Page 62 of His to Keep
“Why? Because you didn’t hang around to watch two men being tortured?”
“No. For forgiving them.”
Gio gets up from his chair, sits on the edge of the bed, and takes my hands.
“Eilidh, I think you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met. I’d never have the inner strength, that core goodness, to forgive them the way you did.”
“It wasn’t out of the goodness of my heart. I did it so I could move on.” I draw in a deep breath. “Does Sandy hate me for it?”
Gio shakes his head. “No, kitten. He admires you for doing what he couldn’t.”
“I don’t want him to hate me. Not now we’ve found each other again.”
“Your brother could never hate you.” Gio gets up and pulls the covers off me. “Come on down for breakfast and you’ll see that for yourself.”
“Okay. Let me throw on some clean clothes and we can head down.”
Gio steps out of my way, and I go to the closet. Molly, a sweet woman in her fifties, who worked for my parents, came in and unpacked my luggage for me yesterday. She cried as she hugged me and told me how pleased she was to have both me and Alexander in the house once more. It seems she’s the person the Dalglieshes employed to keep the place in order while we wereaway. Seeing her brought back memories of how things used to be and for once I didn’t feel sad about it. Being here is soothing to me in a way I didn’t expect.
I throw on a cream cashmere sweater and a pair of slim-fitting beige pants. I pull my hair back into a ponytail and use a clip from my dressing table to hold it in place.
“Right.” I slip on a pair of black ballet flats. “I’m ready.”
When we get to the smaller of two dining rooms, which we always used for breakfast, we find Alexander sitting at the head of the table. For a second I’m taken aback to see him in Dad’s chair, but I shrug it off quickly. He’s the head of the household now.
“Good morning,” I say as I enter the room and take the seat to his right. I notice there are only three places set. “Isn’t Cara joining us?”
“Not this morning. She’s indisposed.”
I narrow my eyes. “Is that code for nursing some wound you inflicted?”
Alexander scowls. “I don’t mistreat women.” His tone softens. “Dad taught me better.”
“Yeah, I know. I just worry.”
“She’s adjusting to her new life, that’s all. She’ll be better in a couple of days.”
“Okay.” There is no way I’m waiting a couple of days to see my new sister-in-law. Perhaps I’ll check on her later if I can sneak away.
As I get myself a coffee and do the wifely thing by pouring one for Gio too, Molly comes into the room with three plates of breakfast, expertly balancing one on her arm. She places them down in front of us and my mouth waters.
“A full Scottish.” I grin broadly. “I’ve dreamed of this.”
Alexander smiles. “Gio said you might not have had a proper fry up in a while.”
“Not like this I haven’t. This is perfect. Bacon, fried egg, Lorne sausage, tattie scone, black pudding, skirlie, baked beans, and mushrooms.” I frown. “No tomato?”
“There’s beans,” Alexander says. “That’s enough vegetables for anyone.”
“I think beans are a legume, not a vegetable,” I tell him.
“And a tomato’s a fruit,” Gio adds helpfully.
“Yes, it is,” Alexander responds, “but it’s a tomahto, not a tomayto.”
“Don’t sit there discussing it.” Molly breezes back into the room with several slices of toast on a rack. “Eat it before it gets cold.”
“Was she always this bossy?” I ask as she leaves the room.
