Page 106 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
His footsteps echoed through the halls as he walked away, ignoring the murmurings that had broken out behind him, knowing the tone and the intention behind them had changed.
He had one thing and one thing only on his mind now—bringing Keira back home.
His feet quickened across the grass once the evening wind crashed into his face, his eyes glued on the stables. He couldn’t believe he was now the one going to fetch her.
Was this truly his life?
He grabbed a horse and pulled it out of its stall, before leading it out into the open air. He swung himself up into the saddle and reached for the reins as he pushed his feet into the stirrups.
He needed to stop lying to himself. He needed to finally acknowledge his feelings and admit it, no matter how much it hurt to do so.
He had never intended for this to happen. It had never been his intention to fall in love with her. This was supposed to be a simple raid. He was supposed to take the castle and send her packing, along with her servants.
Part of him wondered whether this would have been a completely different story if he hadn’t agreed to the terms laid out by the councilmen—to not change the staff.
But the truth was sometimes a bitter root to swallow. It didn’t stop it from being the truth.
He flicked the reins and kicked his heels into the horse’s flanks, urging it into a run.
The truth was that he had been in love with Keira ever since he saw her. Now, that was the truth. The first time she had turned to look at him in her garden. The first word she had said to him.
“And who are ye again?”
The utter disregard she had shown him that day made something click inside him. Something that had told him she was not just any ordinary woman.
She was something else. Something fierce. Something special. Something he would not find in any other woman.
Something he was bound to lose if he didn’t make it to the inn on time.
He had always been in love with Keira; there was no need to deny it, especially to himself. Everything that had happened since their first meeting had only solidified his love for her further. He thought of the night they had shared the same bed bymistake, her ploy with Thistle, the way she had been so quick to assume that Shona and Tommy were his wife and son. The way she grinned when she thought she won. The way she moaned his name. The way she cried when she realized he was alive.
He loved her. He was in love with her and would do anything for her. Nothing had ever been clearer to him.
He flicked the reins again, urging the horse to go faster as they tore through the woods, racing hard against time.
He stopped right before the inn and tethered the horse to a post nearby. He looked up at the towering building and felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Without wasting more time, he took a deep breath and hurried into the building.
An older man sat behind a table by the door, his gray hair glistening in the candlelight.
“Greetings,” he started, panting hard. “A woman took a room sometime today. I would like to ken what room that is.”
The man looked up at him, like he couldn’t be any less important if he tried.
“I dinnae ken who ye talk about.”
“I ken for a fact that she’s here, old man. The last thing ye want to do is toy with me.”
The man sucked in his teeth. “Away with ye this instant. Find a tavern to get drunk in.”
After a few altercations and rank-pulling, he managed to extract information about Keira’s room from the older man who manned the post at the entrance.
“Ye’d better hurry, M’Laird. She will be leaving soon,” the man had said to him in a rather shrill tone. One that seemed to insinuate he was mocking him.
Evander hurried toward the steps, praying hard to God that his wife was still there. That she had second thoughts about this whole thing and was just waiting for him to show up, plead with her, and sway her mind to the right side.
She belonged in the castle with him. And the only way he belonged in the castle was with her. He couldn’t imagine a life without her, and if he was being frank with himself, he didn’t want to.
He flew up a set of narrow stairs and found himself in a dimly lit hallway. A few doors lined the walls to his left and right, but all of them were closed.
