“Lady Snow, how nice to see you and this must be your sister Willow who I’ve been so eager to meet,” Runa said, standing in her open doorway. “I was so pleased to receive word that you and your sister were coming to visit. Please come in. I have a hot brew ready for us.”

Willow guided her sister into the cottage and settled her at the table before she took a seat herself and dropped her cloak off her shoulders to rest on the back of her chair as Snow had done.

“I have sweet cakes as well, sent from the keep,” Runa said, filling the tankards on the table with a hot brew from the pitcher that sat near the hearth. “Would it be all right to give Thaw one?”

“I’m sure he’d enjoy it,” Snow said, giving her permission.

Runa gave the pup one of the small cakes and turned to Willow as Thaw eagerly accepted the treat. “I have so much to ask you, Willow.”

“I look forward to talking with you, but first Snow and I have some questions.”

“Aye, of course, how can I be of help?” Runa asked eagerly, joining them at the table.

Snow saw clear enough to see Willow reach out for her hand to give the sweet cake to her and she almost reached for it, but stopped herself. She let Willow take her hand and place the sweet cake in it. She didn’t like keeping the news about her sight from her sister, but she had to tell her husband first. And she planned to do that before the end of Willow’s visit.

“Do you know for sure if Fasta suffered a miscarriage?” Willow asked, breaking a small piece of cake off to taste, not feeling hungry.

“I feared that might be so since she asked if there was something a woman could take to rid herself of an unwanted bairn. I told her there was but it was very dangerous, too little would do nothing and too much the woman could bleed to death. It was why I was so concerned with the amount of blood loss she suffered. I feared she had taken too much rue and would bleed to death. I never expected her to recover as quickly as she did.”

“You gave her the rue?” Willow asked.

Runa shook her head vigorously. “No, I didn’t, but I feared she may have stolen some and when I checked I realized some was missing.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Snow asked and raised her hand to cover her yawn before finishing a second sweet cake.

“What was there to say. The deed was done,” Runa said.

Willow was glad to see Snow eating since she had had little breakfast this morning. “How would she know which of your plant leaves was the rue?”

“I wondered the same,” Runa said.

Snow shook her head, a fogginess taking hold.