She seemed plenty upset as she turned pleading eyes his way.
Whatever burden she shouldered, he couldn’t let her bear it alone a moment longer. Whether she wanted his comfort or not, he pressed it upon her, touching her shoulders with both hands and drawing her into his embrace.
She came willingly and rested her cheek on his chest.
A feeling of completion and satisfaction puffed up his chest.
Slowly, tentatively, her arms encircled his waist. Aye. Whatever was between them was special. By coming to him, she showed him she felt it too.
“I doona pretend to understand all of what ye said, lass, but mayhap when the mice ate those plants, the loss was so poignant because you were left with naught in return. But being taken from your home, you have been given much in return.”
She lifted her chin to meet his gaze. Questions swam in her gaze.
“Your life,” he said. “You nearly lost it, but ’twas given back to you. A second chance at life is a grand gift indeed. And you’ve been given the opportunity to aid Aifric. She and her bairn fare well. I’ve no doubt you had a hand in that.”
She graced him with a wee, thoughtful smile. “Yes,” she said. “That could be.”
You have me, as well, he wanted to say, but what came out instead was, “Dinnae fash. I vow to you, if I am free to do so, I will return you to your home once my name is cleared and I am free to do so.” He planned to be wed to her by then and take her to her home so he could meet her kin and she could bid them a proper farewell. Surely her home couldn’t be terribly far. Mayhap Holland or from across the Northern Sea.
He suspected now was not the time to trouble her with the details. He sought merely to comfort her and assure her that her concerns were important to him.
A pleat appeared between her eyebrows. Not the reaction he’d hoped for.
“Once your name is cleared,” she said, her voice flat. “You mean, you’re in trouble for rescuing me and Aifric? I thought this trip to Inverness was to bring justice down on Ruthven, but there’s more to it, isn’t there. You’re in trouble. You and Terran. Because of me.”
“ Whist. I’ll no have you fashin’ about me and Terran. You’re safe, aye? That is what we must hold fast to.” He intended to keep her safe for all time. “Now that that’s settled, we have much to do. It is my hope we may ride out at midday. You feel well enough?” He wouldn’t insist on leaving so soon if she needed more time to heal.
“Today is fine.” She nodded, almost distractedly and pulled free from his embrace.
He let her go reluctantly. “Go inside and warm yourself by the fire in the kitchens. Then find Aifric. She’ll want a lady to attend her this morn.”
A genuine if weary smile brightened her countenance. “I hear there’s going to be a wedding.”
“Aye.” And another soon after, if he had his way.
Chapter 9
Connie’s thoughts were a jumble as she made her way through the monastery. They had been a jumble for hours. Ever since Wilhelm had bathed her, if she was honest. Unable to sleep a wink all night, she had risen with the bells calling the monks to their early-morning prayers and snuck outside. After being cooped up in her and Aifric’s windowless rooms for two days, the fresh, cold air had helped her think.
By the light of the coming dawn, she’d walked the rows of the garden, one after the other. With every step over the hard-packed soil, the reality of her situation sank in. She might never get home. She might never see Leslie again.
What was Leslie doing right now? Did it even make sense that there might be another “right now”? How could Connie be present in 1487 when the year of her birth wouldn’t happen for roughly five hundred years?
The concept would boggle the mind quite enough if she had been a typical single birth, but she and Leslie had come into the world just minutes apart. Being a
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