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“Do not fear, there is much for you to map, butright nowis for you and me.”
He helped her onto her horse and they rode off toward the hills in the distance, the gray clouds thickening and a chilled wind swirling down around them.
It was not long before a sprinkle of rain began to fall and Reena was glad that the hills were not as far as she’d first thought, for the rain turned hard and steady. When finally they reached the hills, they were both soaked through, their skin wet and their bones chilled.
Magnus’s men arrived only minutes later, and they exchanged hasty words before two men and Magnus hurried off in search of sufficient shelter and the other two saw to the care of the horses. Reena waited under a large tree, which kept her protected from the heavy rain, though a fine and steady drizzle kept her wet.
Shelter was located in mere minutes, and the men hurried her and the horses into a cave large enough for them all. A small fire burned and she hurried to warm herself, shivering from her wet clothes and the chill in her bones.
Try as she might, she could not get warm. Her wet clothes continued to keep her cold no matter how close she got to the fire. The men tended the horses while one took bow and arrow and left the shelter in search of food.
Reena shivered and rubbed her hands together. It would be a long night, though not the night she had in mind. Not wanting to feel any sorrier for herself than she already did, she went to her horse, grabbed her satchel, and returned to the fire. She wanted to make certain none of the maps were disturbed by the weather. She always made certain to protect her maps with leather wrappings. Her father had taught her to do so, explaining that he’d lost several maps before he was wise enough to keep them from being destroyed by the elements.
A shiver continued to run through her every now and then, and just as she finished tucking her maps back into the satchel, Magnus entered the cave.
He walked over to her and took her arm. “Come with me.”
She had no time to respond or to pick her satchel up off the ground: his hold was firm, and she was forced to follow him. With rushed steps and rain pouring down on them they made their way a few feet past the cave and entered another cave.
Reena wiped the raindrops from her face and glanced around the cave. It was small but high enough to stand and move about. A campfire burned in the middle of the earth floor, and wool blankets were spread out on one side. A bird of some kind roasted on the wooden spit over the fire and was just beginning to scent the cave with a delicious aroma.
She turned to Magnus, smiled, and shivered.
His hands instantly went to the ties on her cloak. “I want you out of these wet garments now.”
Chapter 25
Reena placed her hand on his and stilled it. “I do not know if I am ready for this.” The thought of standing naked in front of him chilled her more than her wet garments and filled her with apprehension.
He slipped his hand from beneath hers. “You are not ready to rid yourself of wet clothing and seek the warmth of a blanket and the heat of the fire?” He let her cloak fall to the ground. “For at this moment that is what I offer you.”
She felt foolish and expressed her misgivings. “I will disappoint you for sure—”
His brisk laugh interrupted, and his hands went to the cloth belt around her waist. “It is not possible for you to disappoint me.”
“I most certainly can,” she insisted. “When first I drew my maps they were not at all good, though my father told me I had talent. It took time and much practice.”
Magnus laughed again. “Then we will practice as much as you like.”
“You will not mind if at first I disappoint you?”
His hands grasped the sides of her tunic and drew it up and over her head, leaving her wearing only her shift, the wet garment clinging to her chilled skin. After letting the tunic fall to join the cloak, he took hold of her arms. “I love you, Reena, you could never disappointment me. Besides, you have a passion in you that cannot be denied. It is in everything you do, from your drawings to your love of others to your joy of mapping. It is who you are, a woman full of passion and life.”
“You make me sound more than I truly am.”
“Nay, you simply need to learn who you truly are.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now finish undressing while I see to the food.”
He walked to the fire, squatted down, and slowly turned the stick so that the roasting bird would cook evenly and not burn. He kept his back to her, giving her privacy to rid herself of her remaining wet garment, but as she did she could not help but judge herself. What womanly qualities did she truly possess? Her breasts were barely a handful and her hips were narrow, though they had rounded some since food was no longer scarce and her appetite heartier. Many of the village women commented on how birthing would be difficult for her, and then there was her height, a mere two inches, no more, over five feet.
Whatever did he find attractive about her?
She was who she was, not beautiful, small in size and a mapmaker, certainly not the makings of a good wife. Or was there something she failed to see about herself? Was there something for her to learn?
She stared at his back, broad and strong and carrying the weight of far too many, and yet he remained caring and honorable. He had even turned his back so that she might undress in private.
The Legend certainly was a man of honor; she could see that clearly. Why, then, could she not see herself as clearly?
She quickly finished the task he had started, wrapping a soft brown wool blanket around herself once she stood naked. Then she spread her wet garments out on a large boulder to dry and sat herself down by the fire, adjusting the blanket around her and leaving her shoulders bare. Her long dark hair hung down her back, rainwater dripping from the ends of her hair onto the blanket.
