Page 32 of Highland Yule
“’Tis good,” he said softly, tempted to kiss her again no matter how inappropriate the moment.
“Verra good.” Her gaze stayed with his for another moment then she finally unrolled the scroll only for a small green velvet pouch to fall out of it. “What is this?”
Colmac took it, fully aware of what it likely was. “First, the scroll then we will find out what is in this.”
She nodded, her gaze lingering on it a moment longer before she read the letter. He was shocked to discover Bróccín had addressed both him and Rona this time.
Dear Rona and Colmac,
Rona, if ye made it this far then ‘tis my fondest hope ye make it all the way. ‘Tis time we say farewell once and for all, and for ye to live the life ye were always meant to. A life I took from ye. I was selfish and wanted yer loving light all to myself. Ye shone where so few did. Yet, in truth, I stole that light. It never belonged to me but another. So if I can give ye one final gift for Hogmanay from the beyond ‘tis that ye finally give yer heart to my brother as ye tried to do all those years ago...
Her teary eyes met Colmac’s before they returned to the missive, and she kept reading.
Brother, if ye are reading this, then ye are precisely where God intended ye to be from the start. A place I had no right to intrude upon. I was weak and lonely and loved her so. But that does not justify my actions. I took what did not belong to me because I could. I knew ye would deny me nothing. ‘Twas wrong a thousand times over and I can only hope in time ye will forgive me. That when we meet beyond this life, ye will embrace me as a brother once more. Now tell her the story behind the ring and might ye both find the Hogmanay that always belonged to ye...
Until we meet again,
Bróccín
“What ring?” she whispered and looked at him. “What is he talking about?”
“He is talking about something I gave him.”
His gaze fell to the velvet pouch. Should he listen to Bróccín and tell her the truth or protect his brother’s actions? As it were, the contents of the pouch were supposed to have come from Colmac. Yet when his eyes rose to hers again, he knew he had to listen to his brother and tell her everything. All of it.
Not to benefit himself but because she deserved it.
More than that, she deserved it to be presented to her the way Colmac had intended all those years ago.
So he got down on one knee, poured the contents of the pouch into his palm then held the golden ring out to her. With two hands coming from opposite directions holding a crowned heart, it signified how strongly he felt both then and now.
“Though I had started to suspect for some time,” he began, “when we danced together, and I gazed into yer eyes, I knew ye were not just the lass I loved but the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.” He looked at her with everything he felt. “So I raced off that Hogmanay eve to the one place I knew had a smith who could create a masterpiece. Adlin, of course, assured me he would make something that depicted how I felt. Something that said ye and only ye hold my heart.”
He glanced from the ring to her, caught in the moment...the memory. “I could not wait to give it to ye. To ask ye to be mine...” He shook his head. “I wondered at yer reaction the whole way here and back. Would yer eyes grow as bright as they did when we danced? Or would they turn soft and sensual, wondering what came next?”
She gazed at it, and tears welled. “Whatdidcome next, Colmac?”
“Bróccín,” he said softly. “My brother was there waiting when I returned to MacLauchlin Castle. I had never seen him so happy. So full of life.” His chuckle was forced. “’Twas the first time I saw him bound up the stairs without getting winded.” Anguished, his gaze lingered on her. “After that, he seemed much stronger. Not nearly so sickly.” He squeezed her hand. “Ye did that. Ye gave him that added spirit and vitality. Renewed good health, ye ken?”
“Aye,” she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek. “It must have been a sight.” Her gaze fell to the ring. “But what of this, Colmac?”
“This is yers, lass.” He placed it in her palm and curled her fingers around it. “’Tis my heart in yer hand.”
Her eyes rose to his face. “Yet ye gave it to Bróccín that eve, aye? Ye gave him a ring ye had made for me?”
“I did,” he murmured. “I didnae tell him why I had the ring, nor did he ask.” He shook his head, struggling with the difficult memory. “’Twas bloody hard handing it over but I thought...” He cleared his throat. “I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. That his needs were greater than mine...that I would survive losing ye more readily than he would.”
Her gaze lingered on him, her expression troubled. “Why did he not give it to me upon our betrothal?”
“I believe he wished to present ye with it the day ye actually married. Now I wonder if even then he felt guilty and couldnae bring himself to give it to ye.” Though hard to say, he finally told her the truth. “When I returned that eve, eager to tell him that I meant to make ye mine, he spoke first. He told me how he had fallen in love with ye. That ye lifted his heart in a way no other had.” He could still see the joy in his brother’s gaze. The excitement he knew all too well because he had felt the same. “Ye made him whole, lass.”
She stared at the ring, and several more tears rolled down her cheeks. “’Tis verra beautiful.” Her gaze returned to him. “Ye do ken that Adlin giving ye this was his blessing to wed me. For only the greatest of loves wear rings like this in my clan.”
“Aye,” he said softly. “Though theirs have gems at their hearts.”
“They do,” she agreed. “But I prefer this...having the heart whole and untouched.” A sad curiosity lit her eyes. “But is yer heart so whole that ye could give me away that easily?”
“’Twas nae easy,” he said between clenched teeth. “’Twas unbearable pain that didnae lessen with time.” He shook his head. “My heart has always been yers, Rona. Even in its broken state all these years.”
