Page 48 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
Watching the girl and her father reunite filled Ian with a warmth that showed in his smile. He was glad he could bring a family together again, and he reached for Hope’s hand and gently squeezed it when he noticed she was also close to tears because of their happy reunion.
Ian allowed them some time to hug, and when Peter stepped away from his daughter, Ian approached him with Rhea and Hope by his side. “Why have ye brought me back to Galloway?” he asked in a shaky voice. “I begged Laird Galloway to spare my life on the promise that he would never set eyes on me again.”
“Nay one kens ye are here,” Ian replied. The man was not convinced, so he continued. “I found yer daughter, she helped save my wife’s life and I promised to find ye.”
“What do ye want from me?”
Ian sighed and reached into his kilt pocket for the dirk he carried around. The goldsmith gasped when he saw it, and dropped to his knees. “Please, I dinnae want to lose my life.”
“I willnae hurt ye, Peter,” Ian assured him. “My faither had a goldsmith make this dirk for him once, and for years I thought this was the same dirk my faither owned, but it is not. It is the work of the same goldsmith, however, and I believe it is yer work.”
“Aye,” Peter replied, his head still bowed. “I made the Laird’s jewelry from the finest and purest of gold.”
“Who did ye make this similar dirk for?”
Peter hesitated, and Ian asked again. “I need the truth, Peter.”
“I made it for the Laird’s brother at the time… Lyall Cowan.”
Everyone gasped, and Ian’s hands dropped to his sides. His suspicions were right, Lyall had stabbed his father that night and left him to die. A rush of anger filled him and his sister touched his arm. “He made me vow not to ever tell anyone this and I begged him not to kill me.”
“I will nae allow Lyall hurt ye or yer daughter, I promise,” he assured Peter and helped him to his feet. “I needed proof against my uncle, and if ye will agree to speak this truth before many others, then I will make sure ye dinnae have to run from yer homeland anymore.”
Peter nodded, and Gretchen moved to his side again to hug him. Ian felt happy that he was able to find the man and unite him with his daughter again after many years and finding solid proof of Lyall’s crime made him feel less burdened. He would soon get his revenge for his father’s death and take back the Lairdship that was rightfully his.
They returned to the Castle to prepare for the hunting trip, and Ian made plans with his trusted men to keep the goldsmith safe while Orlaith worked on the antidote and poison. He needed every aspect of his plan to go accordingly, so he went to visit Callum the night before the trip.
Ian sat in Callum’s front yard and together they watched his daughter play. “I am sincerely sorry, for what I did, Ian,” Callum said to him as they sat quietly. Ian looked at him, and remembered their years of friendship.
“I understand, you had to protect yer family,” Ian said and looked away. “But ye should have come to me after Lyall threatened ye, why did ye nay do that?”
“Then he would have killed them.”
“And what if he killed Hope?”
Callum did nay reply his last question, and Ian cleared his throat. He was working with Callum now because there was no other person he trusted as much, but their relationship could never be the same after what he did. Ian did not think he could ever forgive the betrayal.
They went over the basics of the plan one last time before Ian returned to the Castle to prepare for his hunting trip. Late that night, he sat in bed with Hope backing him, her head resting on his shoulder as he stroked her arms and they talked about what it felt like to be certain about who killed his father.
“As much as I want to storm into Lyall’s chamber, and do to him the same he thing he did to my faither, I cannae do that because I am different from him,” Ian opened up to Hope. She touched his arm, and the softness of her touch made him sigh. “I am just grateful that I found ye in all of this.”
“I am grateful I found ye too,” she replied and slowly turned to him. Ian framed her face with his hands, and kissed her. It was a slow and deep kiss that melted his heart and made his worries fade away.
In that moment there was only her, and the feelings she stirred deep in him. A tingle spread across his entire being and he slowly lowered her to the bed. Every time he touched her, it felt special and magical to him.
Her moans filled his ears and he swallowed them by kissing her lips. Hope moved beneath him, lifting her hips invitingly so he lost control of his need for her. He took her with a fierceness he felt in every muscle.
His hands stroked her, lifted her off the bed, and brought her back down after he had filled her body and fueled his need to take his pleasure to another level. She opened her eyes just at the same minute he peaked, and their gazes locked.
Ian shook with the force of their attraction when it was over, and he lazily stroked her moist skin as she sighed and snuggled deeper into him. Winter had ended, and spring was here, and spring signified a new beginning. The truth would soon prevail, and they would all be rid of his uncle’s tyranny once for all, but first he had to die to make sure it happened.
35
Ian was leading in the race. Lyall and his men galloped farther down the field, their bows stretched out and aimed at the deer they chased. Ian chased another animal down a second trail, and Hope rode on her horse beside him.
From the smile on her lips, he could tell that she was enjoying the trip. It was the second day of the hunt, and also the day his plans had to take place. Ian was not nervous, but Hope was constantly worried that something would go wrong.
To make her feel at ease, he asked that she held on to a portion of the antidote, while his sister held unto another. That way there were two options in case one went wrong.
