“I have confessed the whole truth to you and believe me when I tell you how difficult that was to admit, especially to myself and at my age. And to realize what a fool I’ve been. My father had told me to let it go. Even when Fay died, he warned me again that it would do no good to continue to carry her pain and that my sister would never want me to. He should have confessed the truth to me, though he probably was too shamed by Fay’s actions to do so.” He shook his head. “Snow was right about grudges. They do more harm than good, especially when lies hide the truth.”

Tarass thought of his parents. “Do you know if this matter with your sister had anything to do with my parents leaving Scotland?”

“I don’t see how since the whole ordeal was kept between your family and my father and mother. And it wasn’t until years later that your family left.”

“Abbot Bennett knew and he knew more than you did,” Tarass said.

“True, but only because he heard my sister’s confession. He wouldn’t have dared said anything to anyone for fear of losing support for his monastery. Many clans in the area had been surprised when your parents fled and that was how it seemed. That they fled as if fearful and running from something. And your father was too much of a fierce warrior to flee from anything.”

Tarass had heard that about his da and had seen it for himself in battle. He had been a fierce and skilled warrior, taking men down with little effort. Tarass didn’t think he’d ever come close to the powerful warrior his da had been. So why would a fierce warrior flee? And whatever could his parents have done that got them killed?

“Snow is like your da. She’s kind and caring, but wrong her and she turns into a ferocious warrior. Did you know when no one would go into the burning room in the keep where her da had set a fire to rescue him, she ran in not even pausing to think about it? It was what caused her blindness. The funny thing was that her father often said to me, when in his right mind, ‘Winton’s son Tarass would be perfect for my Snow’. I thought him mad, but I now wonder if he saw something that I had failed to see.”

Tarass was pleased to know that Snow’s da would have approved of their marriage.

“You and your men are welcome to stay the night. While Abbot Bennett and his crew will make it to the monastery shortly after darkness falls, night would descend on you well before you reach home,” Tarass said.

“And the long, tumultuous day has proven too much for these old bones,” Polwarth said.

“A room will be prepared for you,” Tarass said.