“Gather men for the escort, Finch, while Crissa waits here with my mum,” Odran ordered and stood, walking with him to the door for a chance to talk privately with him. “You will explain everything that happened with Crissa to the Abbess and present her with the coins I give you so that she will be well looked after.”
“What of her family?” Finch asked. “What if they don’t want her kept at the Abbey?”
“I will leave them with no choice. Either they accept her confinement to the Abbey or Crissa can hang for the brutal murders of Glenis and Deara,” Odran said.
Finch rubbed his brow. “I don’t know what to think. I do know that I would prefer not to be chieftain of the Clan MacFarden.”
“A decision I have already made,” Odran said.
Finch walked away almost as dazed as Crissa had been.
The rest of the day had proven a busy one. After Finch left with Crissa and a troop of warriors, Lord Fergus woke in some pain and insisted he be taken to his bedchamber. Lady Margaret agreed with her husband, and Elysia didn’t object as long as her husband was permitted to help his da up the stairs. Fergus had grown annoyed that she should suggest he needed help, but didn’t argue after his wife told him their son either helped him or he remained in the bed in the Great Hall.
Elysia left the task to mother and son, giving her husband time with his parents while she went to see how Lendra was doing. She was glad to see no guards at Lendra’s door, Crissa’s confession absolving Lendra of the murders and setting her free. Though, Rory stood guard outside when she entered the cottage.
Elysia got upset upon entering the cottage to see her friend curled up in bed crying. She hurried to her. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
Lendra nodded and her tears worsened.
“I’ll fix you a brew,” Elysia said and went to turn away.
“No brew will help my pain,” Lendra said through tears.
Elysia grabbed a small bench near the hearth and set it beside the bed to sit. “Tell me about your pain.”
“Seeing what Crissa did for what she thought was love got me thinking and I’ve realized what a complete fool I’ve been about Bram. I thought that if I loved him enough, he’d return that love even though he had told me love was something he wasn’t interested in. He will never be faithful to any woman. And if by some miracle he did eventually find love, it wouldn’t be with me. I am such a fool, Elysia.”
Elysia reached out and took her hand to give it a good squeeze. “At least you realized it before you wasted your entire life on Bram. Now you’re free to find a good man who will truly love you.”
Lendra shook her head. “I don’t trust myself when it comes to men. It is better I remain alone.”
“It is better if you let your heart heal, not close it completely,” Elysia advised. “And healing is what you need right now. I will fix you a brew that will help you rest and later I will have a good meal brought to you to help you grow strong. And I’ll hear no protests from you about it.”
By the time Elysia left Lendra she was ready for sleep, her eyes closing.
An overcast sky greeted her when she stepped outside to see Rory pacing in front of the cottage.
“What’s wrong?” Elysia asked.
“Stiles informed me that you should go to the keep when done here, a message awaits you from Bliss,” Rory said.
Elysia rushed to the keep, Rory keeping by her side until they were safely in the Great Hall. Once there, she hurried to her husband standing in front of the dais talking with Stiles and another warrior.
“Tell me,” she urged as she got near, her patience gone in waiting for news about her sister.
Odran nodded to the warrior beside Stiles.
“Lady Bliss says to tell you that she is pleased to hear you are happily wed and doing well. She says she also is doing well and enjoying her garden. She hopes the time will come that she will be able to visit. Until then she sends her love.”
Odran thought for sure his wife would bombard the warrior with questions, but she simply nodded and went to sit on a bench at one of the tables. Her head hung down as she stared at the floor, a sure sign that something troubled her. He dismissed both warriors and went to join her.
“From the message your sister sent, she is doing well and yet you are upset. What’s wrong?” he asked, taking her hand as he sat beside her and offering comfort with a gentle squeeze.
Elysia couldn’t stop the tears that glistened in her eyes, though she kept them from falling, for now at least. She looked up at her husband. “Bliss’s message is not what you think. She goes to her garden when her thoughts grow heavy. Working with the plants help ease her worries or problems. That she enjoys her garden tells me she has both—worries and problems. That she hopes the time will come that she will visit, tells me she is not free to travel.