Chapter 15
Finlay perched on the edge of the bed. Elspeth shifted her legs over to make room for him. Her heart fluttered, for she was never sure what to expect from him. He seemed concerned and angry. He reached out and stroked her cheek.
“How are ye?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, but he frowned.
“Dinnae lie tae me, Elspeth. I can see ye are far from fine. After what ye hae been through, there is nay shame in it. Ye are tired and scared, but ye dinnae hae tae worry. Those men will never be a threat tae ye again.” His face tightened as he spoke, and anger dripped from his words like venom.
She loved that he was so protective of her but hated how vengeful he was.
“Thank ye for coming tae save me. It means a lot.”
“Of course I did, lass. I told ye that nay harm was gaeing tae come tae ye. Ye are my wife. When I heard that ye hadnae returned, I was worried. I remembered ye said that there were men plotting against me. I know now that I was tae arrogant in thinking they posed nay threat. I’m just glad I was able tae find ye before they did anything worse. ”
“I was afraid tae tell them that we were married. I pretended tae be a maid. I thought they might be crueler if they knew I was yer wife,” she said in an apologetic tone, remembering how angry he had become when he thought she was only staying temporarily.
Thankfully he wasn’t angry at this deception.
In fact, he smiled and allowed himself a wry laugh.
“Aye, they were mighty surprised when they realized ye were my wife. They started groveling then and repented for their crimes. But it’s tae late. But I hae tae ask, why on earth did ye gae tae town? Why did ye nae take a guard with ye? I thought ye haed more sense than that after last time.”
Elspeth swallowed the tension that settled in the back of her throat.
“I’m sorry, Finlay. I didnae think it was needed.
I was only nipping intae the village quickly.
I wasnae gaeing tae stay for long, and I didnae want tae make a song and dance about it.
Besides…I was only out there tae make a surprise for ye. ”
“A surprise?” Finlay asked with a questioning arch of his eyebrow.
“Aye, I wanted tae have a dress made, one made especially for ye.”
“Ye did this for a silly dress?” Finlay looked shocked and shook his head. Although Elspeth was tired, she burned with anger at his rebuke. It was not the reaction she wanted. She wanted to do something nice for him, and he was going to act like this?
“It was nae a silly dress. I tried tae make myself pretty for ye. I tried tae make sure ye would want me.”
“Elspeth…I dae want ye. Ye are pretty. Ye are talking nonsense. Ye dinnae need a new dress tae make me want ye.”
“Then what is it gaeing tae take, Finlay? Right now I’m struggling tae understand.
One minute ye act like I’m yer whole world and that I mean everything tae ye, and then ye barely pay attention tae me.
I didnae want our bed tae be cold, but it haes been.
Is it tae much tae ask ye tae pay attention tae yer wife? ”
“I hae been paying attention tae ye—” he began, but then realization illuminated his face. His head dropped a little, and he breathed so heavily, his shoulders rose and fell. “Ye are talking about the last couple of nights, aren’t ye?”
“Yes, I am,” Elspeth said sharply. She folded her arms and glared at him. Finlay nodded slowly and opened his palms, wearing an apologetic look upon his face.
“Aye, I’m sorry about that. I didnae mean tae make ye feel that way.
It’s just that when ye told me what ye heard in the village, I knew I haed tae try and find out who was causing trouble.
I was speaking with Ian and Alan about a plan tae try and weed them out, but we dinnae hae tae worry about that anymore.
Thanks tae ye we hae captured them all.”
“I’m glad tae hae helped,” she said with a rueful smile. Finlay was surprisingly tender as he leaned forward and clasped her hand.
“If this is the way ye help me, then I’d rather ye dinnae. I dinnae want ye tae get hurt. I cannae bear it.”
There was an edge to his voice that she had never heard before.
She could feel how much he cared about her in his voice, and she could see it in his eyes.
Her heart melted. She wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her tenderly, and she felt foolish for ever doubting his affection towards her.
She drew strength from his arms and breathed deeply, allowing herself to slip into his embrace.
“What’s gaeing tae happen tae the men ye captured?” she asked softly, drawing away from his arms. Her hair fell across her face like a veil. He brushed a few strands back, and she tingled when she felt his fingers stroking her skin.
“I hae nae decided yet,” he replied.
Elspeth frowned. “Are ye thinking about executing them?”
“Aye, I’m thinking about it,” he drawled, wondering where she was going with this. Elspeth wore a troubled look.
“Is killing them truly necessary? Nae all of them were tae blame. Some of them didnae like what was happening.”
“And how many of them stepped in tae stop it?” Finlay pointed out.
“I understand that ye are compassionate, but when men commit crimes, they must be punished for them, otherwise the only thing they learn is that they can get away with it again. They kidnapped my wife, held ye at knifepoint, and plotted tae kill me. I cannae think of worse crimes than that.”
Elspeth sighed. “I understand. It’s just that there’s been sae much death already and sae much sorrow hanging over this clan. I want an end tae it all.”
“But there can never be an end tae this. Nae really. It’s just a part of life.”
Elspeth knew what he said was true, but it was as difficult to swallow as the medicine that Abigail had provided.
She couldn’t understand why the world had to be the way it was, why so many men had to be cruel, and why life always had to end in death.
She had hoped to bring peace and happiness to this land, but it was as if death and misery followed her wherever she went.
It seemed that whenever she was ready to put one troubling thing behind her, something else was ready to take its place, and she wondered what would happen after the punishment of these men had been decided.
“I think I’m ready tae gae back tae the castle now,” Elspeth said.
She pushed the blanket off and swung her legs out of bed, but as soon as she stood, her head swam, and she lost her balance completely.
Falling back to the bed, she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.
The room danced and swam around her, as though she was underwater.
Her stomach bubbled, and she had to lie down to stop these sensations from surging through.
If this was how she felt after taking the medicine, she hated to think about how she’d feel if she hadn’t taken it.
“As much as I want ye back at the castle in our bed, I think it might be better if ye stay here for the night. Ye hae been through a lot, and it’s important ye get enough rest tae recover.”
Elspeth was too weak to offer any protest. She sank into the bed as easily as she had into Finlay’s arms. He kissed her on the forehead and bid her farewell; even though she didn’t want him to leave, she knew it was for the best because she needed her rest.
Abigail came in a little while later to check on her, but Elspeth was so tired that she barely acknowledged her friend’s presence.
Her mind was wild with traumatic thoughts about being held captive and having a knife thrust towards her, but there was no fear accompanying them anymore because she knew that Finlay was there to protect her.
She could count on her husband no matter what, and this brought her a sense of peace.
She also knew that she could count on Ian and Abigail as well.
She had friends and was starting to feel a little less alone.
The longer she spent here, the more it felt like home, and while it was sad to leave Kilin in the past, she was grateful to be able to build a future here.