Chapter Twenty-Five
Logan stepped into the hall. His eyes immediately found Ealar and Jamie. Jamie was sitting propped against the wall, holding his side. Ealar was holding off Roderick alone and doing it well.
Logan took just a moment to admire his brother’s cunning and surefooted ‘dance of death’. He stepped around Roderick, then forward, half a step left, full turn, right two steps—
Roderick countered and jabbed, catching Ealar’s shoulder.
Logan didn’t wait around for any tricks either of them had in their pockets. He was ending this now.
Pulling his sword from its sheath, he reached Roderick and swung his blade. It sliced across Roderick’s chest, shooting blood across Logan. Without any hesitation, he finished with the length of his blade through Roderick’s throat, coming out on the other side, killing him immediately.
“Ye took everything from her,” Logan told him, pulling him close. “But I will give it all back to her. Go. Go on to hell then.”
When Logan let him go, his body slumped to the floor.
He hurried to the door and opened it. When he saw Elspeth, holding a dagger, he wondered where she’d gotten it. He took her hand, finally allowing himself to breathe. “Come, we need to get Ealar and Jamie some help.”
“Not Roderick?” she asked.
“Nae.”
“Good,” she surprised him by saying. “He didna deserve to live after the lives he took.”
They hurried past Roderick’s body with Elspeth under Ealar’s arm, and Logan under Jamie’s.
They almost didn’t make it up all the stairs before Elspeth’s legs gave out. Thankfully, they had reached the first landing, where everyone was waking up for the day.
Logan’s loud voice got them the attention they needed. Ealar and Jamie were carried off to the castle physician to have their superficial wounds seen to.
The Lochiel was, of course, unhappy about not being awakened to fight with his sons. He was happy, though, that no one was seriously hurt and that Roderick was finally dead.
Plans were made for Helen to be hanged after her confession.
None of the Camerons spared her a second thought, though the Lochiel did post four extra guards at her cell door until her sentence was carried out, which took place during their supper.
They did not stop eating, or living, or even laughing.
Elspeth and May were, as they enjoyed reminding him, perfectly fine. He would confess, his wife looked bonnier than ever before. Mayhap it was because he was so thankful for her life. Her eyes were brighter, bluer. Her cheeks looked to be constantly dusted with rose petals.
The last thing Logan wanted to be doing was eating supper with her and all his kin. He wanted to carry his wife to bed and—
“Logan!”
They all turned to Jamie sitting at the table. His wound turned out to be a completely harmless flesh wound.
“What are yer plans on goin’ home to Ben Nevis?” So innocent was Jamie at times that he completely missed the murderous glares that at least three Camerons were aiming at him.
“Elspeth and I were discussin’ it, and we decided to stay fer a bit.”
May squealed and clapped her hands. Elspeth bounced up and down in her seat with her. A few of Logan’s cousins looked as if they, too, wanted to bounce with glee.
“’Twill be good to have ye, son,” his father said, then washed his supper down with some water.
“Aye,” his mother joined in. “Twill give us time to get to know our Elspeth better.”
“Aye!” May chimed in. “Och, Elspeth, I have so much to teach ye!”
“May,” Logan warned his sister. “I will lock ye away. Somewhere no one knows,” he warned her when she flicked her gaze to her parents for help. “I willna let ye oot until we leave Tor. Teach her one thing and I will do it.”
“So then,” she crossed her arms across her chest and smirked. “I canna teach her archery? Or chess, cards, reading? Sister,” she asked, turning to Elspeth, “can ye read?”
“Teach her nothin’,” Logan warned for the last time.
May cast a frustrated gaze heavenward. “Fine.”
“Dinna fear, Elspeth,” Ealar said smoothly from his place at the great hall table. “I’ll help keep ye busy with—”
“Ealar,” a low, rumbling growl. “If I see ye near her, I will—”
“Now, Logan,” their father said. “Dinna threaten yer brother. Ealar, keep yer charms to yerself.”
“I wasna handin’ them oot,” the youngest Cameron said.
Ismay nodded and patted her son on the back. “Good fer ye, Ealar. Ye do well keeping yer charms beside ye.”
Supper went much the same way all season long, until Logan knew Elspeth was comfortable enough to laugh and even argue at times with them.
They never had enough time alone together during the day. There were always kin around. At night, if they managed to go off to bed at the same time, they stayed up most of the night together. But it didn’t happen often.
That was why Logan was happy to go home to Ben Nevis with his wife. He refused his cousins’ offers for help with this thing or that, ensuring that they stayed away.
Ealar made no promises if he would visit or not. Logan hoped he would.
As they rode away from the castle together on Logan’s horse, Elspeth looked around Logan’s arm to see behind them. It was something Logan had never done when he was leaving.
He did now and saw his mother watching them, perhaps remembering him going off to battle. His father watched with her, his arm around her shoulder, supporting his wife when he looked as if he wanted to call for them to stay. May waved them both off, then swiped her sleeve across her nose.
His cousins weren’t watching. They would have been surprised to see him turn to look back. He had taken for granted that those behind him would always be there. Now, because of the pain his beloved had suffered over the loss of her kin, he understood a little better how fragile ties were.
His gaze fell on his little brother. He thought about what Roderick had done to his brother and his heart grew heavy.
Then, something happened. Watching them with the same emotion on his face as the rest of them, Ealar wiped his eyes and looked away.
Logan smiled as his heart filled to bursting with love and affection for them all. They had helped him heal for the last six years. If not for their faith in him, there would have been no physical body to fix.
He would return to visit his kin. As a matter of fact, they were already returning in a sennight for their marriage celebration. Beyond that, he would bring his wife, and he would bring their bairns. Aye, they would grow up surrounded by the love of their kin.
For now, though, he wanted to bring his bonnie Elspeth home and begin his life as a husband and hopefully one day, a father. He smiled at the thought as he turned again to look at the road.
“Are ye happy, then, husband?” came her twinkling voice like bells near his ears.
His smile turned to soft laughter. “Verra happy, wife.”
Perched in his lap, she angled her head to look up at him when he remained quiet. “Is that it?”
There was so much his head wanted to say, but his heart would not be delayed.
“Every time I look at ye, I see our future. Our bairns. But there is so much I want to do with ye before that. I want to cherish ye the way ye deserve to be cherished. I want to fill yer days with happiness, trust, and peace.”
He thought he might melt when she smiled lovingly at him. Her response to his declaration was to rest her head against his chest and close her eyes. He closed his arms around her a little tighter, drawing her closer while she slept.
“I want to build a life with ye, my love,” he whispered into her short hair. “A life filled with love and laughter, and forgiveness.”
He rested his jaw on her head and closed his eyes, letting the scent of her fill him.
Her dulcet voice rose to his ears. “Dinna ferget passion.”
He opened his eyes and found her staring at him, her lips a wee bit puckered.
He smiled.
She blushed and closed her eyes, waiting for him.
He didn’t make her wait long but bent to her and dipped his face to hers. He touched her with tenderness, as if she were an egg from the last bird of its kind.
“Elspeth, I love ye, lass. I love ye.”
“I love ye, Logan.” She smiled against his lips, and then he did the same against hers.
Before they knew it, Ben Nevis loomed over them. Logan kept his gaze on the mountain before turning to look at his house. The mountain was his beacon. It was the way home, piercing the mists, the clouds, and the heart like an arrow through the sun.
“Let us climb it tomorrow,” Elspeth suggested, looking up at the mountain.
“Aye,” he replied right away. “’Tis verra secluded.”
She slipped out of the saddle and stared at him while he did the same. “How secluded?”
He thought about it for a moment, then, “Secluded enough fer us to strip our clothes—”
“Logan!” She threw herself into his arms and covered his mouth with one hand as if anyone would hear her.
“What is it, Elspeth?” he asked in his huskiest voice, then pulled on the laces of her stays. “There is no one here.”
She made a sound like a squeak and took off, turning and laughing as she went. “If ye catch me, I am yers.”
He laughed and then called out as she ran. “But Elspeth, I am already yers, and when I catch ye, I will prove it.”
He ran after her, and their laughter, bright and filled with joy, echoed from the foothills to the mountain tops.
The End