Page 72 of The Highlander's Virgin Nun
The women went to the room and lay down on the bed, facing one another. They held hands and sobbed their hearts out, and were asleep before Conall could even return with the food.
* * *
“Caelan,” Rosaline sighed in relief as she opened the door and saw his eyes open.
He was alive.
She ran to his side and hugged him instantly. She did so carefully, not placing too much weight on him, and making sure that she was not smothering him. But she felt his heartbeat against her chest and his breath on her cheek, and it quelled her worry.
“He has only been awake for a few minutes, but his color is much improved, and his lungs sound much clearer. I think he is out of the worst of it,” Eliza summarized.
She was packing some of her tinctures away, looking exhausted but happy.
It was now morning. She had watched over Caelan all night long, tending to him with tinctures to bring him back safely to those who loved him, and it had worked.
Rosaline gave Alexandra a moment to embrace her brother and rounded the bed to thank Eliza.
“I cannae thank ye enough. Ye are just as wonderful as me braither said ye were. Ye are the most talented healer in the land, and I am forever in yer debt.”
“We are family, Rosaline,” Eliza said, holding her hands. “Ye cannae owe me anythin’. It was an honor to do this for ye.”
The women hugged, and then Rosaline returned to her husband’s side.
“Right, everyone!” Michaela piped up from the corner. Rosaline had not even realized she was there. “Now that we have our Laird back, I think it’s time for us to get our Lady back. Let’s give these two some time to sort out their issues.”
Everyone did as she ordered, waving to Caelan as they left him alone with Rosaline.
“I am so glad ye are all right,” Rosaline breathed.
“I am nay just all right, Rosaline. I am safe. And so are ye.”
Rosaline nodded, looking deep into his eyes.
“Harrison is dead. Nay one will come after us anymore. I can have ye back and protect ye forever.”
Caelan summoned the bit of strength his body had recovered and took her arm, tugging her onto the bed beside him. She giggled, relishing the feel of his body against hers once more.
“I am never lettin’ ye go again, Rosaline Moore.”
His hand trailed up her arm to curl around her neck, and he leaned in and kissed her passionately.
Rosaline felt his warmth, his softness, and hislove. She had him back, and this time they would not waste any time pretending that theirs was a marriage of convenience.
She was in love with him, and she could feel it in her bones that he might be in love with her.
EPILOGUE
“Yer hand in his, and me hand in yers.”
Alexandra directed them all accordingly, making sure that everyone’s hands were linked, arms looped through one another’s, dresses and kilts chafing at the sides from everyone being so tightly squeezed together.
“Ready?” the leader of the band asked.
“Ready!” Alexandra, Eliza, and Rosaline shouted back with a giggle.
The band started up, and the group moved as one, jumping from foot to foot, toe to heel, right to left and back again.
The ladies danced with Caelan, Conall, and Jayden, all six of them in a tight circle, moving to the rhythm of the drums. As the bagpipes rose and fell, playing a familiar, cheerful melody that each could trace back to their childhood, the group leaped and stepped and jigged, dancing the night away.
