Page 79 of Wild Highland Rose
She shot him a puzzled look. "I dinna know this word."
He frowned and then, after a moment, tried again. "I'm betrothed."
Her heart plummeted into her stomach and she thought, for a moment, she might be sick. Sucking in a breath, she strove for normalcy. "I see."
"Well, I'm glad you do. Because I don't. I don't see anything at all. I've betrayed Lindsey, I've betrayed you, and maybe worst of all I've betrayed myself."
"Lindsey." She said the name, hating the sound of it. "Is that her name?"
"Yes."
"And you love her?" She didn't want to ask the question, but the words came anyway.
"I do, Marjory. I asked her to marry me."
"Is she who you were dreamin' of, then?" She felt tears prick her eyes. Hadn't Grania warned her?
Cameron nodded. "I don't understand it. I can't even remember it properly. Maybe it's a prophecy of some kind. Or maybe it's already happened. Either way, I'm certain that Lindsey is in trouble. Serious trouble. And I've got to help her. Don't you see, Marjory, I've got to go back." His eyes pleaded with her, his heart laid bare.
He didn't want to leave. It was there on his face. But he had to. He had obligations. And she knew better than anyone about obligations. A part of her wanted to scream, to beg, to plead with him to stay, but she knew it wouldn't change things. "Aye. You have to follow your heart."
"My heart is here with you." He said the words, then flinched as if they'd hurt him. "At least a part of it is."
"And part of it is there, with Lindsey. And she's the one who needs you."
He nodded, the pain on his face a reflection of the turmoil in her heart. "I've made such a mess of everything."
"Nay." She crossed over to him, her only thought to erase some of his pain. "You didna remember her, Cameron, which means that you were no' betraying her, at least no' in the way you're thinking. What happened here happened because you didn't know who you were. Now that you do, everything is clearer."
He shook his head. "But that's just it—it isn't clearer."
"What I see," she said, surprised at the calm she felt, "is a man tormented by a situation that is no' of his making. Cameron, you couldn't have known. You just couldn't."
He reached out to trace the line of her cheek, his touch sending shivers racing through her. "You're a magnificent woman, Marjory Macpherson."
She leaned forward and curled a hand around his neck, bringing his mouth to hers. Their breath mingled as their lips brushed together. With a groan, he pulled her to him, and the kiss ignited. She opened her mouth to him, her tongue reaching for his, desperate for the contact.
Her hands ran down the smooth contours of his shoulders, her body tightening with longing. He tangled his hands in her hair and tilted her head. His tongue plunged into her mouth again and again, as if he, too, were desperate for the taste of her. She felt her nipples bead into hard balls of desire and arched against him, a low moan escaping from her throat.
Suddenly, he pushed away, setting her free. "We can't do this." He sat back, his breath coming in gasps. "I told you,everything is different now. I have another life, a fiancée…" He trailed off, his face reflecting his guilt.
"You're a man o' honor. I canna fault that. 'Tis one of the things I love best about you." She tried to smile, but knew the gesture fell short.
"You humble me with your faith, Marjory. I'm just a man and I've made my share of mistakes."
"Perhaps, but you're still no' like the men o' my world." Her thoughts turned to Torcall, and the real Ewen, and she shuddered, wondering if Cameron's return would mean Ewen's as well.
"I honestly believe he's dead." Cameron reached for her, reading her mind, pulling her close, his words whispered against her ear.
"I pray that it's true. But even so, there's still Torcall to be reckoned with." Just speaking his name aloud sent anger coursing through her. It was his fault in part that she was losing Cameron. Had she never been forced to marry Ewen then Cameron could never have come. Twisted logic perhaps, but it was something to hold onto.
"Marjory, you can't keep holding onto this anger. The hatred is eating you alive. You have so much to give. So much to offer. And you're wasting it all on bitter recriminations against a man who has lost as much as you."
"What has he lost?" she spat.
"His son. Whatever his faults are, Marjory, he loved Ewen. And now he'll have to lose him all over again."
"To my way o' thinking, 'tis no' much o' a loss."
