“God’s teeth, lass, I am sorry for making ye doubt me.”
She took his hand and squeezed it. “I am sorry I doubted ye. I am sorry it took fearing I’d die to tell ye the truth.”
His tortured gaze impaled her. “I failed ye, and I failed my clan, but I will nae fail again. If I could have simply put ye out of my heart and my head and married Edina, my father would be alive, but I could nae do it. Nae even when my mother told me ye were dead. I felt dead, too, and could nae imagine ever giving to another what I had given to ye.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat at his admission. “Was yer mother angry at ye when yer father died?”
“Aye. She dunnae let me forget that it was my fault. So I must be careful how I break with Coira, but Iwillbreak the promise.”
Marsaili fidgeted. She did not like that Callum’s mother held her to blame for her husband’s death, but Marsaili did not see that anything could be done about it. “What of yer brother? How does he feel about yer father’s death? Does he blame ye? Do ye think they will both hate me?”
Callum tugged her close once more. “Dunnae fash yerself, aye? My mother will soften.”
“That dunnae answer my question fully. What of yer brother?”
“Oh, och. I forgot.” Callum smiled at her. “Ye will find a friend in him.”
“That’s comforting,” she said. There was so much they needed to say but simply not enough time. She thought of all she wanted to know, of all he might wish to know about her, but before she could ask any questions, he spoke.
“I will need to speak with Coira alone, ye ken.”
He sounded so uncomfortable that her initial surge of jealousy ebbed a bit. “I ken. Ye wish to try to avoid making another enemy.”
“Aye,” he said, looking utterly relieved. She realized then that he had been worried about how she would react, and his worry actually comforted her. It was good to know she was not the only jealous one. She supposed not having been around each other in three years and not having had much time together when they had fallen in love, it would take time to learn who they were now.
“I want ye to tell me everything about yer life from the moment I left ye,” he said, startling her out of her thoughts.
She gaped at him. It was as if he had known her thoughts! He squeezed her hand. “I ken that, though I fell in love with ye, there was much I did nae ken about ye, that I still dunnae ken. I did nae even ken ye had a half sister named Isobel.”
“I’ll tell ye all,” she promised him, feeling as if her heart would burst. She had imagined this very conversation after he had first left her so long ago, and she had considered the many things they had never had the time to discuss.
He helped her up as she started to talk, and as they gathered their things to depart, Broch and Maria finally returned from the brook. By the mussed, bemused expressions they both wore, as well as Maria’s swollen lips and flushed cheeks, it appeared her friend had found someone to help her forget her deceased husband and mayhap, with luck, someone to love.
Broch came straight to Marsaili and hugged her, but when they separated, she could see that he looked uneasy as if he had unpleasant news to deliver to her, but he did not wish to. Callum moved to her side and took her hand, and it was not Broch who spoke, but Callum. “Once we have our son, we will need to travel to Dunvegan Castle.”
Her stomach clenched at his words. She turned to him, ignoring Broch and Maria, who had approached Broch and taken his hand. “Callum, I must tell ye what I did,” she started. “I…ye may nae wish to have me once ye—”
“I already ken,” he cut in, squeezing her hand. “I would have done exactly the same thing had I been ye.” He said it so reassuringly and lovingly that her eyes blurred with tears once again, but she blinked them away. She’d done enough crying for one day.
“Ye dunnae think me dishonorable?” she asked.
“Nay,” he assured her. “I believe ye were desperate to save our son, and for that, I can nae ever feel ye are anything but meant for me.”
“Mayhap Iain will forgive me and offer ye an alliance,” she suggested hopefully.
“He will forgive ye,” Callum said in a gentle tone. He looked to Broch, and Broch nodded.
“What has he decided?” she asked, tension tightening her stomach. She knew her half brother to be fair, but she also understood what a terrible thing she had done.
“He will banish ye from Dunvegan for one year,” Broch said. The tension seemed to spread to her chest.
“But,” Callum said, “he had planned to send ye to the MacLean hold to live with them.”
“Had planned?” she asked with a frown.
He nodded. “Ye will, of course, live with me now.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but when his gaze flicked from Maria to Broch and back to Marsaili, she understood that whatever he wanted to say would wait until they were alone.
Warmth and love filled her. “Will I now?” she teased, feeling much lighter than seconds before.
“Aye, ye will,” he replied, his tone unbending, making her aware he would not have taken no for an answer, not that she would have refused. “It is my hope that yer brother might offer an alliance, but even if he does nae, ye and I will nae be parted again. Together, we will face whatever may come.”
She smiled. “Aye. Together.”
