Page 32 of A Plaid Case of Loving Ye
He opened his mouth to respond, but a new voice called out, “Someone nae longer wishes to sleep, and if ye dinnae hold him, will soon weep!”
Aye, sure enough, ‘twas Sister Mary Incontinenta hurrying toward them, carrying wee Relic, who was fussing.
Mother Superior put her arms up, palms out, and backed away. “Nay, dinnae give the lad to me.” She patted her bosoms. “He’s likely to slip inside and get lost again. Puir lad almost suffocated afore we could retrieve him last time.”
Instinctively, Ramsay stepped toward the nun, but Nicola reached her first. She was the one to scoop wee Relic from Sister Mary Incontinenta’s arms, the one to nestle the lad against her shoulder.
When she turned to meet Ramsay’s gaze, her own blazed with conviction.
Now what?the nun had asked. His lips curled. He had his answer.
“There will be time to hunt down Henry MacDonald,” he said firmly. After all, now he’d seen the aftereffects of the bastard’s actions, he was even more motivated to make the man pay. “But right now, I have a duty to wee Relic.”
When the Mother Superior made a speculative noise, he turned to her, his tone firm. Hewoulddo this. “I swore to Lady Helen as she lay dying that I would care for Relic as my own. Now that I remember my family, there’s nae reason no’ to return there with the bairn. He’ll be safe there.”
Sister Mary Titania eyed him for a moment, then nodded. “I think…that is a fine plan. We’ve been blessed to be able to help ye—and the bairn—but I think we can all agree ye’ll be able to give him a better life than he would find here. We’ll say prayers for yer safe journey.”
He inclined his head. “Thank ye, Mother.”
“Well, it really isnae too difficult an offer. On one hand—” she raised one hand, palm up— “the lad spends a lifetime rowing us back and forth across the loch, never learning a real trade. On the other hand—” she lifted her other hand, palm up—“he’ll grow up surrounded by love and privilege, learning to be a good man.”
She made a show of weighing the options, then grinned. “It really is the obvious choice,” she declared, then clapped her hands together.
Since she’d just smushed the imaginary Relic between her palms, Ramsay wasn’t the only one who flinched. Nicola even turned slightly, as if she could shield the wee lad from harm.
Sister Mary Titania nodded briskly, rubbing her hands together. “Now, that’s all worked out. I suppose we’ll have to call Father Blabloblal back for the wedding.”
The wedding.
His gaze went back to Nicola. “Absolutely.”
But her eyes had gone wide. “Wedding?” she squeaked, and he couldn’t tell if she was surprised or worried.
So, he stepped closer. “Aye, marriage, Nicola.” Surely, she didn’t think what had happened last night—the Mother Superior interrupting them with his cock still buried inside her—could be forgotten? “I will be laird one day, so ye dinnae need to worry about me marrying ye only to lead yer clan.” He remembered what she’d told him about her father’s ultimatum. “But ye must ken, sweetheart, after what we shared—”
He saw the panic in her eyes as he spoke and he hurried to finish before she could interrupt. But he wasn’t fast enough. “Ye ken naught about me!” she blurted, actually backed away from him, taking Relic with her as she shook her head.
The bairn began to fuss.
Ramsay exhaled, trying to hold onto his temper. He didn’t want to be having this conversation in front of his audience, and he didn’t want to alarm the babe anymore. But shehadto understand.
“Nicola…” He stepped forward once more, and since she had backed herself against the mantel, there was naught she could do but stand there as he lifted his hand to cup her cheek, the panic still in her gaze. “Nicola, I ken what’s important,” he vowed in a low voice. “Ye are a strong, caring woman, and I would be honored to stand at yer side for the rest of my life.”
He heard a few sighs behind him, but the woman who mattered—the one in front of him, frantically shaking her head—didn’t seem impressed.
“I— Ye— But…” She was sending frantic glances toward the nuns.
And her hesitation finally penetrated his thick skull.
She didn’t want to marry him.
She was trying to find a way to turn him down.
His chest felt cold and he dropped his gaze to the bairn in her arms, who was currently trying to eat his own fist. ‘Twas easier to focus on Relic, so Ramsay dropped his palm from her skin to the lad’s, pretending he’d meant to do that all along.
Pretending he was giving her the time and space she needed.
When, in reality, he was trying to figure out how to speak without his voice betraying his emotions.
