me anymore. What he’d offered me was a miracle, and I’d treasure his love for as long as we’d live.
Epilogue
Rees
“Rees!”
“On my way!” I yelled. Satisfied that the fence post stood stable, I grabbed the hammer and swung the bag of tools over my shoulder. Next I closed the gate and marched across the lawn to the well in front of the stables. Tobias waited there, washing his hands in a bucket of fresh water.
“Dinner is ready,” he said quietly, looking at his fingers intently as he rubbed them together.
“I’m done. Coming with you. If I miss Ana’s cherry pie, I won’t hear the end of it.”
“She makes them for you.”
“They’re for everyone. She makes like a dozen of them.”
“She knows you like cherries.”
I smiled. I knew she made them because of me every spring, as soon as the first cherry tree on the estate gave up its treasures. Yesterday, I had climbed the crooked old tree and picked her two full baskets. She’d groused I’d brought her extra work, but a sparkle had lit up her eyes.
Over the past six years, Tobias had changed. He was a grown man now, the boyish softness of his features replaced by a strong jaw and a dark stubble, thin bones covered with wiry muscles. He was easily our best rider. And even though he kept quiet most of the time, he spoke to me every day without fear. He seemed happy, especially since Ari had arrived at the estate. Ari had been brought to the Town as a slave. Cariad had bought him out in the harbor and offered him work. Now Ari helped in the kitchen, humming foreign tunes and shocking Ana with the strangest spices. He spoke very little, but Tobias had taken it upon himself to teach Ari English. I’d seen them in the park, sitting in the grass just before sunset, huddled together, Ari’s head on Tobias’s shoulder. The sight had warmed my heart. And it had reminded me of my own momentary solitude.
Cariad had been gone for seven days now. Seven nights alone without his warmth. When an opportunity to buy a piece of land and attach it to the estate had arisen, he’d ridden out to see it and visit all the settlements. He, Lillian, and Silvia should arrive back home tomorrow. In his absence, I’d kept busy taking care of the estate, but I’d missed him terribly. We’d never been apart for this long before.
I followed Tobias to the main house. The walls glowed orange on the western side, the sun setting fast. I gave one last look to the pastures and the graceful silhouettes of the animals grazing leisurely in the still air. If only Cariad were back home, it would have been a perfect day.
One more night.
The scent of vanilla and honey drifted from the kitchen, and my belly rumbled.
“Soup first!” Ana shouted. “If you keep behaving like the preacher’s children, I’ll bring the cane, I swear!”
Chuckling, I entered the crowded dining room. Tobias and Ari embraced, and Ari brushed a soft kiss on Tobias’s cheek, making him blush.
Ana placed the big pot of soup on the long table and began cutting bread.
Almost all the hunters were here, except for Lillian and Silvia of course, and Jona, who never came to dinner on time. She always found one last thing to do in the stables.
I listened to the clanking of spoons and contented chatter and thought back to when I first sat here six years ago. I’d been a different person then. I couldn’t remember the strange fragility, not really. I knew I used to be weak but didn’t recall how it felt. My recollections from the time before Cariad and I had sealed our bond became hazier and hazier with the passing years. Today, I saw the world around me in vibrant colors, and every memory we’d made together was perfectly clear in my mind.
“Do you think he will buy the land?” Tobias asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“If he thinks the people living there would accept him as their new landlord, he might.”
“How big is it?”
“The estate would grow by a third. Around nine hundred people live in the villages.”
“We’d need more hunters.”
“How many rogues does he expect me to feed?” Ana asked from behind me. “Good thing I have this boy now. Even though he puts chili and garlic into everything. Ari, help me bring the pies!”
Ari jumped up from his seat and took our empty bowls with him. He did a little