, they can be a lowly lot and unless a man stands in honor of the woman he loves; he is no man.”
Her heart gave a patter and her stomach calmed. Cree was more of an honorable man than anyone would ever realize and he belonged to her. She turned her attention back to the body and ignored the urge to run and kiss Cree. It would not be proper action to take with a man lying dead near her feet. She studied the prone body and as with Bree’s body something disturbed her about it.
After a few silent minutes Cree asked, “What is it that you see that I don’t?”
Dawn pointed to the dagger that appeared to have directly punctured the heart. She then gestured as if Gerwan and Kirk were arguing, suddenly throwing her head back as if struck and stumbling as she reached for an imaginary dagger at her waist and lunged with stumbling steps at her foe. She then straightened and pointed at the dagger again and at her own chest where it would have hit and scrunched her brow and shrugged.
“I never thought of that,” Cree admitted. “Your observation is a wise one. How could Kirk deliver such a precise blow after having suffered a severe head wound?”
Dawn held up two fingers, added one and then another.
“One or two others could have been here and delivered the deadly blow and near deadly one, or they could have thought they had killed Kirk.”
Dawn raised her chin as if haughty and held up her skirt and pretended to walk as if she was in a rush.
“You think perhaps Lady Ann was heard approaching and the culprits ran?”
She shrugged, suggesting it a possibility.
“Torr is right. The person or persons behind this have grown desperate and are now more dangerous than ever. It seems that they will stop at nothing now to see their plan succeed. But what plan?” Cree said shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. “With Gerwan dead what stands in their way? Lady Ann can openly admit that you are her daughter and that Lucerne is the daughter of a peasant which frees me to wed you.”
Dawn stared at him, her eyes wide her mouth open. He truly wished to wed her?
Cree thought there was something wrong when he glanced her way and then he realized what he had said. He went immediately to her side and took her in his arms. “I didn’t mean to spew it out that way. It had been my plan all along to wed you.”
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