Page 85 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
Betty was so kind even though she probably had no idea what to make of me!
Or when Elaine had taken her to the Faerie Forest and spoken about the late Lady Catrina. How Elaine had trusted her and cared for her and loved her over and over again.
She never saw me as a nanny. She saw me—she sees me even now—as another mother.
More than all of that, she remembered the moment she’d realized what it all meant, what the point of it was. What the aim of everything was. When Nathair had rushed into her bedroom, pale and wild-eyed, and knelt at her feet, and declared that he loved her. The moment their heat and their passions had finally collided into something magnificent.
Does he still love me, even now? Can he possibly know how desperately I love him?
And if he did, then what? What would she do? They had duties, both of them, and this near-miss of a battle had done nothing but entrench that idea more firmly than ever.
Am I Magnolia Winterbourne, Lady of Elfinstone? Or am I just Magnolia, a nanny in love with a wild Laird?
For the first time, she truly felt like she had a choice. But how could one choose between the impossible?
“Nathair—” she started.
“Magnolia—” he said at the same time.
They both stopped again, Magnolia smiling slightly that they’d done the same thing twice. Before she could go on, the door opened, and four people walked through.
Elaine was the first to tumble inside, and she ran directly to her father. “Dadaidh! Ye’re awake! I thought—I thought—”
“Hush, pet, it’s all gonnae be fine,” Nathair told her. It must have hurt him when she threw herself into his embrace, but he held her tight anyway. “I promise ye, me wee chook, we’re gonnae be okay from here on out.”
While Elaine sobbed in her father’s arms, Magnolia turned to the other three. Betty was smiling at her, and her father was too. William stood behind them. His eyes were on Nathair, but they slowly moved to Magnolia.
Does he hate me? Can he ever forgive me for what I’ve done?
She was surprised by how much she cared. She liked the Commander, with his pleasant manner and welcoming character. That he may never forgive her filled her with a strange, sad emptiness.
Magnolia didn’t speak, waiting for him to make the first move.
Eventually, William nodded his head. “That was brave, what ye did,” he acknowledged. “Thank ye. Ye might have saved all o’ our lives.”
Humbled, Magnolia bowed her own head. “Thank you for saying so,” she replied. Then she looked up into his stormy gray eyes and added, “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t explain what for. She didn’t even know that she could cover everything for which she had to apologize.
“Aye,” William said. “Aye, I ken ye are. Nathair. Ye’re nae deid?”
“Nay, ye’ll have to wait another few years before ye can steal me seat,” Nathair told him, and both men chuckled. Even behind their jokes, Magnolia could hear the relief in the Commander’s voice, and it warmed her heart.
“Magnolia,” Lord Winterbourne said quietly. “We will be leaving soon.”
Elaine jerked up from her father’s embrace to stare at Elaine. “What? Nay! Ye just got back, Maggie! I ken ye and Dadaidh had a silly fight, but ye have to stay! He loves ye, I heard him say so!”
Silence descended in the room, broken by an abrupt giggle from Betty, which she quickly covered by pretending to be coughing.
Magnolia felt her cheeks warm. “Elaine, please, that isn’t—”
“An’Sir Spindrift is here, an’ all. Ye went away an’ left him! Ye cannae dae such a thing if ye’re gonnae be a responsible owner o’ a pup. Dinnae ye love yer dog?” Elaine asked, folding her arms.
The seriousness in the child’s face almost made Magnolia want to laugh too. “Yes, I love my dog,” she said. “And you’re right, I should not have left him. When I leave—” her voice caught, because the idea of leaving tore a hole in her heart, but she kept talking, “I will take him with me this time.”
Elaine’s frown deepened. “And dinnae ye love me?”
Magnolia blinked.
