Nettle stood by the side of the bed, nightdress in hand, staring at Snow sleeping peacefully. It was her task to look after Lady Snow and that meant making sure she was dressed properly. She was not dressed properly for a nap or bedtime. She needed her nightdress, but she looked so peaceful Nettle hated to disturb her.

“Something wrong, Nettle, that you stand there staring at my wife,” Tarass asked from the open door.

Nettle jumped and turned, not having heard the door open. “Forgive me, my lord. I forgot Lady Snow’s nightdress and went to fetch it only to find her asleep when I returned. My lady was so tired she was falling asleep in the tub and she looks so content now, I hate to wake her.”

“Don’t,” Tarass ordered, “leave the nightdress and see that a bath is prepared for me in the guest bedchamber.”

“Aye, my lord,” Nettle said and hurried from the room to see it done.

Tarass went to the bed and looked down at his sleeping wife. A soft blush stained her cheeks and her lips were parted ever so slightly as she breathed softly. Her red hair was still damp, a strand clinging to the side of her face. He reached down to move it and Thaw’s head popped up and he gave a small growl

“Quiet, you’ll wake her,” Tarass ordered in a commanding whisper. “And don’t think you’ll be sleeping in bed with us. It’s the floor for you.”

A low grumbling growl came from Thaw, then he laid his head down and closed his eyes, staying right where he was.

Tarass didn’t chase him off the bed, not this time since he was keeping Snow warm. It had been a difficult day for her and it was good she rested. And good that she was naked in his bed.

He continued to experience bouts of dread when he thought about how close he had come to losing her today, not once but twice. First in marriage to another man, then by an arrow. Though now, some of his warriors were speculating that the arrow could have been meant for him. He would think that himself if he was getting closer to finding out who had his parents killed. But he hadn’t. It was as if a door had suddenly been slammed shut in his face when it came to finding out anything more about the attack on the Sandrik village where his parents had been brutally killed.

He had hoped to find out something about the dead man, that Snow had accidentally found when she tripped over him, while on his visit to his mum’s people. But her people hadn’t told him anything he hadn’t already known. The one thing he had discovered, to his frustration, on the unplanned trip was that he had missed Snow.