Page 35 of A Scottish Lord for Christmas
Pain surged back into his awareness and he nearly doubled over.
Quinn lifted his head slowly and stared across the vast mountains below them. For an instant he thought he saw…No, it can’t be. Maura was dead. Yet he’d sworn he saw her figure running down the distant path, her red-gold hair wild and loose in the wind.
“Follow me home.”The words were an echo of a distant memory, like the invisible vapors of a fading dream as he woke up, like a thing half remembered yet so familiar.
Quinn’s eyes burned and he blinked rapidly.
The sound of Rowena singing, the husky voice of an angel, filled his heart as though Maura’s memory had sought him out, showing him the way…the way home.
It flooded the crimson twilight like the close of an Angel’s Psalm,
And it lay on my fever’d spirit with a touch of infinite calm.
It quieted pain and sorrow like love overcoming strife…
I have been a fool. A bloody fool.
It was an injustice to Maura’s memory to think she would be erased by his love for another woman. She would not have wanted him suffering a broken heart. She would havewantedhim to be happy, to find a woman who loved him and who loved Blair. And that woman was at his home, brokenhearted for loving him, a man with a stone heart. But his heart wasn’t stone anymore. It felt too soft, wounded and bleeding all over again. Yet he embraced the pain for the first time in a year because the pain meant he was alive. The real ghost in his life was never Maura; it washim.
I want to live again. I’m tired of the past, tired of the pain.
Rowena was his salvation. He’d thought he wasn’t able to love, was too afraid to love, but the truth was…he’d been falling in love with her since the moment she’d rescued Blair at the fountain. He’d simply been too blind to see the truth staring him right in the face.
I must find my way home to Rowena.
Chapter 12
Rowena stared at the cold bowl of soup and sighed.
“Kenna, he’s still not back…” She glanced at Quinn’s sister, who sat across from her at the lonely length of the dining room table.
“I’m sure he’s all right. Douglas is with him. They’ve been deer stalking together since Quinn was seventeen.” Despite her reassuring words, Kenna’s face was tight with worry.
“Twelve hours…” Rowena had counted the seconds since luncheon had come and gone. Now dinner was well past, but the servants hadn’t removed her food, not when she continued to stare at it numbly. She’d spent much of the day with Blair, relieved to see Dr. McIntosh was right and that she was indeed feeling better.
“Why don’t you go up to bed,” Kenna suggested. “He’ll come home after you’ve fallen asleep.” Kenna stood up and waved an anxious footman to clear away the dishes.
“It’s too late. We should go look for them.” Rowena glanced at the tall clock in the corner of the dining room. Something twisted in her stomach and dread gripped her heart in its icy claws.
“We could send a few men.” Quinn’s sister finally agreed.
Rowena was on her feet and waving to a footman. “Please have Mr. Morris meet Kenna and me by the door. I’ll need a heavy coat and mittens. Oh, and a scarf.”
“Rowena, you can’t go out. You’re not used to the winters this far north.” Kenna gently took her by the arm but Rowena pulled away.
“I have to go.” How could she explain it to the other woman? Something in her bones was telling her she had to find Quinn and bring him home. She had to swallow down the fear and anxiety that something terrible might have happened.He’s going to be fine. I will find him and bring him home.
Kenna followed her out to the main hall where Morris, five footmen, and two grooms were all pulling on coats and gloves.
“My lady, you’d best stay here,” Mr. Morris said, his voice gruff, the scowl on his face disapproving.
Staring at him, fury and fear collided inside of her. This man had no right to orderherabout. She was the Countess of Forres. It was up to her to make decisions.
“Mr. Morris, you will remember to whom you are speaking. My husband is out there somewhere and he needs me. Iamgoing.”
A commotion at the top of the stairs prevented them from arguing further. The nurse was carrying a crying Blair in her arms. The little girl’s eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were splotched with color.
“Blair, what’s the matter?” Rowena and Kenna met the nurse at the bottom of the stairs.
