The Warrior Elf (42 page)

Doreen smiled and shook her head. “Not on the first evening in my own house. I want to build a fire in my bedroom, sit in my new rocking chair, and relax for a while. This day has been a long time coming.”

Rhianna laughed. “Enjoy. I’ll check in with you when we get back.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Tuesday morning, while Doreen was getting her stuff from Jana’s, Rhianna went up to the castle. She wanted to ask Laryn who had decorated her house. When she got to Laryn’s, Steve was the only one at home.

“I was wondering, do you know who fixed up your house? Did Laryn do it?” Rhianna asked while they were drinking tea in the kitchen.

Steve laughed. “No. She’s not the least bit interested in curtains or furniture. Dayed took care of the furniture and Danyelle made all the quilts, curtains, and linens, including the kitchen linens. Allisandra did the gardens. The only contribution Laryn and I made were the pictures on the walls, and Dayed made the frames for those. We just did the drawings.”

Rhianna sighed. “I was hoping Laryn had done it and would be willing to help Doreen pick out some stuff for her place. She wants comfortable, like you have here, or like Danyelle’s house, not formal like Dara’s.”

Steve laughed again. “Believe me, no one wants to live in a house like Dara’s, not even Dayed. He won’t sit down in the parlor. He said she insisted he make the furniture so dainty he’s afraid he’ll break something if he sits on it. But I bet Danyelle and Allisandra would love to help, especially if you were the one who asked.”

“Why me?”

“Because they like you, and it would be a compliment for you to ask their opinion.”

“Too bad they don’t live nearby. There’s not much they can do from so far away.”

“Kevin has a key. No one’s far away with a key.”

Rhianna shook her head. “I can’t ask him to do that.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.”

“Ask who to do what?” Laryn asked from the door. “Sorry if it’s none of my business, but you two are sitting in my kitchen.”

Rhianna explained what they were talking about.

“We don’t need Myron for this,” Laryn said with a grin. “All we need is the key. Come on. Let’s go. I haven’t seen my sisters for a while and fixing up Doreen’s house will be a great excuse. This is going to be fun.”

~ ~ ~ ~

After Rhianna introduced Laryn, Danyelle, and Allisandra to Doreen, Laryn asked Doreen if she’d like some help getting her house finished up. When Doreen said yes, all three sisters broke into big smiles and dug in. Before Doreen knew what was happening, Danyelle left with the key and came back with sheets, blankets, and quilts. Next, Allisandra took the key and returned with crates of dishes, pots, pans, utensils, and everything else the well-furnished kitchen needed. Then Laryn disappeared with the key and returned with a man and a beautiful hutch, which they set up in the dining room. Before long every lamp table had a lamp and every chair a lap rug. Throw rugs seemed to appear out of nowhere, and curtains were hung in every room.

Eight hours later when Rhianna and Doreen collapsed at the kitchen table, Doreen giggled and asked, “What happened here today?”

Rhianna laughed and shook her head. “I have no idea. It was like being caught up in a whirlwind!”

“Those sisters just breezed in and took over.” A huge smile spread across Doreen’s face. “Who would have dreamed when we got up this morning the house would be finished by nightfall? Where did all of this stuff come from?”

Rhianna shook her head. “The way they kept whisking in and out with that key there’s no way to know where anything came from. Some of it probably came from their homes. Some might have come from the castle. I do know the hutch came from Dayed’s workshop. I saw it when I was up there.”

“It’s gorgeous,” Doreen said with a dreamy look on her face. “I never thought I’d own anything so nice, but it’s going to cost a fortune. How can I ever afford it?”

Rhianna shrugged. “When we were up there, I got the feeling he gives most of the furniture he makes away. He makes his living off the saw mill.”

“But that’s an expensive piece and I need to pay him for it. Will you find out how much I owe him?”

“I’ll ask, but I doubt he’ll take any money.”

A knock on the front door interrupted them. When Doreen opened it, Carrie was standing on the porch and Brandon was sitting on the seat of a small wagon.

“Miranda sent me,” Carrie said. “She said if you had the sisters here all day, you’d be too tired to fix anything to eat tonight, so she sent you some dinner. It’s in the wagon. I’ll bring it in if that’s all right.”

Rhianna laughed as Doreen nodded and said, “We’ll get it. You don’t have to.”

Carrie shook her head. “Brandon will take care of it. By the way, the pot is hot. And she’ll want that back sometime, but there’s no rush. We have dozens.”

While she was talking, Brandon had climbed down and gotten a big crate out of the back. “Where do you want this?” he asked as he climbed the steps.

Doreen motioned towards the kitchen. “There’s a big table in the kitchen. Set it down on that.”

Carrie came in close behind him and by the time Doreen and Rhianna got to the kitchen, she had everything unloaded. “We’ll take the crate back to get it out of your way. And don’t worry about returning anything except the pot. We have more than enough baskets and platters.”

Doreen looked at the food spread out on the table and shook her head. “There’s enough food for four or five people here. We don’t need this much.”

Carrie shrugged. “You never know when someone might show up, especially since the sisters went back to the castle and told everyone what a lovely home you have here.”

“Oh,” Doreen said. “Then thank you. And please tell Miranda we thank her, too.”

Carrie nodded and told them to enjoy their evening as she and Brandon left.

“Well, I guess we should eat,” Rhianna said. “Now where did they put the plates?”

~ ~ ~ ~

Wednesday afternoon Cpt. Lawrence knocked on Kevin’s open door. “Gen. Crandal would like to see you when you have a minute.”

“Is this about the men from the camp?”

Cpt. Lawrence nodded.

“Were any of the husbands up there?”

“All three of them. They’re waiting in the general’s office.”

“We’ll be right there.” Kevin put away the stuff he’d been working on. “I want Karl to be in on this, too. Would you stop by his office and tell him?”

Cpt. Lawrence nodded and left.

Kevin told Chris what was going on and the two of them headed for the general’s office. As soon as Kevin walked in, one of the three men from the camp asked, “Is it true? Have you really found our families?”

“We’ve found your wives, and I know there are three children with them, but we don’t know whose children they are.”

The man bit his lips. “Do you know the names of the children?”

Kevin shook his head. “We don’t know whether or not the children even belong to any of the women.”

The man sighed. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

One of the others put an arm around the first man’s shoulder. “I never expected to see my wife again. This is still good news.”

The first man nodded. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, it’s just...”

Kevin shook his head. “I understand. We all do.”

“So what happens now?” the third man asked. “From what Gen. Crandal said, they’re not here yet.”

“No,” Kevin said, “they won’t be here until Monday, but as to what happens next, that’s up to you.”

“To us?” the third man asked, frowning.

Kevin nodded. “We can take you back home and let you get things straightened out and ready for your family. Or if there’s somewhere else you’d rather go, we can take you there. Or if you want to go somewhere completely new, I’m sure we can find someplace where you’ll be comfortable. But if you aren’t sure where you want to go, you can stay here, in one of the bunkhouses, until your wives get here and then you can decide what you want to do.”

For a moment none of the men spoke, then the first one said, “My brother and his wife decided to go back home. I’d like to go talk to them. We may stay there or we may go somewhere else, but I’d like for us to stay together.”

Kevin nodded again. “We’ll take you home in a minute. Anyone else know what they want to do?”

The second man shook his head. “I want to think about this for a bit, if that’s all right. Like I said, I hadn’t expected to ever see my wife again so I hadn’t thought about whether we’d want to go back to our house. I’m not sure we’d ever feel safe there again. Could I wait and talk to her?”

“Of course,” Kevin answered. He turned to the third man. “Do you know what you want to do?”

“I’m not sure. I know I don’t want to go back home, but I have some family in Zander. I’d like to talk to them and see if there’s room for us in their village.”

“And if you decide that’s not what you want to do, we can take you somewhere else after your wife gets here.” Kevin looked around at all three men. “And speaking of your wives getting here, I want all of you here when they arrive. They’re supposed to get here around two next Monday, so I’ll pick you up around one.”

Then Kevin took off his key, turned to the first man, and tilted his head towards the map on Gen. Crandal’s wall. “Now, if you’ll show me where you want to go, I’ll take you.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Thursday morning while Doreen and Rhianna were working outside, Steve drove up in a buggy. Rhianna smiled and told Doreen, “That’s Steve, Laryn’s husband. Come on and I’ll introduce you.”

Doreen wiped her hands on her tunic and followed Rhianna to the buggy.

After the introductions, Rhianna asked, “What brings you out this way?”

“Curiosity,” Steve said, grinning. “I want to see what my wife and her sisters did to your house.”

“Didn’t she tell you about it?” Rhianna asked.

“She thinks she did, but all she said was they had a good time and she thought you were pleased.”

Doreen laughed. “Well, come on in and we’ll give you the grand tour.”

Steve walked around to the back of the buggy and picked up a stack of framed pictures. As he carried them up the steps, Rhianna asked, “What do you have there?”

“Just a few pictures,” Steve answered as he set them down on a table in the entrance hall. “Last night Laryn and I went through some of our sketches and picked out a few she thought you might like.”

Rhianna picked up the picture of Corin and held it up for Doreen to see.

“I like that,” Doreen said, “but I think it’s meant for you. Why don’t you put it in your bedroom?”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

Doreen nodded as she picked up a sketch of the river with the mountaintops in the distance. “This one’s perfect for the parlor.” The next one she picked up was of a quiet river surrounded by trees. “And this one’s going in the dining room.”

Steve dug down a bit and pulled one out from near the bottom. “I don’t know if you’ll like this one or not, but it’s for you,” he said as he handed it to Doreen.

Doreen took the picture and turned it around so she could see it. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at it.

“What is it?” Rhianna asked as a tear slid down Doreen’s cheek.

“One of my boats,” Doreen whispered. “How did you know?”

“Rigel described it to me as I sketched it. He thought you might like it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Doreen’s voice cracked with emotion. “This is going in my bedroom, right over the fireplace.”

Steve pulled a picture of Nikki racing Xantha across the pasture out of the stack and handed it to Rhianna. “I thought you might like this one.”

“Did they really do this?” Rhianna asked.

Steve nodded. “The day you came to the castle. You and Duane were inside when Laryn took Xantha out to see Nikki. She’s the one who sketched that one.”

“I love it.” Rhianna turned it around for Doreen to see. “Where do you want this one?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to have that one where we can all enjoy it. Maybe one of the parlors?”

“You girls can decide where you want these later,” Steve said. “For now, how about showing me around?”

Thirty minutes later they were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. “You’ve got a good house here,” Steve said. “Well built. It’ll last.”

Doreen nodded. “Like my boats.”

“Do you miss them?” Steve asked. “And the ocean?”

“Not as much as I thought I would.” Doreen got up to top off the coffee mugs. “If someone had told me a year ago I’d be living so far inland I’d have told them they were crazy, but now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Funny how things change.”

Steve nodded and sipped his coffee. “And if someone had told me a year ago I’d be married within the year, I’d have laughed at them. Life has a way of working out as it should though.”

Doreen smiled as she sat back down. “I think I’ll like it here. I think this is my spot.”

Steve laughed. “I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I got here.” Then he turned to Rhianna. “Have you found your spot yet?”

Rhianna shrugged. “I feel at home wherever I am. Maybe elves are different.”

“Maybe.” Steve finished up his coffee. “Anyway, I need to get back to the castle or Laryn’s going to come looking for me.”

After Steve left, Doreen said, “Before we hang these pictures, let’s go see Blair and Nan. I’d like for them to come over, look at the house, and see if they’d be interested in moving in. If they are, they can pick out the pictures they want in their rooms.”

Rhianna nodded. “And if you want to have a party Saturday afternoon, we’ve got to find some food and let people know.”

Doreen frowned. “Where can we get the food? And who’s going to fix it?”

“One thing at a time. Let’s split up. While you talk to Blair and Nan, I’ll go to the castle and find out where Miranda gets her food. We can probably get some from the same place.”

Doreen let out a long sigh. “I need to find out how to go about paying for it, as well as for the hutch and everything else the sisters brought. If you get a chance, talk to Cryslyn. I don’t think I’m out of money, but I’ve used a lot of it.”

“Will do. See you later.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Later that afternoon, Doreen and Rhianna settled on the front steps to compare notes.