Page 40 of Married for a Highland Debt
“Ninian, are you all right?” she asked anxiously.
He nodded and tried to smile. “Yes and no,” he replied with a long groan. “Yes, because I am still alive, and no, because I do not think my head will ever be the same again!”
He straightened up and stretched, then went to help William as he tied Kevin’s hands with rough twine. He pushed his uncle onto the floor and put one foot on his stomach while he embraced his father-in-law. “We are even now, Da. You saved my life, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. How did you know he was going to do that?”
“Because I know a bluff when I see one,” William answered grimly. “Perhaps gambling is good for something after all! I will not say it was a pleasure,” he admitted, “but it was my duty.” He looked down at himself and shook his head. “I never knew I had it in me!” he said in amazement.
“I did,” Bettina said fondly, kissing him. “I am not a bit surprised, Da.”
“Neither am I,” Kairstine agreed.
“Now what will we do with this piece of filth?” Ninian asked as he looked down at his uncle.
“I think we should let the monks tend his wounds,” Bettina suggested. “It is the right thing to do, even if we hate him.”
“One last thing.” Ninian knelt down and rifled through Kevin’s clothes until he found his uncle’s copy of the agreement. He smiled wickedly at Kevin, then held it up with a ceremonial flourish and tore it into tiny shreds, then did the same with his own. After that, he threw them both into the fire while Kevin watched helplessly.
“Call Brother Luke to come and take him away. Please, Kairstine,” he asked. “And then, can somebody please feed me?” He looked down at Bettina and smiled. “I hope we can all go home now without any more uncles creeping out of the woodwork!” Then a thought struck him. “Do you have any, Bettie?”
“Not a single one,” she replied, giggling.
“Thank God for that!” Ninian flopped down on a chair and pulled Bettina onto his lap.
“What will happen to him?” she asked. “Your uncle? Will they hang him?”
“I wish they could, but he has never killed anyone, so his crimes are not serious enough.” He thought for a moment. “Probably a long prison sentence. I can tell you that he will spend the first few days of it in my dungeon!”
“Are there lots of rats in it?” she asked curiously.
“Probably,” he laughed. “If there are not enough, I can have more brought in. He will need the company.”
“He made sure that I had plenty of them to keep me company,” she laughed. “So I think we should give him the same amount of consideration.”
“You are such an evil woman,” he observed, kissing her.
“But you love me anyway?” she asked mischievously.
“I do,” he whispered. “With all my heart.”
21
When they arrived back at the castle, Ninian sprinted upstairs with Bettina and poured them both a celebratory glass of his best Madeira. They stood drinking it in front of the big bay window of their bedroom so that the sun streamed in upon them, lighting and warming them in equal measure. It was midday, and Bettina thought it fitting since they could hide nothing from each other. Sunlight illuminated everything.
“You first,” she urged, as he kissed the palm of her hand and looked at her with his ice-blue eyes, fringed with thick, corn-blond lashes. Bettina could have died with love at that moment.
“Bettie,” he began, his deep voice husky with emotion. “I cannot tell you in words how much you mean to me. When I thought you were dead, I was consumed by such anger that I wanted to kill the man who did it. I would die protecting you. I swear that I will dedicate my life to you and to our children. I will always be faithful to you and will never stray from your side until my last breath.”
Bettina’s eyes were streaming with tears, and Ninian gently wiped them away as he looked into their silver-gray depths. He brushed away a strand of dark hair from her forehead, wishing he had said more, but there would never be enough words to tell Bettie how he felt.
“Ninian,” she murmured, “I was so afraid of you at first, but we have been through so much together that now I see you for the kind, loving man you hide from everyone else. You are my hero, and I will never love anyone else. I will be the most loyal, faithful wife I can be and the most loving, caring mother to all the children I know we will have together. I love you, my husband. You are the other half of my soul, and you complete me.”
“How beautiful you are,” Ninian whispered, before kissing her sweetly, igniting the fire that always burned between her thighs before they came together. But he was in no hurry.
Ninian sat Bettina down in a soft chair by the fire and poured her a small measure of whiskey. As she took it from him, he could feel her hands were warm, and he thought of their first time. She had been petrified.
“Look at me, Bettie,” he said tenderly. “Do you remember our first time?”
Bettina looked up as she felt his big hands close around hers. She thought that she had never seen a man with eyes more beautiful than her husband’s, ice blue in the bright light, especially now when they were shining with love.
