Tarass watched from the top of the keep steps as his wife and her sister squealed like young lassies and hugged each other tight. Thaw even jumped up at Willow, his tail wagging madly as he vied for attention. Willow and her husband, Slatter’s visit was unexpected, but he was pleased they were here. Snow had missed her sister and with her possibly being with child, it would help her to talk with Willow, who was beginning to round with child herself.

He walked down the steps to Slatter while the two women continued to hug and laugh and wipe tears away from each other’s faces.

“I couldn’t keep her away, not after Lord Polwarth stopped at our home and told us what happened. I seriously thought my wife was going to strike him, she got so mad. I was grateful the old fool redeemed himself by the tale’s end.”

“She would have done me a favor by striking him,” Tarass admitted.

Slatter laughed. “Snow forgave him easily, didn’t she?”

Tarass nodded. “She did.”

“Polwarth also mentioned something about pools of blood and dwarfs?” Slatter said with a scrunched brow as if it made no sense.

“Let’s get our wives inside where it’s warm and I’ll explain, since I’m sure Willow is looking for a reasonable explanation,” Tarass said, aware she was the most practical of the three Macardle sisters.

“She can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it,” Slatter said with a laugh.

Both men went and collected their wives.

Slatter kept a firm arm around Willow’s waist, not wanting her to slip on the icy steps and harm herself or the bairn growing inside her.

Tarass did the same, though it proved more dangerous for Snow, since she couldn’t see the steps for herself, or so he thought.

The two couples settled at a table close to the hearth. After Thaw made his rounds to each one of them, getting a pet from the men and hugs from the women, he went and laid on the warm hearth stones until he couldn’t keep his head up any longer, then he slept.

“I could not believe what Polwarth did to you,” Willow said. “I wanted to thrash him senseless.”

“I would have been ever grateful if you had,” Tarass said and got a poke in the side from his wife.

“Has your leg healed?” Willow asked.

“It’s fine,” Snow said as if dismissing it as unimportant and not mentioning that she was probably with child. She would save that for when they were alone. “How are you? Are you feeling well?”

“I do well and so does the bairn, but we can talk about such things later when we get time alone,” Willow said. “Right now I’m eager to hear about the pools of blood and the dwarfs that Polwarth mentioned. Whatever was he rambling about?”