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sacrifice innocent people to
be slaughtered by men like McPhearson.”
    “You made me believe that you would, just to
gain my land?”
    "No, Eleanor, to gain your cooperation. It
was a means to an end,” he said, as he walked out of the
chapel.
     

Chapter
Four
    Eleanor was stunned into silence, her
emotions a mixture of relief and anger. Anger won out. The threat
of McPhearson returning to pillage her land had been a ploy to gain
her cooperation. Dominick had manipulated her, and that was
unforgivable.
    Eleanor ran to Martha. The two women held
each other tightly.
    Martha touched her face. “Learn from this,
Eleanor. Don’t anger your new husband further. Tread lightly, my
love.”
    “I promise, I will be more careful.” Eleanor
felt the energy drain from her body and sat down in a nearby
pew.
    “You need to rest, my lady. You have had
quite an ordeal. Zenon will take you to your room, and I will bring
you a nice hot cup of tea.”
    “That isn’t necessary. I’ll be all
right.”
    “Don’t argue. I insist you rest for a while.
There is nothing that needs to be done which can’t wait.” Martha
gently pushed Eleanor toward Zenon’s open arms. “Zenon, please,
make sure she gets to her room undisturbed. I will be up
shortly.”
    “I will.” His hand reached out to his wife.
“Will you be all right?"
    “I will be fine. We
have weathered worse.”
    F inally, Eleanor was
alone in her chambers and had a moment to think. A fierce warrior
of legend was now her husband. She wanted to cry. But what good
would come of it? There was no way out. She was a prisoner of fate.
Her life now lay in the hands of a powerful soldier she knew would
try to bend her to his will.
    The memory of her mother surfaced in her
mind. Looking down at her wedding ring solidified her resolve.
Never again would she be forced to do Dominick’s bidding. Despite
what his lordship might think, her life was her own. She need do
nothing more. Nothing more. As far as she was concerned she
had fulfilled the king’s order.
    With her conviction
clear in her head and in her heart, she went to the window seat to
watch the sun rise higher in the sky. It caressed her face and the
birds flew on the currents of the wind. She was lulled quietly to
sleep.
    D ominick wasted no
time surveying the castle and the surrounding area to estimate how
much damaged McPhearson had done. He stared at the charcoal remains
of the stables. This would be rebuilt first, as the heavy spring
rains were soon to come. He needed a place to house the horses. The
castle roof had large, visible holes, and he suspected all types of
birds and other vermin now resided under the few shingles that
remained.
    The extent of ruin Godwin had fallen to
puzzled him. Clearly, the previous lord had let his castle suffer
years of neglect.
    But it was now his castle and his land. He
would make it the home he had always longed for. Home. As
many times as he said it to himself, it didn’t seem real. Godwin
was his. Before the king’s command, he could never have imagined
being a landowner. He breathed in the scent of the salty sea beyond
the cliffs and committed it to memory.
    It would take time before he could feel that
Godwin was truly his own. Maybe by the end of spring, when seeds he
had planted with his own hands began to grow and sheep grazed in
the meadows, he would feel his life take root.
    Eleanor was an intricate part of his dream.
Despite what he said in the meadow, having a wife that loved him was important. It had been his dream for many years, and he
couldn’t give up on any part of that dream, for without it he would
never be truly whole.
    Could he win his young
bride’s heart? Dominick let out a great sigh. He’d fought so many
battles, and yet it seemed he had to fight one more.
    T he sounds of supply
wagons noisily rolled into the bailey. The bleating of goats and
sheep being herded behind them brought Dominick out of his
thoughts. He turned to direct the unloading of the