Page 89 of Highland Jewel
Caroline was here for her son.
Her son.The years had been hard. She’d aged. She wasn’t the woman she’d been when Cinaed was a child. Twenty-six years had passed. And now that the time had arrived, she was afraid.
She turned at the sound of the knock on the door. The queen of England and Scotland and Ireland pressed a trembling hand against her stomach and called out for him to enter.
Cinaed James Stuart walked in, and Caroline was taken back in time. All she could see of the tall, strapping Highlander was the pair of large blue eyes that looked steadily into her face. Her son’s eyes.
He bowed. “Your Majesty.”
So formal, Caroline thought.
“My wife and I were not told of your arrival. We would have acknowledged your—”
“I didn’t wish to be acknowledged, nor did I want to disrupt your ceremony. I’m not here for them.”
He remained standing by the door, and she wondered if he was still deciding whether he wished to go or to stay.
“Even so, ma’am, I’d like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of myself, Lieutenant Campbell, and our families.”
“Yes. Mrs. Johnston. Fiona. She was caught up in an unfortunate situation.” Caroline guessed this was going to be the way their conversation would go. No affectionate reunion of a mother and her son. She was a stranger to him, and certain matters of business needed to be addressed. “Lieutenant Campbell is a good man. I gave him my word that I would free his sister and he stayed true to his promise.”
“But you did even more than that. You reunited her with her daughters.”
“What mother wouldn’t.” Her voice suddenly became thick as raw emotions clutched at her. “As soon as I saw her, I recognized the pain. I knew she could not begin to heal until she held her children in her arms.”
Caroline’s heart skipped when he took another step into the room. Not too far, but enough to give her hope.
“I understand that you and Lieutenant Campbell are family now.”
“We are. He is my brother-in-law.”
“An excellent connection. You’re a master of the sea, but Campbell’s military experience and leadership on land will prove invaluable to you.”
His eyes narrowed. “You believe a war is coming?”
“A rising has already begun.”
“I understand the need to fight when people are persecuted and oppressed. But what is your motivation, Your Majesty? What is it that you want?”
What do I want? To see you as king. To watch you claim the throne that belonged to your great-grandfather and now should be yours. To see Prinny stripped of the crown that he’s never deserved.
There were a hundred things she could list. But Caroline mentioned none of them because, even though she’d been forced to watch from a distance, she knew her son. She knew his loyalty was to the people. She knew he had a true and worthy heart beating in his chest. And she knew he had no false ambition to be king.
She clasped her hands, speaking in her own defense.
“I am queen of the people. I want a free Scotland. A free Highlands. A free Ireland. And a free England, where people will not be cut down in the streets by government soldiers. Where no one suffers under a king and a Parliament willing to strip them of their God-given rights.”
She watched his expression, wanting him to know that this was no act. Everything she said came straight and true from her heart.
“I want what is best for the people. And I believe that you and Campbell are men who can change this nation’s destiny.”
Cinaed moved farther into the room, and for the first time, Caroline felt that she could take a breath. The walls crumbled. The years melted. The memory of the day he’d been sent away came back.
Caroline sat on the edge of the nearest chair.
“Tell me one thing.” Her words were a whisper, her heart heavy with doubt. “Do you remember me?”
Cinaed gazed at her for a long moment.
