Page 40 of The Highlander's Dangerous Bride

“Aye, ye’d best take off yer mittens first.”

Raven helped Thorsten to take them off and put them in her pocket. “There ye go.” Arne passed a roll over to Thorsten, who promptly gave it to Raven.

“Why, thank ye, darlin’,” she said, looking at Arne with amusement. He could not help but smile back at her.

“And another one fer me, Da,” Thorsten stuck out his hand. Arne put another roll into it. “Thank ye!” the little boy said, biting into the sugary top with obvious enjoyment. Raven was nibbling her bun delicately.

Arne continued with his unpacking. “Och, look, we have a packet of tea fer the grownups, and milk fer ye, Thorsten,” he went on. “Would ye like me tae warm it up fer ye?”

“Nay, thank ye. ’Tis nice cold.” So, he had his beaker of cold milk to wash down his bun.

Arne went on spreading out their picnic on the small table. It featured a large cottage loaf, a half a pound of butter, sliced meats, cheeses, apples, cooked sausages, some small meat pies, and a host of sweet things of the kind he particularly enjoyed.

The stove soon began to warm the place up, even though they had the doors folded back to see the sights, letting the brisk air inside. When the tea kettle began to sing merrily, it suddenly struck Arne as being a strangely cozy domestic scene. He found himself enjoying it, his little family being together like this.

This is how it should have been all along, he thought to himself as he pottered about making the tea, pouring it for himself and Raven, then making up a plate of tasty delicacies for her and Thorsten to eat. She seemed to like everything, and Thorsten liked everything she liked. Finally, Arne sat down to eat with them, finding himself enjoying Raven’s company.

As the afternoon wore on, they ate and drank and talked, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed. Eventually, Thorsten fell asleep, still cuddling Raven. By this time, Arne was settled in the only other available seat, a rather battered armchair. He had a cup of tea and a plate of sweet things close at hand, and he could look across at Thorsten and Raven as often as he wanted. He wondered if this was what life would be like if they became a happy little family.

With Thorsten fast asleep, he decided to ask Raven a question that had been bothering him since her return.

“Raven, can I ask ye somethin’?”

“Of course, I’ll try tae answer it if I can,” she replied over her beaker of tea. “Ye ken nearly everythin’ about me now.”

“Before I found ye after the shipwreck, what happened? Ye ken that captain was renowned fer operatin’ in the black market. How did ye come tae be on it?”

She thought for a few moments, a faraway look in her eyes. He half expected her to say she could not tell him because it was too dangerous. So, he was quite surprised when she said, “It does seem like a foolish thing tae have done. At the time, I kent it was a mistake tae get on that boat. The weather was so bad, it was obvious there was gonnae be a bad storm, but the captain insisted we could outrun it.

“At any rate, if I wanted tae leave the island, I really had nae choice but tae get on the boat.”

“Ye were that desperate tae leave that ye’d risk yer life?”

“Obviously. I told ye, me life was nae worth livin’ if I couldnae see me son. I would have done anythin’ tae get off that island.”

“Ye almost drowned.”

“Aye, but fate decreed otherwise, fer which I’m very grateful.” As she spoke, she looked down at Thorsten sleeping peacefully beside her and tenderly brushed away a stray lock of jet-black hair from his forehead. Again, Arne felt his heart thump in his chest to see how she loved the boy.

“D’ye think it was just coincidence that it was me who saved ye?” he asked, voicing the question he found so confusing.

She smiled at him, her eyes soft. “D’ye mean as opposed tae fate havin’ a hand in it?”

He shrugged, not even sure himself what he was getting at. “I dunno, I suppose so. I mean, it was pure chance I was there that night, that I went tae the beach tae help search for survivors. It must have been pure chance, a complete coincidence, that of all the people I pulled from the sea, the first one happened tae be ye.”

“Arne, are ye askin’ me if it was somehow meant tae be? That ye were supposed tae be the one tae save me?” she asked, her eyes never leaving his.

He suddenly felt uncomfortable at the idea fate might have decreed they should be reunited. “I dinnae believe in such things,” he replied shortly. “And even if it were true, what would be the purpose of it? The love I had fer ye is long since dead. ’Tis nae as if we can turn back time and make everythin’ as it used tae be between us. I’m certain I’ll never be able tae trust ye again, so why would fate put us together again? Nay, it was pure coincidence, that’s all.”

He stopped speaking, noticing the dark shadow that had passed fleetingly across her eyes when he spoke. Had he hurt her by saying that? His mind went back to their time at the village, when she had raced to help him after the branch had fallen on him. The way she had behaved suggested she might still care about him.

And then there was all that business the night before with Muriel. Raven had shown all the classic signs of jealousy. Though he had teased her about it, afterwards, he put it down to her being jealous of Muriel usurping her role as Thorsten’s mother. However, he was both ashamed and afraid to admit there was a part of him that wanted her to be jealous because of him, that badly wanted her to want him as she used to. But he suppressed it mercilessly as it rose in his mind.

She had been silent while he was turning all this over in his mind, her smile having faded a little. “I’m sure ye must be right,” she said eventually, a trace of sadness in her voice. “It was nay more than a coincidence, but it turned out tae be a fortuitous one fer me.” Once more, she looked down at Thorsten with doting eyes.

However, Arne could clearly see the small line that had appeared between her arching brows. He sensed a deep sorrow within her but could not begin to tell why it was there. He gave himself a mental shake, telling himself to stop thinking about it.It is what it is, and it’ll dae nay one any good tae dwell on what might have been.

“Tell me again about how ye escaped,” he said, wanting to see if any details of her story changed.

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