Page 81 of A Fierce Archer

“I will,” Catriona replied. “First, I must speak to Esme.”

***

That night, while preparing for bed, a peace enveloped Catriona. She met Maisie’s gaze in the mirror. “Tomorrow, ye and I must speak about what occurred to me when I was captured. There are things ye must know in order to help me should it happen again.”

“Of course,” Maisie replied, her expression reassuring. “I understand ye, Lady Ross.”

Catriona believed the young woman did. “Now, go and get some rest. My husband should be here shortly.”

When Ewan came in, it felt a bit awkward. He went to a side table and poured them a glass of honeyed mead.

Catriona sat in front of the fireplace and waited for him to join her. He handed her a glass and lowered to the other chair.

“Ye must feel better after bathing,” Catriona teased to relieve some of the tension in the room.

“I do,” Ewan said. “I am not sure how the others could stand being around me.”

“The privilege or, in some instances, sadness of being leader is that others are forced to deal with ye regardless of things like that.”

His lips curved. “In this case, quite a sad thing.”

Their gazes met and Catriona took a sip of her mead. “I will be sending a messenger to McLeod Keep reissuing my invitation to Lady Paige to come visit.”

Ewan nodded. “I am glad to hear it. I know ye were looking forward to learning about herbs from her.”

“Ye knew that?”

“I kept myself informed of what ye did. Although I kept a physical distance, I wished to know everything.”

She was surprised to hear it. At the same time, it made her feel so much better that when she thought he barely cared, he was, in fact, involved.

When they finished the first cup of drink, he refilled them. If there was something he wished to share with her, Catriona would be patient.

“When will I meet yer family?” she asked in a quiet tone, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her robe’s sleeve. “I hope they will like me.”

When he didn’t answer right away, she looked up to meet his gaze. His face was soft. “They will like ye very much. I believe my eldest half-brother will travel here soon. He wishes to meet Malcolm and get to know this part of the family since I am to be laird here.”

“I will make sure to have everything prepared.”

“Good,” he said, then took another sip of his drink. “There is something I wish to share with ye.”

A shiver ran down her spine. Catriona took a shaky breath. “What is it?”

“My past and the reason I did my best not to love ye.”

She waited as he looked to the fire for a long moment before speaking again. “I caught the woman I married in bed with my own father.” He hesitated briefly when she gasped but did not look at her.

“I beat him half to death. My brothers had to pull me away. It was then he banished me from our lands, and I left. I demanded that our marriage be dissolved but wasn’t sure until I returned if it truly was.”

“What of bairns?”

“My wife had one child, a son, while we were married. He is not mine. I was gone to train in archery with a master for several months. When I returned, it was only a few days later that she claimed to be with child. The boy was born six months after my return. She claimed he was early, but he was well formed and healthy.”

The tone of his voice was flat, without emotion. However, the bitterness in the undertone was very evident to Catriona. “I am so sorry, Ewan. I cannot imagine.”

“To be cuckolded by one’s own father is horrible enough. That he banished me and kept the whore there, living under the same roof as my mother…that, I could never forgive him for.”

“Was she still there?” Catriona asked.