Page 58 of Highlander Redeemed
Rowan’s teasing complaints and Jeanette’s hint of a smile lifted Scotia’s fears, at least a little. They would never tease if they thought Duncan was dying.
Jeanette then turned her attention back to threading the needle and using a little more moss to blot away the blood that had slowed but not stopped.
“Malcolm,” Uilliam said, “when I got to Duncan, Jock here and the rest of your kin were fighting back the English who were still trying to get to Duncan. Our lads joined in, so Jock and I could get him away.” Scotia looked up from Duncan’s face and saw that Uilliam’s eyes were focused on Jeanette as she took the first stitch. “You set up a barrier around him, did you not, lassie? The English were gathered around him when we arrived, but could not get near enough to touch him. I had no trouble.”
“Well, I guess that proves your belief that those of ill intent will not be able to pass through a Guardian barrier,” Scotia said.
“Aye, but”—Jeanette shook her head and glanced up at Uilliam—“’twas not me who set up that barrier, well, not me exactly.”
“Rowan?” Uilliam asked.
“’Twas all three of us,” Scotia answered him.
“Then you are . . .”
“I am a Guardian, aye.”
“I knew you would be.” Duncan’s hoarse voice surprised them all.
Scotia looked down at him. “You are alive.” She felt her lip tremble. “Thank God, you are alive.” The joy that filled her was unlike anything she had ever felt before, as if the bright light of the sun burst within her, sending light into every dark crevice, every dark thought, every dark emotion, filling her with the love she had for this man. She would have hugged him, but she was not sure he would allow that. She satisfied her need by brushing his hair away from his face again, then ran the back of her fingers down his cheek before he could stop her. “How do you feel?”
“Thirsty.” It was not what she was hoping to hear, but she took it as a good sign.
Rowan handed her a waterskin, and she helped Duncan drink a little, though ’twas hard to do while prone.
It wasn’t until she set aside the skin that she remembered the others standing around them. Jeanette tied off her last stitch, snipped the end of the thread, and started to bind some moss over the wound.
“Are you finished?” Scotia asked, knowing that as soon as he could, Duncan would likely move away from her, as he’d done so dramatically last night, and this morning as they traveled to the meadow.
“I am,” Jeanette said.
“I think I will lie here a little longer,” Duncan said. “Can I speak to Scotia alone?”
No one replied, they just moved away from the couple. Scotia held her breath, not sure what was coming next, but all he did wasto lean his head a little into her stroking fingers. Relief flowed through her at the small gesture that he did not mean to push her away, and she could not stop the water that gathered in her eyes.
She leaned down so he could see her face and judge the truth of what she said. “I thought I had lost you,” she whispered. “I thought I had lost you before I could ever atone for the way I threw your care, your friendship, and your love away. I did not ken if you were dead or alive, so I did what I could to keep you safe, then I carried on, as you taught me.”
He reached up and wiped her tear from his cheek, then smiled. “And I thought I had lost you when that arrow hit me. It makes me hopeful that you are so glad I am alive.”
“More than you know,” she said, and shyly leaned down further to press a chaste kiss to his lips, only to be surprised when his hand came up and cupped her neck, holding her in place as he kissed her back.
When he released her, he smiled. “I was wrong about you.”
“You haveneverbeen wrong about me, Duncan.”
“This time I was. I was angry with you, more angry than I have ever been. As much as you felt I had betrayed your trust, I felt you had betrayed mine.”
“I did.” She was not proud of that, but it was the truth, and she was determined to speak only the truth with Duncan.
“Aye, but Uilliam made me see that you quickly saw your mistake and took full responsibility for it, doing your best to protect the clan from the worst of it and telling the truth about many other things, too. When I left you last night I did not believe you worthy of becoming a Guardian, but today, with Uilliam’s help, I understand why you are worthy, that you really have changed.”
“Uilliam only had part of it right.” Truth. She owed him the complete truth. “But you were right about me. As much as I took responsibility for the harm I had caused, I did not understand how I came to cause it until you abandoned me in the bower, bound and helpless. It was not until then that I had to face that Ihad brought everything upon myself. It was not enough to admit to my mistakes, I had to see how they came to be, and I knew, if I continued that way, I would never be worthy of becoming a Guardian, and I would never have a chance to win you back. If I had not seen that when I was with you I was a better person than I thought myself capable of being—a stronger person, who did not need to manipulate, or ignore what other people needed, in order to be happy—I never would have understood what I needed to do to be worthy. With you, I liked myself better. With you, I found a purpose and a focus that had always been missing from my life. With you, I found ...” She blinked and determined to get it all said. “With you, I found my heart. You are my heart.”
Scotia held her breath.
“And you are mine,” Duncan said. “You have always been mine,” He whispered as he pulled her down for another kiss.
Scotia thought she’d burst from the joy that filled her, but the moment was quickly interrupted by a sharp “ahem,” from someone, drawing their attention to the arrival of Kenneth and several others.
