Chapter 25 #2
“There is one verra special woman I would like to salute,” he told them all, eyes searching the room for her.
“It is only because of yer bravery, both in fleeing Dudley with letters that contained evidence of his treachery and in yer impeccable aim with an arrow, that we secured the victory today. Laura, ye will always have a home and a place of honor within the Kincaid walls. Anything ye need, ask and I will see it done. I owe ye everything. To Laura!”
The cheers grew louder with each drink, but they were nearly deafening at the mention of Laura’s feats over Dudley.
She blushed and nodded her head demurely, still a bit shaken by the day.
Her mother and father sat on either side of her, proud smiles as they held her close for the first time in years.
“And finally,” he said, turning his attention to the table in front of him, “I must admit that there is something I have been gravely wrong about.”
A hush, anticipating his confession, fell over the room, sobering the atmosphere quickly.
“After my dealings with the Baron—”
“Disgraced Baron!” someone cut in.
He chuckled and nodded.
“Aye, the disgraced Baron, I swore to loathe all Englishmen for the remainder of my days. I thought it impossible to find a decent man among the whole lot. I have never been more happy to be proven wrong.”
He locked eyes with the Marquess and smiled.
“Lord Blackwood,” he said, speaking directly to the man.
“Oliver, ye are the best man there is. First, ye saved our Sorcha from any number of atrocities. And then ye saved us when we could nae give ye so much as the barest amount of trust. I ask now, in front of all who are here, for yer forgiveness for doubting yer character. Ye are loyal and true, steadfast and honorable. Though, perhaps that is simply yer Scottish blood coming through.”
Laughter, raucous and jovial, spread through the room. Lachlan raised a hand after a moment, the sight of his friends and family celebrating bringing tears to his eyes. He blinked them away and grew serious once more.
“Both of ye, Oliver and Sorcha, put a stop to the fighting when all my might could nae. Ye saved us from losing any more precious lives. Ye freed us from the threat of any further injustice. There are truly nae words for everything ye two have done for me and my people today.”
He looked up at the rest of the room then.
“From now until I draw my last breath, the Kincaid clan will have nothing but gratitude for the Blackwood family. Ye have my loyalty, Lord Blackwood. It is an honor to call ye my ally. Ye will always be welcome on Kincaid lands as a friend—nay, as my brother.”
The applause that erupted from the Great Hall then was so loud, so exuberant, that Elsie covered her ears with her hands.
It was several long minutes before Lachlan could hear his own thoughts again, but he did not mind.
The merriment in front of him was a balm for his soul and a promise for tomorrow.
Laura picked at her plate. She should be happy, she knew.
She had not only escaped Dudley’s clutches, but had reunited with her parents and brother on the same day.
Laird Kincaid had expressed his undying gratitude in front of three clans, including her own.
All things considered, the day was a total victory.
But she could not stop the nagging sadness that clawed at her bones.
“Laura, dear,” her mother said in the same soothing voice she had used whenever Laura had gotten sick as a child, “whatever is the matter?”
“Are ye unwell?” her father asked, finally voicing the concern that had been etched into his face for the last half hour.
“Tired, is all,” she told them, quietly. “It has been a verra long day.”
In truth, it had been a long several days. She had left Dudley’s estate, left his stables with Brandon in them, two nights ago and had not slept since. Her mind hardly knew what to make of everything her body had experienced, everything it had witnessed.
Her mother’s hands, with more lines and spots on her nimble sewing fingers than Laura remembered, rubbed her arms up and down. Her father put a strong hand on her back, warm and protective. It was a sensation she had so rarely felt in the last three years. It was nearly more than she could bear.
“I am all right,” she assured them, gently shaking off their touch. “Really. I merely need a night or two of sleep.”
Over her head, she could feel her parents exchanging glances. They had an infernal ability to tell when she was lying. But neither of them pressed her. She knew one day she would have to share with them stories of her days inside the Baron’s estate. Not yet. Maybe not for a long time.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Taryn, her hair still just as gold and beautiful as it had always been, leaning around James to look at her.
With both her mother and brother in between the two girls, Laura had felt hidden well enough that she hoped there would be no great confrontation.
But when her mother and father begged off to go chat with their new friends from the Kincaid clan, James shot her a warm smile and made himself scarce.
“I need to check the patrols for the night,” he explained to both women. “Laird’s orders.”
With him gone, no one separated the two long-lost friends. Laura found herself once again at a loss for words.
“He always was a bad liar,” Taryn commented dryly, watching him go. “Ye both were.”
“Aye. That is how Dudley found me out,” Laura said before she could stop herself.
The words had slipped out of her mouth without realizing what she was saying. Regret surged through her as pain flashed across Taryn’s face.
“I am happy for ye,” Laura told her quickly, trying to cover up her blunder by a change in conversation. “Happy for both of ye.”
She nodded towards James’ retreating figure with a forced smile. Of course, she had always known about Taryn’s feelings for James. It had surprised her for only a moment to find that James returned them, even all these years later.
“Thank ye, Laura,” Taryn said softly. “I never imagined that our dream of becoming sisters would eventually come true. It gives me peace that ye are pleased.”
Silence grew between them again, heavy with all the things left unsaid. It was Taryn who broke it again.
“I doubt ye have had a chance to hear the tale of how we came to be together, or how so many McGregors have joined the Kincaid Clan. It is a story I should like to share with ye soon. But I need ye to ken, I had no idea.”
Laura’s chest grew heavy, her body hot as tears swelled. Taryn slid down the bench until she was less than two inches away. Without hesitation, Taryn gathered Laura’s calloused and rough hands in her own and held them to her chest.
“Had I kent that Dudley had taken ye, I would have returned that verra instant. I was so focused on surviving, on staying hidden from him, that I never sought word—either of Dudley or of the happenings in the McGregor clan. It was too painful, leaving ye and James behind, so I did my best to put it from my mind. I went back, Laura. As soon as James found me and told me what Dudley had done to ye, I went back to my uncle to give myself up. To trade myself for yer freedom.”
Tears, hot and burdened, streamed down Taryn’s face. One look at her childhood friend and Laura too was shedding her own tears.
“I-I am so verra sorry,” Taryn stammered, fighting to control her emotions. “I will never forgive myself kenning that ye suffered as ye did for me. I am so so sorry.”
On instinct, Laura threw her arms around Taryn and held her close. The two girls cried until their tears had dried and some chasm in Laura’s chest had shrunk.
“I would have done exactly the same thing over again, given the choice,” Laura whispered. “I would have done anything for ye. For that is what sisters do.”
“Och,” Taryn breathed. “I was nae there when ye needed me most. I did nae come for ye sooner. Can ye ever forgive me?”
“There is nothing to forgive,” Laura promised, pulling back. “It is all in the past. Dudley is gone. We need nae think of it ever again. Besides, it was nae all bad.”
Not for the first time that evening, Laura’s eyes glazed over as thoughts of Brandon poured into her mind.
She pictured him, standing in the moonlit stables, sending her off.
Her hands reached for his gloves that she had shoved into her pocket.
He had risked everything for her to escape.
And now that she was here, safe, she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him.
Had Dudley uncovered Brandon’s betrayal? Had Brandon managed to escape himself? Would she ever see him again?
The questions swirled round and round in her head. Every time his face drifted into her thoughts, she sent up a silent prayer of protection for him, that he would find his way to her. All she knew was that she missed him—desperately.