The Warrior Elf (76 page)

“I know, but she’s getting older, and I hate to walk out on her.” Hayley walked on for a moment. “And then there’s you.”

“What about me?”

“I don’t want to leave you either, and you live here.”

“For now.”

“What does that mean?”

“I never intended for this job to be permanent. Eventually I’ll go back home.”

“Seriously? You’ve been planning to move back to Bridgeport all along?”

Marcus wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he’d just stepped into quicksand. “Well, yeah, someday.”

“And when were you planning to mention that to me?”

“When I decided to go,” Marcus said slowly.

Hayley shook her head and muttered, “Men! Were you planning to take me with you?”

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Marcus admitted.

“I think it’s pretty easy. It’s a yes or no question.”

“No it isn’t. It’s way more complicated than that. For one thing, you’re a sister now. I figured the day would come when you’d be offered a chapel and you’d have to leave. Were you planning for me to go with you when you left?”

Hayley scrunched up her face. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t know what to do now!”

“Let’s look at a few facts. One, if you take on a chapel, you’ll be really busy, especially the first couple of years until you get things organized and get to know everyone in the area. If I’m with you, I’ll be in the way.”

Hayley shook her head. “You wouldn’t be in the way.”

“Yes, I would, and before long you’d start feeling guilty because you couldn’t spend time with me, and that would make you mad, and guess who you’d get mad at? Me.”

“I would not.”

“You would so. You got mad at me for getting shot and making your power show up.”

“I...I...How did you know that?”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Believe me, it was obvious. Everyone knew. Theresa told me not to take it personally, that you were just confused.”

“Well, I was confused. I had my life all planned out and then that happened and turned everything upside down.”

“And if it hadn’t shown up, you wouldn’t have to make this decision, but it’s not my fault. So don’t get mad at me about it.”

“I’m not mad at you. I just don’t know what to do. My life would have been a lot simpler if my power had never shown up.”

“Maybe, maybe not. If your power hadn’t shown up, you wouldn’t be here. You’d be off with Theresa wherever she is, and from what I’ve heard, she won’t be back for years.”

Hayley walked in silence for a few minutes. “I hadn’t thought about that. And you’re right, she said she won’t be back for at least five years, maybe more.” Hayley shivered. “That would be horrible. I wouldn’t be able to see you or talk to you for years. You’d forget all about me.”

Marcus shook his head. “I wouldn’t forget you, and I won’t forget you if you go to Bridgeport. And besides, if you’re up there, it’ll give me one more reason to visit.”

Hayley sighed. “But none of that helps me figure out what to do. I don’t know what to tell them.”

Marcus turned towards Hayley. He put his hands on her shoulders and waited until her eyes met his. “Hayley, don’t think about Sister Agnes. Don’t think about me. Think about you and what you want. They’re offering you your own chapel in a place where you already know the people. Do you want it?”

Hayley took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

“Then tell them yes.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Over the past week, Callie had convinced the men on the island to build a three-room building similar to the one they had in Nandelia. It had a large kitchen, a dining room, and a third room that could be used as a meeting room, storage room, or play room for the children. Friday night, at Callie’s suggestion, Kevin had taken several extra mattresses to the island and set them out in the extra room so the children could nap while their parents got the caves set up.

Shortly after dinner Sunday evening, Kevin went to Nandelia to start transporting the women, children, and their belongings to the island. Since Garen’s wife, Gilean, had everything sorted by family and ready to go, things were easier than Kevin had anticipated. Before he started on the belongings, he took the other women and all the children to the island and handed them over to Theresa and Taelor, who were set up with cool cloths, water, and pallets.

Darwyn had cleared a centrally located area for Kevin to bring in all of the belongings. When he got back to Nandelia, Gilean showed him which stack went with which family, so as soon as Kevin arrived with a load, Darwyn moved it to the cave that family would live in.

After Kevin delivered the last load, he and Gilean went through all the buildings to make sure nothing had been forgotten. Then he took her out to the island. When he handed her over to Garen, he told both of them how much he appreciated everything she’d done and how much easier the move had been because she’d had everything so well organized.

Before he did anything else, Kevin made a quick trip back to Nandelia to pick Sean up and take him to Brendolanth. Kevin took him to a wooded area five miles outside of Trendon and wished him luck finding the woman he was looking for. “What are your plans if you find her?”

“If she’s single, I want to marry her, but with or without her, I can’t stay in Trendon. Most of the people here know me, and know I’m assigned to Garen’s squad. If Rolan gets his hands on me, I’m a dead man. And if he finds out we’re married, she’ll have a target on her back, too.”

“Well, if you decide to leave Brendolanth, you’re welcome to come back to Milhaven. Or you could join the ones who stayed in Nandelia.”

Sean nodded. “I’d like to join Garen at some point, but I’m not sure that’ll be possible.”

Kevin shrugged. “I’m not either.” Then he took out his key, said, “Take care,” and went back to the island.

When he returned, all the furniture, bags, and boxes had been moved, and the unpacking had begun. The women were tired and the children were nodding off every time they sat down. To them, it was late, after midnight. The men on the other hand felt like it was the middle of the day and were ready for lunch.

Callie had prepared two pots of stew, a hearty one for the men and a light broth for the women and children. After everyone finished eating, Theresa and Taelor offered to keep an eye on the children so the women could help the men get the caves set up. As soon as the adults went off to work on their individual caves, Kevin quietly left for home.

~ ~ ~ ~

Monday morning, shortly after breakfast, Hayley asked Sister Agnes if she could speak with her. When they reached Sister Agnes’s office, Hayley shut the door and sat down.

As Hayley started twisting her hands, Sister Agnes asked, “Hayley, what’s bothering you?

“I don’t know how to start.”

“I’ve found that the beginning is usually a good place.”

Hayley’s smile was weak as she looked up at Agnes. “You know I’ve been going to Bridgeport a lot lately.”

Sister Agnes nodded. “If I remember correctly, that’s where Marcus is from.”

“It is. When I go up there, I stay with his sister and her family.”

“I know, and you were there when the slavers raided.”

Hayley closed her eyes for a moment and then said, “That was some night. Marcus disappearing, delivering a baby...”

Sister Agnes smiled. “You took charge and did a good job from everything I heard.”

Hayley frowned, so Sister Agnes explained. “Sister Theresa filled me in.”

Hayley nodded and took a deep breath. “And I’ve been taking care of the people up there ever since.”

Again, Sister Agnes nodded. “I know.”

“Well, the thing is... you know Marcie and her family came down this past weekend.”

Once more, Sister Agnes nodded.

“And, well, she said they’re building a chapel up there, in Bridgeport, and Morris asked her to ask me how I felt about him writing to Sister Brena and requesting that I be assigned there.”

Sister Agnes’s smile lit up her eyes. “Hayley, that’s wonderful. When do you leave?”

Hayley looked at Sister Agnes. “You’re not upset?”

“Why would I be upset?”

“Theresa’s gone, and if I leave, you’ll be on your own. You won’t have any help.”

“Nonsense. I’ve got Leira. She could run this chapel by herself, and Duri’s coming along nicely. She can handle the herb garden and prepare herbs without supervision now. And Mishi might not know much yet, but she’s a hard worker. And we still have Sherri, although that’s an idea. Why don’t you take Sherri with you? She’s only here until we find another chapel for her to train in, and since you’ll be starting a chapel up there, you could use the help. That’s an excellent idea. How do you feel about taking her with you? You can teach her how you want things done. She’s willing to do anything we ask. And she wants to learn. Yes, that’s a perfect solution to several problems.”

Hayley’s mouth had dropped open halfway through Sister Agnes’s comments. “You don’t mind if I go? You won’t feel like I’m deserting you?”

Sister Agnes smiled. “That’s sweet of you, to worry about me, but this is your time. You should be excited, thrilled. We’ll be fine. This is what every sister longs for, her own chapel. And now you and Theresa both have your own chapels. This is a cause for celebration. I’ll ask Blair to make a special cake. Are you going to tell Sherri? Or do you want me to?”

Hayley quickly shook her head. “Don’t say anything yet. I haven’t told them I want it.”

Sister Agnes frowned. “Don’t you like it up there? I was under the impression you liked those folks. Don’t you want to be their sister?”

“Of course I do, but I told Marcie I needed to think about it, talk to you, talk to Marcus. It’s a big decision.”

“Marcus, of course,” Sister Agnes said softly. “I have to admit I got carried away with the idea of your own chapel and didn’t even think about that. Have you talked to him yet?”

Hayley nodded.

“What did he say?”

“He said I should do it.”

“Good,” Sister Agnes said. “I knew I liked him. And he’s right. It’s not like you won’t ever see him again.”

“I know, but it won’t be the same.”

“No, it won’t, nothing ever is. Change is a part of life, but I can tell you this. If you give this up for him, every time you go up there, you’ll regret turning it down, and before long, you’ll blame him for it.”

Hayley took a deep breath. “So you think I should tell Morris to go ahead and write Sister Brena?”

“Absolutely, and you might want to have a word or two with Morris to be sure he’s building the chapel the way you want it built. Men don’t always know what works.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m going up there Saturday. I’ll talk to him then.”

Sister Agnes nodded. “And in the meantime, think about taking Sherri with you. If you decide you want to, we’ll tell her when you get the official invitation.”

“All right.” Hayley let out a long sigh. “I feel so much better now. I was feeling quite sick earlier.”

Sister Agnes shook her head. “You worry too much. You need to face things head on instead of hiding from them. Remember that when you’re the one in charge. Worrying over something doesn’t do one bit of good, just messes with your stomach and gives you headaches. You don’t have time for either one of those now. You have a chapel to run.”

~ ~ ~ ~

While Hayley was talking to Sister Agnes, Kevin was talking to Rhianna. She had come to the castle a little earlier than usual because she had Nikki with her. After Kevin and Nikki greeted each other like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks instead of hours, Kevin and Rhianna took her out to the stable to find Marshall.

Marshall was busy grooming the horses, but as soon as Nikki bounded through the door, he stopped what he was doing to kneel down and make a big fuss over her. Nikki sniffed and sniffed trying to figure out where he’d been. Finally he laughed and said, “Sorry, girl. I changed clothes. No new smells for you today.”

As Kevin and Rhianna walked in, Marshall stood up.

“So, how did your weekend go?” Kevin asked.

Marshall grinned. “It was a lot of fun. I like Brandt.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“A little, but we didn’t have time to do too much. Shadron said training horses is a lot like training dogs. You have to find a way to let them know they can trust you, and then you have to let them know what you want them to do. After that, it’s easy, at least according to him.”

“Probably sounds a lot easier than it is. We’ll see if we can work it out so you can go back for another visit before long. In the meantime, Kyle wrote to ask if you wanted to join him for a weekend training exercise. One of his clients has a big herd of sheep, and he has some new herding dogs he wants Kyle to work with. It’s scheduled for the first weekend in June.”

“At his place?” Marshall asked.

Kevin shook his head. “He’ll have to go to the client’s place and work with the dogs there. From what he said, the only way you can judge how well a dog herds sheep is to see them try to do it. He’s got someone coming to stay with his dogs for the weekend, but if you go with him, the two of you will be staying at the client’s house from Friday morning until late Sunday. Do you want to go?”

Marshall’s eyes lit up as he nodded. “If it’s all right, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to go.”

Kevin nodded. “I’ll tell Kyle you’ll be there right after breakfast that Friday.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw Shana and several other women standing around the training area fiddling with their daggers. He turned towards Rhianna and tilted his head towards the women. “Looks like we need to get going. You have some students waiting for you and I’m sure there’s a stack of messages on my desk waiting for me.” Then Kevin glanced back at Marshall. “I’ll pick Nikki up before dinner. See you later.”

Chapter 46

Mishap at Fenway's

Fenway walked into the kitchen with a large bucket of fish Tuesday morning. “I thought we’d have fried fish with cornbread patties for lunch today.”

Ainsley frowned. “Just one problem with that. I have no idea how to fix it.”