Page 86 of A Highland Duke to Claim Her Heart

“I think I am not so dutiful or rule-abiding anymore,” Cassandra mused. “Loyal, yes. To my family. But I have found my own strength here.”

“Yes,” Lady Pembury agreed, and a smile flickered across her lips. “I am very proud of you.”

Cassandra actually had to put down her cup of tea. She stared at her mother. “You are proud of me?” she repeated. Never in her life had she heard those words.

Lady Pembury sighed and looked away. “I have always been proud of you,” she murmured. “Even if I have not always said it, I have always felt it. You have always been strong, stronger than I was. And now I see that in the right environment, with a man who cherishes you and lets you be free, that your strength has calcified. Yes, I am very proud of you. You found a way to be brave, and although it certainly did not come from me, and I am glad that you found it.”

“It did come from you,” Cassandra said, sitting forward and reaching across the table to take her mother’s hand. “I have seen bravery from you all my life. You have always dealt with the judgments and difficulties of thetonwithout ever letting them break you. And you showed me how to be resilient. If it were not for you, I think that I would not have been able to rise to the occasion and be strong when I needed to be for Ewan.”

Was it possible that her mother’s eyes were shining? That the indomitable Lady Pembury might actually cry?

Her mother cleared her throat and dabbed at her eye with her handkerchief.

“That is very kind of you to say,” she muttered. “But I am afraid that I only made your life harder. It was I, after all, who insisted that you marry Lord Christopher. Had he not faked his death to get out of his gambling debts, you would have ended up married to a man who was capable of killing his own brother! I fear that I have only ever led you astray in this life… and I am sorry.”

“You could not have known that Christopher was capable of such things,” Cassandra said, shaking her head. “Although I do appreciate the apology. I did feel pressure to marry Christopher without getting to know him properly. But, I would also point out that you were one of the main proponents of my marrying the duke. And that has turned out to be far better than I ever could have hoped for.”

Lady Pembury still looked uncertain, however.

“I am glad it has turned out so well,” she said. “But that is as much luck as anything. And I want you to know, my dear daughter, that I have learned from this situation. Never again would I insist on such a thing. I have learned my lesson about marrying simply for titles or political allyship. And I have learned to trust you, as well. I should have trusted your judgment a long time ago. But now that I see how astute it is, I will never question it again.”

“Thank you,” Cassandra said, and she meant it. She and her mother had been at odds all her life, and it was nice to think thatthey might be entering a new phase in their relationship—one where they were able to trust and respect one another.

After tea, Cassandra wandered out into the gardens to stretch her legs. She was just rounding a bend in the path when she heard low voices ahead of her, and she stopped.

Peering around a hedge, she saw that Lillian and Alaric were walking together, hand-in-hand, their heads tilted close together. They were both smiling, and they appeared to be completely lost in their own words—so much so that they did not even see her.

Quickly, she moved back behind the hedges, ducking out of sight. She did not want to interrupt them, especially after everything that they had all been through for the last few days. The two of them deserved to spend time together nurturing the love that had sprouted between them and which had finally been revealed.

As she walked away, however, Cassandra found her thoughts being tugged back upstairs, toward her husband. Seeing Lillian and Alaric had awoken something in her, and now that he was on the mend, there was so much she wished to speak to him about—things that had been difficult to say when his life was in danger and their priority was catching the culprit.

But she was ready to say what had been in her heart for some time now, and when she knocked on his door several minuteslater, she was glad to find him awake. As she came into the room, he sat up, his eyes clear and focused on her, a soft smile tilting up his lips.

“I sent Annabelle to her lessons,” Ewan said. “I thought it was about time that some normality came back into this house.”

“That is a good idea,” Cassandra said. She sat back down in the rocking chair, then leaned forward and placed a hand on the bed. “I wanted to speak with you, Ewan, now that Christopher is behind bars and you are out of danger.”

“There are things I would like to say to you as well,” Ewan said. He took her hand off of the bed and held it in his. His eyes, which were trained on her, were soft and warm. “Do you remember what I was saying the other day, about how I was a fool to waste the time that we had together living in fear?”

Cassandra’s heart hitched, and she pressed his hand. “Yes,” she whispered. “I remember. I thought you would not. You were feverish when you said that, delirious…”

“I may have been feverish, but I meant every word,” Ewan murmured, the sides of his lips tilting up even more. “I have never meant anything more in my life.” He took a deep breath, and Cassandra felt as if she were standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump down into the water below.

“There are no words that can articulate what I feel for you,” Ewan said, “but I am going to try. I love you, Cassandra. I have loved you from almost the first moment I saw you, when you were about to jump into the loch. From the very first moments of knowing you, you have impressed me with your courage, your integrity, your intelligence, and your gentleness. Not only have you been patient with me when you had no reason to be, but you have been the best possible mother to Annabelle, a role that you rose to despite it being thrust on you without any preparation.”

Cassandra’s heart was in her throat, and she was smiling, smiling so widely that her cheeks were starting to hurt. But she couldn’t stop.

Ewan leaned forward, bringing his head close to hers. “I know that I have been stubborn,” he said. “I know that I have been distant. That I have closed myself behind walls that have hurt you. But I am ready to knock down those walls and be the husband you need me to be, if you will still have me.”

“Of course I will still have you,” Cassandra whispered, and she rested her head against his. They gazed into one another’s eyes, and Cassandra felt tears well in her own.

“I love you as well, Ewan,” she murmured. “I did not come to Scotland to marry you, but I am grateful every single day that fate brought me to you. You are the best man and the best husband that I could ever ask for. You make me feel safe andprotected, and more than that, you make me feel loved and accepted. I want nothing more than to raise Annabelle with you and have children of our own, whom we love and adore together. If… If you are ready to live as husband and wife.”

“I am ready,” Ewan said, so quickly that she actually laughed. He brought his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her in even closer, so that his lips were grazing over hers. “I have never been more ready for anything. You are the woman of my dreams, Cassandra, and I want nothing more than to create the family you want and deserve.”

“Perhaps,” Cassandra said, as she let her lips rest against his, “we can even think about an heir. Someone to take over after us, to carry on your legacy, and to protect the Highlands and your family name.”

Ewan smiled against her lips. “I would love that.”