Page 90 of Wicked Highland Wishes
Twenty-Five
Bridgette stared out at the loch that backed up to Culdrich Castle and breathed in the fresh air. She’d come here seeking peace, yet after two days here and almost a fortnight since she’d left Duart and journeyed here, she feared peace would never be hers again. Horrible dreams of Colin plagued her nights, and memories of what could have been with Lachlan haunted her days. The one thing that would not be was a bairn. She’d gotten her flow last night, and she’d never been so happy for her time.
She’d gone to bed with the hope that she would wake up feeling more like herself, but she had woken still a stranger in her own body. Once filled with passion and love, she was now simply numb, except for when she thought of Lachlan and was overcome with sadness.
She could not live like this. She refused to live like this. Something had to change.
The wind blew her hair across her face, and she wrapped her plaid tighter around her to ward off the chill. Behind her, she heard the men preparing to go on a hunt, and then a throat cleared. She turned to find Dermid standing there.
“Ye are sure ye dunnae wish to go, lass?” he asked politely, as he had done yesterday, as well.
“Nay.” She had no desire to hunt and prove herself equal to the men any longer. Colin had taught her she’d never be as strong. She shivered with fear and saw pity flash in Dermid’s eyes. None of the men knew what had occurred, but she wondered if they suspected.
“I’ll stay behind with ye,” Dermid said.
She took a breath to tell him not to, but then she exhaled it. Before Colin, she would have scoffed at a man thinking she needed to be protected, but now, she realized with a start, she feared being alone, and it so enraged her that she wanted to fight back at the fear.
The men called out to Dermid, and he waved them on, then he turned, she suspected to go train.
“Dermid,” she called to his back, filled with a sudden purpose. She would never be as strong as a man, yet she refused to be so cowardly that she’d not even try to defend herself. “I wish ye to teach me how to wield a sword.”
He gaped at her. “Ye’re nae but a woman.”
She gritted her teeth. Lachlan would have never responded like that to her. The thought brought another of Lachlan: how had he felt when he had returned to Duart and she had been gone?
She was pondering this when Dermid’s eyes widened, and behind her, she heard footsteps. Her heart raced, but she forced herself to turn. Lachlan stood before her. She squeezed her eyes shut, sure that she must be seeing things, but when she opened them he was still there—russet bearded, bare chested, and hands locked upon his sword. He was a formidable sight, and her heart stuttered, skipped several beats, and then galloped ahead.
Soft lines crinkled around his beautiful eyes as he stared at her. He swallowed audibly, as if he was struggling to contain something within him, and she knew at once he worked to contain the desire to touch her. Her body heated, then recoiled in the same instant, and he saw it all on her face.Shesaw that he did by the fading smile, which turned to a fierce frown, followed by his jaw setting in determination.
He looked past her to Dermid. “She is a woman, aye, but she is a strong one. Dunnae ever insult her by thinking she could nae set ye low.”
Bridgette’s heart swelled with love. Whatever else was gone from her, she still loved him passionately.
“I did nae m-mean—” Dermid stammered.
Lachlan held up a silencing hand. “Away with ye. I have the care of Bridgette now.” He said the words with the certainty of a man who would brook no challenge. Dermid, the coward, immediately fled—Lachlan plucking Dermid’s sword from his hands as the man went—and left Bridgette face-to-face with Lachlan, whom she loved with all her heart but could not give herself to as she once had.
“What are ye doing here?” she asked, trying for a cold tone but unable to stop her voice from cracking.
Lachlan pointed each of the swords he held down into the ground and leaned slightly into them. His eyes had a sheen of purpose as he stared at her. “Ye ken why I’m here.”
She backed up a step as if that would help at all. He could overcome her easily and quickly if he wanted to, but she knew he’d never do such a thing. “I’m nae changed, Lachlan.”
The fact that her words were not entirely true struck her. She was not with a bairn. But telling him would be foolish; it would only give him more desire to stay. She feared him staying, yet she heard herself say the words. “I’m nae with a bairn.”
His chest heaved as he took a large breath, and then his lips pressed into a thin line. He stood quiet for a moment, eyes raking over her from head to toe, then back up again. “I kinnae lie and say I’m nae glad, but I swear by God that if ye had been, I would have wanted ye still and treated the bairn as my own.”
She bit the inside of her cheek trying to force back tears that were very near the surface. “I ken that, Lachlan. ’Twas why I left. I could nae ask such a thing of ye. I’m glad to see ye well. I—”
“Colin is dead,” he announced, interrupting her. His eyes filled with hopeful expectation as he looked at her. “I killed him. Ye are free.”
“I dunnae believe I will ever be free of him,” she said in honesty, wishing Lachlan to understand.
“Ye will,” he said with the will of one who would not be denied.
“What of Lena and Graham?” she asked, not wishing to argue with Lachlan about herself.
“Both rescued. Lena is in the care of yer brother and Graham, and they will see her to Dunvegan with Marion. Graham is verra well. He suffered some injuries but nae anything he kinnae recover from easily. And he has released his anger toward us… But even if he had nae, I tell ye honestly, I would have married ye once I got ye back anyway.”
