Page 26 of Dark Tidings on the Thames
Bright-eyed, Harold nodded as he shook out his hands. “I can climb up twice and halfway again now before my arms give out.” He sobered. “But don’t tell Kara.”
Niall chuckled. “Lad, you don’t have to hide your triumphs from Kara. Nor from me. She’ll be proud as Punch to hear how you have improved. And I’ll wager she could do as well or better when she was your age.”
Harold nodded. “She would do better now, but she insists on climbing in her skirts, complete with all her extra tools and modifications tucked away. She says if she is ever in a situation where she needs to use those skills, that’s likely what she would be wearing.”
“See? That’s just good strategic planning. It’s a wise woman—or man—who knows her limitations.”
“She doesn’t have many,” the boy said ruefully. “I should have started my training younger, as she did. I still haven’t managed to best her in a fight, and she would have punctured me a thousand times over had we been fencing with sharp foils instead of blunted tips in our lessons.”
“Keep at it. It’s the only way to learn,” Niall said with sympathy.
But Harold dismissed his training woes as he eyed Niall’s evening attire with admiration. “I didn’t want to miss Kara’s finery, but you will give her a run for her money.” The boy’s expression turned wistful as he ran his gaze over Niall’s tailored coat and fine linen, all topping his formal kilt. “I wish I could wear the kilt one day.”
Niall hesitated. This might not be the proper time for a serious discussion, but the boy had given him a clear opening. “Actually, it’s serendipitous that you would mention it, as Kara and I have been hoping to discuss—” He stopped as the boy’s gaze traveled upwardand widened in awe.
Niall spun around. His brows rose and his heart rate ratcheted as his wife descended the stairs. Kara always held his attention. She was intelligent and witty. Her heart was as generous as her mind was quick. Her kindness and creativity were so captivating that he sometimes actually forgot how beautiful she was. And then, suddenly, something would remind him.
Something like the picture she presented now, with her gown of rich blue showing off her creamy-white skin. Her shoulders were bare, framed by a bodice of ruched satin that swept across her collarbones. A bejeweled white satin rose adorned the center of the bodice and two more graced a line of white trim near the bottom of her skirts. Another gleamed in her ebony hair. She wore no other jewelry—but she needed none.
“Cor, Kara,” Harold breathed.
She laughed as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “That might be one of the loveliest compliments I’ve ever received, Harold, if only because of the look on your face.”
“It’s meant as such,” the boy assured her. “You look beautiful. I just wish I had better words.”
“Your words are lovely. They mean as much to me as you do,” Kara said.
Niall stepped forward. Catching his wife’s eye, he gave her a significant look. “Kara, Harold just told me that he wishes he could wear the tartan one day.” He took her hand. “I know this wasn’t how we planned to introduce the subject, but…”
She understood at once and glanced between him and Harold. “Oh, but yes. Perhaps now is the perfect time, then.”
Niall reached over and firmly grasped the boy’s hand. Kara’s eyes began to shine with unshed tears as she took the other. They stood there, all three linked as Harold frowned.
“Kara and I have been wanting to ask you something important,” Niall said.
Harold stood, stiffly unsure and waiting.
“When you first came to Bluefield, the courts were wise enough to grant Kara’s request to make you her ward.”
“And I am so grateful,” Harold said quickly. “For everything.”
“As are we,” Niall assured him. “But now that we are married, and our lives are settling into a steadier pattern, we were hoping that you would agree to allow us to make a formal petition to adopt you.”
“Adopt me?” Harold whispered. “You want to…” His words trailed away.
“We want you to be our legal son, as you are already ours in our hearts,” Kara said, her voice thick with emotion.
Harold blinked rapidly. “I would be Harold Kier?” he whispered.
“Harold Kier,” Niall confirmed. “And once you are legally ours, we’ll request the clan laird to recognize you as a member of Clan Kerr.”
“And I’ll be able to wear the kilt? Like you?” Harold looked between them. “I’ll be yours? Truly yours?”
“You are already truly ours,” Kara said, her tears flowing at last. “But it would be officially legal. If that is what you want?”
The boy threw himself into Niall’s arms. “Yes, yes,” he said into Niall’s chest. “It’s all I want.”
Kara moved in and Niall wrapped his arms around them both, swallowing back his own tears.
