Page 60 of Much Ado About a Scot

He reached for the chatelaine’s hand and with his other hand crossed his heart. “I promise.”

“Then go.” Isobel laughed as Mrs. Becks led her son from the great hall and to the staircase beyond. “All you had to say was ‘toys’ and Jamie loves your castle already.”

“And what of his mother?”

“I truly do not know what to say. It is all so . . . large when compared to Gladmuir Hall.”

“It is homey as well. Come, let me show you the library.” He led her out of the great hall and down a long hallway to a room that was not only filled with light and warmth, but also several shelves of books. “I gathered these during my travels over the years from France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Italy.”

Isobel swallowed roughly as she fingered the leather bindings of the books on a shelf nearest her. “I’ve never left East Lothian until today.”

“I will show you and our family many new places.”

Her lips were tremulous as she tried to smile. “That would be nice, but what about the farm? I cannot be gone for long.”

He took her hands. “There is an easy solution to that, but before I say more, let me show you more of who I am.”

At her nod, he led her to the armory. “I am a warrior, a fighter. That fighting spirit deep within me is ultimately what saved my life after my mother died.”

Next, he took her to the dovecot where he showed her his falcons. “I’ve been training birds for the past five years.”

A curious expression crossed Isobel’s face. “Do you use hand signals to tell them what to do?” When he nodded, her eyes widened. “Is that what you were doing with the eagle that day when Bothwell captured me? Did you signal for the eagle to attack him?”

“I was not certain it would work, but obviously the eagle was not fully wild. The animal must have been in captivity and had some training to respond as he did.”

“You saved me.”

“Your son played a vital role in that as well.”

She shook her head and laughed. “I cannot believe I would ever be grateful that you gave him a dagger, but in that moment I was. You were right. I needed to give him a chance to grow up.”

“You do not have to be alone anymore, Isobel, in your parenting, or other aspects of your life.” He took her hand. “Come, I still have more to show you.”

Moonlight illuminated the solarium along with several torches that had been set as though expecting him to bring Isobel here. He smiled at how well Hardwick had come to know him over the years. Inside the glass and metal structure, pots of flowers bloomed everywhere he looked: on both the high and low shelves that lined the chamber as well as on the floor and in every corner. Mr. Anoroff had done wonders while Xander had been away. He would have to thank the groundskeeper when next he saw him. Everything was perfect, just as he’d imagined.

He led Isobel inside, past a row of blue Scottish bluebells, yellow corn marigolds, purple bittersweet, light yellow toadflax, and red and yellow poppies, past a row of lemon and orange trees to an ornate bench near a bubbling fountain. He guided her to sit, then took a seat beside her.

“I have only shown you a few chambers in this castle, but I chose to reveal the ones that speak the most about who I am. Do you feel after coming here that you know more about me, or should I continue your tour?”

She placed a delicate hand on his thigh. “You did not need to bring me here to show me who you are. I could see past your façade when you first arrived at my farm. You proved yourself to be a scholar, a warrior, a hunter, a farmer, and a man who has suffered loss just as I have. I knew that not from your words, but from the way you taught Jamie how to care for and appreciate a weapon, how you taught him to track, how you helped me with my land deed, how you worked hard when it came to the harvest, and harder still in trying to protect us from Bothwell and his men.”

She gave him a sincere smile. “I know the man you truly are, Xander. And I love you not for what you own, but for who you are.”

“It is what I am not that I would like to change.”

Isobel frowned. “What else is there for you to become?”

“I want to be a husband, and a father, and a man who finally has a home filled with people he cares about. You asked me once if I had connections to others. Before you came into my life, I kept everyone at a distance—afraid they might be taken from me at any time. I was terrified to open myself up to the pain of being alone once more. I realize now I was wrong. You showed me that pain and darkness are a necessary part of life. It is only through our suffering that we can be transformed and open ourselves to experience the greatest of joys.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Have you found joy?”

“I have. With you,” he said with a raw ache in his voice. “I know we are already married . . . at least for another three hundred and fifty-six days as designated by our handfasting, but I want to make things official, in a chapel, with a minister present, surrounded by all of our friends. What do you say, Isobel? Will you marry me a second time, this time forever?”

The tears she’d been holding back spilled over her lashes and onto her cheeks. “I love you, Alexander Godric Ross, in a way I never dreamed possible. I have experienced love before, at least once in a way that was honest and true.” Another tear streaked down her cheek. “You taught me to love again when I thought I never could. You are not a second choice, or a third, you are the man my more experienced self was meant to find. And I am so grateful for you.”

“Does that mean you will marry me again?”

“Aye, I will marry you every day if it proves my devotion to you.”