Page 84 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
She stared down into his green eyes, seeing the fear and alertness smooth away at the sound of her voice. He looked up at her. “Magnolia,” he said quietly.
Magnolia felt the static in the air the instant he said her name, and everything they’d felt, every touch, every kiss, every sigh, came rushing back to her.
How could I have ever left your side? How could I have ever lied to you?
They stared at each other for so long that Magnolia almost forgot that there was anything in the world.
Behind her, Betty coughed a little awkwardly and then stood. “I’ll go let yer Faither an’ the Commander an’ Elaine ken he’s awake,” she said. She gave a little curtsy then hurried out of the room.
“Elaine,” Nathair repeated, his eyes widening. “Is she—”
“She’s fine,” Magnolia told him gently, smoothing his hair back from his head. “After you parried the attack, the soldiers grabbed the Viscount. There was a scuffle, and by the time we got to you, you weren’t moving.”
She felt herself pale at the memory. It had only been a second, a single second, but she really thought she’d lost him forever. For him to have died saving her life…
I don’t know that I could have ever lived up to such a sacrifice.
Magnolia took a breath and continued. “After that, some soldiers from both sides helped get you inside. William went to see his family and let Abbie and the children know he was all right, then came back to the castle with Elaine. The English army is in the village—”
“What?” Nathair demanded sharply, then winced at the pain in his head and in his shoulder.
“No!” Magnolia said hurriedly. “No, not…they’re there as guests, getting to know the locals, having a drink, that sort of thing. William and I spoke with them, and they’ve become quite friendly. One of the soldiers is a carpenter, and he offered to help fix the holes in Ewan’s roof before the winter comes.”
It was quite marvelous, actually. Wondrous to witness, the kind of miracle that her time in the Order had made her confident she would never see. The English soldiers and the Scottish villagers laughing together, working together. The clansmen inviting the Englishmen to stay overnight in their homes.
“I insisted Father stay here at least a night after the exhausting ride I put him through,” Magnolia went on to explain. Then she blushed, realizing what her words seemed to imply. “What I mean to say is, I had intended to request rooms at the tavern for us both, but Betty insisted…”
Her voice faded as she saw the pained look on Nathair’s face stretch into something approximating a smile. “I’ve never been stabbed for a lass before. It isnae as fun as ye might imagine.”
Despite the worry that still lingered in her heart, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh, one that brought with it tears. “Is that right? And there I was planning on doing it on the morrow.”
Nathair coughed a laugh. It sounded pained but genuine. “Aye? I dinnae recommend it.”
Silence fell for a moment, and then they both tried to speak at once.
“Nathair—”
“Magnolia—”
They both stopped, met eyes, and laughed a little.
“I’m so sorry, Nathair,” Magnolia told him. “I am. I never wanted you to be hurt. I never—if I’d have known who you were, what you were, I would never have lied to you, I swear it.”
“I ken,” Nathair told her, in a softer voice than before. “I ken. And I didnae just save ye. Ye saved me too. Me an’ me people, we would o’ died out there if nae for yer showin’ up out of nowhere.”
“Of course I came,” she said, surprised that he would ever doubt it. “How could I let you get hurt? Elaine? I would not have a man use my words to hurt a village of innocent people.”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
The silence that followed was loud. Magnolia’s mind wasn’t on one thing in particular, but flickering through the month that had felt like a lifetime in this castle.
She remembered arriving, and the shock of seeing this alien world so close to, yet so far from home.
She remembered meeting Elaine for the first time, and the surprise she’d felt at how bright and pleasant the little girl was. How she’d first laid eyes on Nathair and been filled with a confusing mix of attraction and fear.
She remembered the day at the loch when she’d feared Elaine would drown, and the night in the library, where she feared she’d be caught. The smoldering touch of his first kiss, the agony of guilt and indecision.
There was the time they’d spent traveling to and from the Taylor lands. Her new friendship with Eilidh, the tale about Leonard, the way they’d managed to secure food for their people. And her friendships with the women here, too; how Betty and Greta had both made her feel welcome from the moment she’d met them.
