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A shaft of sunlight drew Adrienne’s attention to a closed door halfway down the corridor Etched into the pale as an exquisitely detailed prancing horse, rearing elegantly, le horn spiraled daintily from its equine brow A unicorn?

Her hand on the door, she paused, suddenly suffering an odd preht be better left alone Curiosity killed the cat…

When the door swung silently inward, she froze, a hand fluttering on the jaaze swept the rooain

Who had done this?

The room appealed to every ounce of worimly, this entire castle appeals to every ounce of woman in your body Not to mention the sexy, masculine laird of the keep himself

This roo hands that it was al A cacophony of discordant eh her before she shoved them away

There were cradles of honey oak, curved and sanded smooth so not one splinter could work free and harh s, too high for a toddler to risk har sun Wood floors were shtly painted wooden soldiers dotted the shelves, and lovingly crafted dolls reclined on tiny beds A miniature castle, replete with turrets, dry e was filled with tiny carved people; an honest-to-goodness medieval dollhouse!

Fluffy blankets dotted the cradles and beds It was a huge roorow fro a more adult room elsewhere It was a room that would fill a child’s world with love and security and pleasure for hours on end

As if so like the child he or she used to be, and designed it with all the treasures that had given hi about the roo

Open and war babies and love

All was in readiness, the nursery wasand breathe into it the sparkling life of children’s songs and dreah her that Adrienne wasn’t even sure what it was But it had everything to do with the orphan she’d been, and the cold place she’d grown up in--a place nothing at all like this lovely room; part of a lovely home, in a lovely land, with people ould lavish love upon their children

Oh, to raise babies in a place like this

Babies ould knoho their mother and father were, unlike Adrienne Babies ould never have to wonder why they hadn’t been worth keeping

Adrienne rubbed her eyes furiously and turned away It was too ht into Lydia "Lydia!" she gasped But of course Why should it surprise her to run smack into the wonderful mother of the wonderful man who’d probably built the wonderful nursery?

Lydia steadied her by the elbows "I caht it ht be too soon for you to be up and about--"

"Who built this room?" Adrienne whispered

Lydia ducked her head, and for a brief mo not to laugh "The Hawk designed and crafted it hi tiny crinkles fro to convince her e vulnerability and rise to soer

"Why, dear Adrienne, don’t you like it?" Lydia asked sweetly

Adrienne turned back and swept the rooht and cheery and alive with the creator’s own outpouring of elanced back at Lydia "When? Before or after the king’s service?" It was terribly ihteen, to please his mother perhaps, or recently, in hopes of his own children soave him a brief leave when he enty-nine There was sohlanders in these parts, and the Haas per was resolved, he spent aup here He worked like a man possessed, and in truth, I had little idea what he was doing The Hawk has alorked ood, building and designing things He wouldn’t let any of us see it, and didn’t talk much about it After he returned to Ja" Lydia’s eyes misted briefly "I’ll tell you the truth, Adrienne, itof children and how precious they were It filled me onder, too, when I saw it completed I think it would most any woman Men don’t usually see children like this But the Hawk, he’s a rare man Like his father"