Tempest Heart - Paula Quinn Page 0,96
wanted to boast a little in her son’s knightly ways.
“Of course.” Rose gave them both her warmest smile. “I was saying how Tristan was like some legendary hero of old who rescued me from much.”
The two older women looked at each other. It was hard to imagine what they were thinking before Braya bolted to her feet and called her husband over.
Rose’s belly sank. What had she done?
She smiled at Tristan’s uncle, but her smile faded when she caught her husband’s eyes on the other side of the solar and he gave her a dark, menacing look.
“There is the Tristan we are used to,” his mother whispered, leaning in.
They quickly filled Torin in on his nephew’s knightly ways and, much to her horror, Tristan’s proud uncle called out, “Tristan, I knew there was a hero in ye, lad!”
This outburst brought Tristan’s father and the rest of his kin hurrying to her to hear the tale. With so many eager ears inclined to hear her praises for her husband, Rose was only too eager to feed them.
“He not only saved me, but he saved Eleanor from the governor who kidnapped her, and he—”
“Rose?”
Her husband didn’t shout or even sound angry. He’d come closer. He ignored his father and uncles and offered her a smile. “Are ye finished?”
She breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head, glad to be able to continue. “He saved Mary, Captain Harper’s wife. Did he not, Mary?”
The captain’s wife nodded her head enthusiastically. “Oh, aye. I had taken my last breath.”
Cheers arose and her husband snatched her wrist and pulled her away then laughed with her when they realized his kin had no idea they had stepped away.
They’d heard the guards outside, but Rose forgot about them until the doors to the solar opened and a man stood on the other side of the archway.
Rose knew it was Galeren, and she understood why he was called “the Bonnie”. The one who has been chaste for six years.
Of course, her husband was the most handsome man she knew. Galeren was simply…different with a mane of golden hair pulled back in a queue at his nape. His eyes were big, beautiful cuts of jade while he greeted his kin. His darker brows flared upward at the outside edges, reminding Rose of a breathtaking falcon.
“What has happened?” Braya asked after Torin made his son a drink. “Ye have somethin’ to tell me?”
Galeren gave her a curious look. “I still dinna know how ye do that. But, aye, I have somethin’ to tell ye.”
“What is it?” his parents asked.
“I had to go to St. Patrice’s nunnery in Bamburgh to escort the High Steward’s niece to Scotland.”
“But the Black Death—”
He held up his hand to stop his mother’s concern. “I used all caution and waited a fortnight before we entered the gates.”
“We?” His father asked and looked around.
Galeren returned to the door, took hold of something and appeared again. He held the hand of a novice nun, dressed in a white habit. Their gazes fell to their hands, fingers entwined within the other’s.
Rose covered her slight gasp with her hand.
“She needs to stay here fer a wee bit. Fer protection.”
“Who would hurt a nun?” his uncle, Cainnech, grumbled while his dearest friend, Father Timothy, hurried to her side.
“She is not a nun yet,” Galeren was quick to point out. “She has an enemy and he might show up here. She needs our protection.”
His uncles nodded in unison. Rose smiled at them. They didn’t think about it long.
“Are ye truly a woman of God?” Timothy asked her softly.
“Aye, Father. I will take my vow in the spring.”
“We will protect the woman of God to the death,” Uncle Cainnech vowed. His brother and the others all agreed with a cheer.
“At the threat of war?” Galeren put to them.
“At the threat of death!” the men shouted.
“So much fer peaceful.” Tristan smiled into his cup. “We can sleep outside the gates tonight in Elias’ cottage.”
He thought that’s what she wanted, but she shook her head. She finally had a family and she wanted to enjoy them.
A fight broke out among the children and a group of Tristan’s cousins lifted their cups to sing a song in celebration that two of their relatives had returned home tonight and spill their whisky.
“I would like to stay in the manor house with your parents and Elysande and her bairns, if you do not mind.”
She knew he would be happy to spend more time catching up with them. She also knew his family wanted him and Rose to take a room in house.
Tristan smiled and thanked her. He took her hand and held it across their chairs where they sat. If it was an act of possession, she liked it. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles while she spoke with his cousins. She was acutely aware of his touch, the intimate brush of his fingers against hers while he shared drink and laughter with the men, including Captain Harper.
He couldn’t keep from touching her. She possessed him and she liked that, too.
He gave her everything she’d ever wanted and strove to make her happy every day. There was nothing left to do but thank God for him and enjoy the adventure.
The End
About the Author
Paula Quinn is a New York Times bestselling author and a sappy romantic moved by music, beautiful words, and the sight of a really nice pen. She lives in New York with her three beautiful children, six over-protective chihuahuas, and three adorable parrots. She loves to read romance and science fiction and has been writing since she was eleven. She’s a faithful believer in God and thanks Him daily for all the blessings in her life. She loves all things medieval, but it is her love for Scotland that pulls at her heartstrings.
To date, four of her books have garnered Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. She has been nominated as Historical Storyteller of the Year by RT Book Reviews, and all the books in her MacGregor and Children of the Mist series have received Top Picks from RT Book Reviews. Her work has also been honored as Amazons Best of the Year in Romance, and in 2008 she won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for Historical Romance.
Website:
pa0854.wixsite.com/paulaquinn