Chapter Twenty-Three #3
“’Tis no dream.” She closed the distance between them and reached for his hands. She wore gloves, but he could feel the warmth of her touch even so, and it made his pulse begin to pound.
“Ye are real.”
“As real as Luar and the stones all around us.” A brisk gust of wind snatched at her hood and caused long strands of golden hair to stream out.
“And yer brother has forgiven me?”
“There is naught to forgive, as you must already know. You were not the one to kill Lord Gaunt.” She frowned and took her hands from his, leaving him cold and bereft, but ’twas only to fix her hood back in place. “Why did you not protest your innocence?”
He answered simply. “Would ye have believed me?”
Isabella bit down on her lip. “I was desperate to hear you deny the charge. But in truth, I don’t know if I would have fully believed you.”
Hamish had no wish to apportion blame. He tightened his hold on her fingers. “How did ye discover the truth?”
A tremor passed through her. “Because the real killer came forward. ’Twas my younger brother, Jonah.”
“Jonah?” He all but staggered in surprise and wished they stood nearer the stones so he might lean his weight upon them.
“Aye.” She took a deep breath. “I’m afraid your sister, Elena, was caught up in the fray. She is injured, although not seriously. My mother is tending to her.”
The world tilted around him. “I should go to her.”
“Elena has instructed me to tell you to go straight on to Greenock. She wants you to reclaim your birthright with no further delay.”
He blinked and tried to make sense of it all. Isabella put her hands on his forearms as if wanting to share her strength with him.
“But who will take care of Elena’s interests whilst I am gone?”
Isabella’s eyes danced. “I think you will find that Elena has a worthy protector in my brother Jonah. ’Twas for her sake, as well as mine, that he challenged Gaunt.”
Hamish recalled the scene in the great hall, when Jonah had visibly bristled at Gaunt’s treatment of Elena.
“The two of them must have met whilst Gaunt had her locked in the dungeon,” he said, thinking it through.
“That is precisely what happened. Elena told me that Jonah regularly brought her food and drink.”
Hamish had a hundred more questions to ask. But he was satisfied as to Elena’s immediate safety. It was time to move on to more pressing concerns.
He cupped her cheek and looked deep into her blue eyes. “And what about ye, Isabella?”
She made a show of pursing her lips, before placing her own hand on top of his and leaning into his touch. “There is one thing you should know about me, Hamish. I am a woman of my word.”
His body began to tense and sing at her proximity. Her lips were inches from his. This was not the moment for puzzles. “What do ye mean by that?”
“I mean that some days ago I left my home at Westchester to ride north and become the Lady of Greenock.” Isabella rose onto her tiptoes so he felt the warmth of her breath on his face. “That is still what I intend to do.”
Could this wondrous future really belong to him?
Joy went into battle with disbelief and came out victorious. A wide smile broke across Hamish’s face. “Ye may have to check matters with the Laird of Greenock. I hear he can be a difficult man.”
“Nay.” Isabella put her head to one side. “He is as loyal and obliging as a faithful hound.”
“A faithful hound, ye say?” He lifted her from the ground and spun her in a circle so her cloak flared out behind her. “Not more of a fierce wolf?”
“Nay. A hound stretched out by the fireside.” Isabella giggled as he spun her around again. “You will have to put me down sometime.”
“I willna,” he countered. “For if ye are to be the Lady of Greenock, ye belong to me now. And I might like to keep you close so ye dinna disappear.”
“I will never disappear,” she whispered.
Her lips were too close to be denied. He kissed her long and deep, until passion sparked in his belly and he had to place her gently down before his knees buckled. He wrapped his arms around her and they clung to one another as the sun finally broke through the clouds above.
“So what does the Laird of Greenock say?” Isabella asked, her head tucked snugly against his shoulder.
Hamish sighed in contentment. “I say this: ye have given me back my home. But more than that, ye have given me a reason to hope for the future and be happy in the present. I love ye, Isabella. And I will spend the rest of my life making ye glad ye decided to be the Lady of Greenock.” He paused and looked down at her upturned face. “If ye will let me.”
Isabella nodded thoughtfully. “I think I can allow that. But I must insist on one thing.”
“Anything.” He meant it.
“Kiss me again.”
“Does the lady not wish to go somewhere warmer?” he teased.
“Nay, the lady is growing accustomed to the cold.” She pressed the tip of her nose against his. “Do you not wish to kiss me, Hamish?”
Desire flickered inside him. “I wish to kiss ye very much,” he said honestly. “I can hardly believe ye are standing in my arms.”
“My wild highlander,” she whispered.
Hamish decided enough words had been said. He lowered his head and kissed the woman he loved.