Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Margo was still breathing heavily, unable to take her eyes off of her father.
She knew who he really was now, and saying everything out loud, telling him that she was aware of how twisted he was, rewrote every single memory she had of him.
It wasn’t until his hand was already cocked back that she realized he was about to strike her.
“That’s enough!” Cameron said, moving within the blink of an eye. He caught Lord Abbott’s wrist, the grip unrelenting. “Ye have done more than enough, Lord Abbott.”
“She does not know what she’s saying!” her father cried, sounding crazed.
Margo wondered if he truly believed his lies.
Perhaps the man had deluded himself with all his self-aggrandizing and wild schemes, that he truly thought he was being generous to his children.
He might think wholeheartedly that Margo and Eleanor were ungrateful because he could have chosen to give them nothing.
“I am inclined to believe Margo is tellin’ the truth,” Cameron growled, using his free hand to push her back a few steps, to keep her from becoming collateral damage in any potential fights.
“We’ve all seen proof that ye are a liar, Lord Abbott.
Nothin’ ye say will change the minds of those gathered here. ”
Cameron dropped his hand, turning toward Gavin.
His man-at-arms released Nicolas, the solicitor not daring to move.
It was either the stark reality of the truth or the fear of what might happen to him if he were to dissent against the rest of the group that kept him frozen.
It did not seem to matter which to Cameron.
He nodded once, a sharp gesture of approval.
“Find a room suitable to hold Lord Abbott,” Cameron said, taking a step back, his arm brushing Margo’s elbow, and sending warmth spreading through her body. “And I will need someone to take Nicolas’s statement. We willnae be leavin’ until everythin’ has been collected.”
“There was stationary remaining in the study,” Gavin said, narrowing his eyes at Nicolas. “I can take yer statement.”
Without saying another word, Cameron grabbed onto Margo’s elbow with a gentleness that surprised her.
His solid presence soothed her, and she felt as if she could truly breathe again for the first time since her father appeared in the courtyard at Glen Carrick.
She let him lead her through the castle halls, too exhausted to pay attention to where he was leading her.
As soon as they stepped inside, Cameron walked over to the hearth.
Less than a minute later, a fire made from the old wood piled in the grate was burning warm.
It cast a homey, orange glow over the room, illuminating a few candles on a nightstand.
As soon as they were lit, their soft glow revealed the grand Master Bedroom that had not been touched in just as long as the rest of the castle.
“Yer cheek,” Cameron said, walking her over to a chair by the hearth. When she sat, he knelt in front of her, nearly touching her kneecaps. Gently brushing his knuckle over the soft swell, he murmured, “He hurt ye.”
“It’s not all that bad,” Margo muttered, knowing that it sounded placating. “It feels better by the minute.”
“I shouldnae have never let ye out of me sight; not even for a single minute,” he said under his breath, the statement directed more at himself than her. His jaw clicked as it tightened, his throat working around a swallow. “Are ye hurt anywhere else?”
“No, there’s nothing that will be any worse than a bruise,” Margo assured him, cupping his face in her palm. “It is only because of you that I was able to get free.”
“Nay, ye were well on yer way to takin’ care of that all on yer own,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in a flash of pride.
“There were still the guards,” she remarked, rubbing her thumb over his face; stubble caught the ridges of her fingerprints. “I am fast, but I do not think I am fast enough to outrun several men.”
“It was only three,” Cameron said, his delivery serious even though there was an almost playful spark in his eye. “But perhaps ye are correct. They did give me men a wee bit of trouble.”
She giggled, a soft thing. It was the first step toward normalcy, whatever that would mean for her now. Her hand dropped to her knee, and she was surprised when Cameron covered it with his own, his palm dwarfing hers.
“Now that we have proven all of his contracts were created under fraudulent pretenses,” Cameron said, his voice suddenly serious, his fingers tightening around hers, “they will all be invalidated. From what I understand, the inheritance will legally pass to ye through yer mother. What ye do with it, is your choice.”
“It is for our future heir,” Margo said, blushing as she spoke the words aloud. “And for the two of us. Our people. I want any money I own invested toward restoring any lands that my father may have destroyed.”
A beat passed before Cameron pulled her into a kiss.
This one was unlike any other they had shared before.
It was passionate, but unhurried. There was something reverent about the way his lips moved against hers.
She sighed into the contact, melting against him as she accepted the feeling he could not seem to bring himself to say.
When he reluctantly pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers. For several long, indulgent moments, they shared the same breath. Finally, he said, “Ye are incredible.”
“I simply want to right his wrongs,” Margo replied, raw and vulnerable. “I’d like to fully earn the trust of the clan. I… I am incredibly grateful for everything they have done for me. I would like to give back to them as much as I can.”
“I already trust ye enough for all of them,” he said fiercely, the words vibrating into her very bones. “But they already trust ye. They have already accepted ye as their Lady. There is nothin’ ye have to do to win them over. They have already been won.”
“Then I want to serve them,” Margo said, her conviction unwavering. “I am proud to be a MacLeod, and I know that my mother would be pleased to see her family’s lands in your hands.”
Cameron pulled back, his eyes scanning her face as though he were memorizing her face in this moment.
When he finally broke the silence, his voice was low and warm.
“Ye are the light in me gray life, Margo. I love ye, and I have never been more certain of anythin’ before.
I would want ye even if it werenae for the inheritance.
There is nae one else I would wish to be me partner in rebuildin’ the clan. Me life is better with ye in it.”
She laughed, feeling every bit of tension leave her limbs. She did not find what he said funny in the slightest, but there was something freeing about her hearing those words. The giggles, a gentle sound against the crackle of the fire beside them, were her way of releasing the energy.
“I feel the exact same way about you,” Margo said, grinning like a fool. “You saved me, Cameron. I love you, too. With every bone in my body.”
He huffed, a tiny smile gracing his lips before he shoved it down immediately.
Placing his hands on his knee, he pushed himself back to full height.
His eyes swept over the room, setting on the bed.
Crossing the room in a few quick strides, he pulled off the comforter and shook it out.
She watched the way his muscles shifted with rapt attention, her mouth going a little dry for reasons she did not fully comprehend right there and then.
“I amnae sure how long it will take for us to get everythin’ sorted,” he said, turning back to her, his gaze protective, possessive. “Ye should rest while we do. I will wake ye when we are ready to leave.”
Margo understood the deflection. He was needed elsewhere, she was sure of it. But the conversation they were dancing around was much too big to be had when they were in a foreign place and there was work to be done. The bed too was, she had to admit, enticing.
If she ignored the layer of dust over the pillows.
“Thank you, Cameron,” she said, approaching the bed. Her gratitude was for more than this gesture, and she could tell he understood it.
“I will do me best to take care of things quickly,” he promised, waiting for Margo to perch herself on the edge of the bed before he turned and left the room.
When he reached the threshold, he paused. His eyes met Margo’s, and she heard his unspoken promise. As he left, her heartbeat settled, falling into a rhythm of safety.
I will never be able to thank you enough.
“Ye’re comfortable, aye?” Cameron asked, looking into the carriage where Margo was settled, a fur already over her lap. “If ye need anythin’, I’m sure that we can find it inside.”
“I am quite comfortable,” she confirmed, blinking away the last bits of sleep from her eyes. “And this was not even the roomiest carriage in the fleet.”
“Aye, I’m impressed,” Cameron said, climbing in with her and pulling the door closed behind him.
He had ensured there would be no stalling their departure before awakening Margo.
“We will have to make a trip to all the lands. Now that we have proper maps of the territory, I am quite certain there will be more to discover.”
She hummed, sitting up straighter, seeming to stretch the stiffness from her spine.
When she relaxed once more, she leaned against him, her thigh a solid line of warmth against his.
The dying moonlight caught her long lashes, making them fan against her cheeks in a way so enticing he nearly kissed her again.
The only thing stopping him was the way the carriage jerked when they began the relatively short journey back to the MacLeod lands.
“I never got the chance to thank you for dancing with me,” she said, her voice velvety in the soft silence. “I was not expecting you to do so.”