Page 71 of Highland Jewel
He didn’t know what she meant and yet he did. Niall worried momentarily that she might have changed her mind about marrying him. He wasn’t the free man that she’d fallen in love with, but he hoped that she still found him worthy of her. Even in his own eyes, he needed a chance to prove himself once again. And he hoped he could.
He nodded, and Morrigan moved on.
The Great Hall and everything in it disappeared as his gaze fell on Maisie coming down the corridor. He drank in her beauty, her confident steps, the quiet strength that he knew defined her. He hadn’t the slightest pang of disappointment over what she’d done in the laird’s study the afternoon they’d arrived. He understood loyalty. He respected family. And in the end, her actions had made his mission easier.
She came nearer. Her blue eyes were steady as they looked into his. Niall’s heart pressed against his ribs as he thought of her coming into the dungeon cell, professing her love for him.
He offered his hand, and she placed her palm on it as she reached him.
“Will you still have me tomorrow?” His own question surprised him. He hadn’t intended to ask. It was the one thing he felt most vulnerable about at this moment.
“Do you still want me?”
“Forever. Longer.” He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm before she shyly stole her hand back.
Maisie stood still and took a breath. “Before we go in, I want you to know I’m not done fighting the battles Fiona and I started. I don’t go to Inverness, and I’ve not put myself in any physical danger, but since I saw you last, I’ve been writing articles and sending them off for publication.” She said all of it in one breath. “I want no secrets between us. You know who I was in Edinburgh, but you need to know I’m still the same person here. I have the same beliefs. The same principles. In fact, I’m even more determined than ever. So I ask you again. Do you still want me?”
Niall knew she remembered his words about wanting a peaceful life. She didn’t forget anything. But somuch had changed since then. A massive, insurmountable wall now separated reality from fantasy.
“I do want you. And I love you.”
A soft blush bloomed on her cheeks, and he saw her body visibly relax. She entwined her fingers with his. “Will you tell me what happened yesterday? In the dungeons? With Cinaed. There is—”
“You two coming in?” Searc’s bark interrupted them. “Cinaed has business with you, Campbell.”
The little general jerked a thumb toward the dais, and Niall was relieved that Maisie’s questions would need to wait.
But he wasn’t about to desert her. Seeing where Morrigan was sitting, he steered Maisie in that direction.
Before they’d gone a half-dozen paces, they were immediately approached by the two men Niall had traveled with from the Borders. He realized that they hadn’t formally met, though they’d all seen each other when she burst into the laird’s study.
He made the introductions.
“You defy words, Campbell,” Lewis Rainey asserted. “Begging your pardon, ma’am.”
“Indeed,” the other added. “Accused by this lady and thrown into a dungeon, and yet you’re to be married tomorrow.”
Rainey had a slight sneer in his voice. “And you’re to be the brother-in-law to the son of Scotland. Quite the coup.”
“I’ll be bound no military exploit raised you so fast in the world,” Woelk added with a smirk.
Neither man seemed to care that Maisie was listening to their barbs.
“You have to admit,” Rainey remarked. “The change in fortunes was a wee bit abrupt.”
“Indeed, we’d love to hear just how you managed it, Campbell.”
Niall felt Maisie’s body become more and more tense with each comment these two made. He knew she had to be curious about the change of his fortune as well, though, and how it had come about. He was startled when she took a half-step forward and addressed the intruders directly.
“For weeks, gentlemen, Dalmigavie has been on edge with the possibility of a threat on Cinaed’s life. When Lieutenant Campbell arrived… a military man… and I knew all about his years of service, I panicked. In my anxiety, I misspoke. But as soon as I had time to think and speak to my sister, sanity returned.”
“You two were acquainted with each other before?” Woelk asked, his tone registering his surprise.
“Of course. Lieutenant Campbell and I were more than acquainted.” Her look of disdain conveyed the view that anyone of any importance already knew this. “We werebetrothedin Edinburgh, Mr. Woelk. Our engagement was announced inallthe newspapers this past spring. It was simply a misfortune that he had to leave the city so suddenly. It’s miraculous that we found each other here in the Highlands. Wouldn’t you agree, my love?”
Her blue eyes turned up to his, looking for affirmation. Niall nodded and pressed her arm against his side. He was more thankful to her than she could ever imagine.
“I’m just so grateful that he’s forgiven me for my hasty words.”
