Anya directed Tarr and Raynor to be gentle with her daughter, then chased them from the room after they had carefully placed Aliss on the bed. Anya fussed over her daughter, ordering Fiona to take Aliss’s boots off while she heated water in the hearth.
“You will help me get your sister out of her skirt, but we will leave her blouse, the head wound must not be disturbed. Then I will bathe her as best I can and rid her of the dried blood. After you fix the brew Aliss told you of, you will then go eat and rest.”
Fiona stared at the woman. “You order much like me.”
Anya smiled. “You are my daughter.” Her smile faltered. “I love you both very much and I want what was taken from me. I want my daughters, but right now it is Aliss that matters.”
Fiona nodded and got busy doing as her mother instructed.
Chapter 29
Tarr was speaking with Raynor in his solar when Fiona entered unannounced and with barely a knock. He was expecting her, though her disheveled appearance made him realize the extent of her trauma. She had feared her twin would die and that was not acceptable to Fiona. She would give her life for her sister and that frightened him.
“Join us,” he offered, filling a goblet with wine for her.
She grasped the goblet with both hands and took a generous swallow.
“Aliss is well.” It was not a question for he knew the answer—Fiona would not be here if her sister was not resting comfortably.
Fiona nodded. “She rests peacefully and mother looks after her.”
“And you?” Raynor asked with obvious concern.
“I want the bastard who did this to my sister.”
Tarr smiled. He admired her tenacity and boldness. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We will find him.”
“Your word?”
“You have my word,” Tarr said.
“Mine too,” Raynor added.
“Good, for you know if I find him first . . .”
Her words trailed off. She did not need to finish, both men understood Fiona would have no trouble taking the man’s life.
Fiona emptied her goblet and held it out to Tarr to refill.
“Have you eaten?” he asked, pouring more wine.
“This morning, I think.”
She sounded unsure, and he could understand why. The past few hours were like a bad dream, best forgotten.
“I will have food brought for you.”
“I am not hungry.”
“You will eat,” Tarr ordered.
Fiona took a swallow of wine. “You will not tell me what to do.”
“I have every right to tell you what to do. I am to be your husband.”
“I want no husband that issues orders.”
“When the orders are best for you, you will obey.”
“Did you say ‘obey’?”
“Mistake,” Raynor whispered to Tarr and with that he took his leave, closing the door quietly behind him.
A crack of thunder split the silence, followed by a sudden pounding of rain against the windows. The sky had darkened considerably, it looked as if night fell upon the land yet it was only late afternoon.
The lone couple remained as they were, staring at each other, until Fiona broke the heavy silence.
“Do you expect obedience from me?”
“I expect you to be you,” Tarr answered.
Fiona’s shoulders slumped, she looked about ready to collapse, but Tarr’s arms were right there to catch her.
“You need to bathe and rest,” he said, holding her close.
“Do you tell me I stink?”
“Fiona—”
She looked up at him.
“Shut up.”
“I want answers. Someone threatens Aliss and me.”
“Leave that to me.”
“But—”
“Later,” he insisted. “We will discuss this later, when you are rested and can think clearly.” He did not give her a chance to argue. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to his bedchamber, catching a servant in the hall and ordering that a tub of water be prepared for her and food brought.
He no soon as placed her in a chair by the hearth than he was summoned to the great hall.
“Go,” she said reluctantly. “I do not need you.”
Tarr leaned over her, his hands braced on the arms of the chair. “You need me more than you know.” He kissed her and hurried off, promising to return shortly.
In the meantime she tended herself, chasing away the servants who offered her help. She needed no one. She had taken care of herself and her sister since she had been eleven; she needed no one, not a soul.
She wrapped herself in a towel and crawled into bed exhausted from the day that seemed never ending. It should be night, she thought, so she could sleep and rest. It was not