The warrior escorted the young man to the dais and all eyes followed them.
“This one insists his wife needs help,” the warrior said, keeping close to the young man’s side.
The young man hurried to speak, looking directly at Lord Lochlann. “I am Owen. It is my wife, Maura, my lord. Her time has come to deliver our bairn, but she is having much difficulty. She needs help. Please, my lord, send help.”
“Does anyone know this man?” Lord Lochlann called out. “He is unfamiliar to me.”
“I am busy working the farm, my lord, and rarely visit the village,” Owen said, twisting his hands nervously.
“I stopped by his croft once. He is the size of the man I spoke to, and his hair was dark like this one. His wife was also round with child,” a warrior confirmed.
Bliss hurried to her feet. “I can help your wife.”
Rannick stood and sent his wife a heated glare. “I forbid you to go. It is not safe.”
Bliss remained calm, understanding her husband’s concern and worried herself, but there was someone in need of her skills. “I cannot leave a woman to suffer and possibly die when I can help her.”
“It is a trap!” Lord Lochlann claimed loudly. “We cannot know for sure who this man is.”
Silence fell over the Great Hall and the young man visibly trembled.
“Take him and beat the truth out of him,” Lord Lochlann ordered.
“Nay!” Bliss shouted.
“Hold your tongue, woman, or suffer for it,” Lord Lochlann threatened.
Rannick turned, grabbed his father by his shirt, and yanked him toward him. “Threaten my wife again and you will be the one to suffer for it.” He released him sending him tumbling back.
Lord Lochlann’s face turned a molten red and he took a step toward his son.
“One word, Da, just one word and you will see for yourself the evil that exists in me,” Rannick warned and turned to his wife. “Stay put.” He did not wait for her response, the shocked look on her face telling him she was too stunned to do anything.
Bliss’s eyes followed him along with the dead silence as he walked around the dais to come to a stop in front of Owen, whose trembling had worsened. For a moment, she had feared he would strike his father and she worried what his warriors would do, though seeing them look upon her husband with intense fear she doubted they would have lifted a hand to help Lord Lochlann.
“Do you know who I am, Owen?” Rannick asked.
Owen nodded, tears pooling in his eyes. “Aye, Lord Rannick.”
“Then you know there is nothing I will not do to you to learn the truth. So, save me the time and you the pain and suffering and tell me the truth. Is it a trap you come to lead me and my wife to?”
Tears started running down Owen’s cheeks. “It is a trap, my lord. Three men burst into our home, threatened my wife, Maura, hit her several times to tell me that she would suffer far worse if I did not do as they said. And the truth is that she is in labor and having a difficult time. I do not want to lose my wife and bairn, my lord.”
“Are there more than three men?” Rannick asked, realizing that if he did not have Bliss in his life, he would have little sympathy for the man. That realization struck him like a punch to the gut. He had truly lost his humanity and if it had not been for Bliss, he would have lost it forever. He owed his wife much.
“I only saw three,” Owen said, brushing away his tears.
“What croft do you work, and did you come on foot or by horse, and did anyone follow you?” Rannick asked.
“Wilkins’s croft and by horse, though I do not know if anyone followed me. I was so worried for my wife that all I could think about was getting here and getting the healer’s help.”
“Not even the consequences of your lies?” Rannick asked.
“I will suffer what I must as long as my wife and bairn survive, my lord,” Owen said with a bob of his head.
“That is admirable of you, Owen,” Rannick said.
Owen shook his head. “Nay, my lord, it is what a man does for the woman he loves.”
There was truth to that since Rannick would do the same for Bliss. “We will go rescue your wife and return her here so my wife can help her.”
“NAY!” Bliss called out. “I go with you. Maura may not be able to travel.”
Rannick turned and pointed a finger at her. “You are not going.”
“I am going,” Bliss said with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
“You will obey your husband!” Lord Lochlann shouted at Bliss.
“Stay out of this, Da!” Rannick warned.
Helice laid her hand on her husband’s arm. “Let them be, Lochlann.”