Page 44 of Highlander’s Bride

Raghnall felt his fist clench till his short fingernails bit into the skin of his palm. “If ye wouldna even accept me, how could ye accept my son?”

Angus walked farther into the hall, closer to Seoc. A few moments later, two more figures appeared in the doorway—Catrìona, rubbing her eyes, her long hair in braids, and James by her side, looking like he was ready to launch at any potential threat to her.

“What is going on?” Catrìona said in a thick, croaky voice.

Angus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I just learned that Raghnall has a son.” He looked at Raghnall. “We accepted ye, brother.”

Catrìona stared at Seoc with wide eyes. “Raghnall, ye have a son?” Then she looked at Bryanna. “Did ye ken?”

Bryanna shook her head. Raghnall felt his blood churn. “Ye accepted me? Ye didna want to give me my lands. Ye didna trust me.”

Angus made a sweeping gesture with his hand in the direction of Seoc. “Can ye blame me? How could ye hide yer lad? Do ye think that wouldna have changed my decision about yer lands? The lad needs a home and a future.”

A sharp pain of regret slashed across Raghnall’s chest. “Ye would have given me the lands without making me marry anyone?”

Angus shrugged. “Mayhap. Where is the lad’s mother, anyway? Is yer marriage to Lady Bryanna even legitimate?”

And this was the moment of truth, the moment that Raghnall was dreading. Even mentioning her name was like casting a spell of desperation and pain.

He felt the heavy gazes of his family, of Iòna and of his wife. Even Seoc was glaring at him.

Tell them what happened. Tell them the truth. Tell them the woman ye loved is dead because of ye.

Moments dragged by, and the crackling of wood consumed by fire was the only sound in the hall. Raghnall was opening and closing his mouth, fighting to get the words out of his throat, but it was as though a rock was blocking everything.

Finally, help came from where he didn’t expect it.

His wife laid her hand on Seoc’s shoulder. “Our marriage is legitimate, Angus. Unfortunately, Seoc’s mother died.”

This woman was loyal and brave.

He didn’t deserve her, and the right thing to do was to tell her the whole truth.

Even if he had to open the door to a creepy, freezing dungeon full of demons that might kill him.

Chapter 21

The lad was put in Raghnall and Bryanna’s bedchamber, which would stop his plans to continue what they had started earlier. Standing in the open door, Raghnall watched Seoc huddle into his bedroll next to the fireplace. Behind Raghnall, Bryanna stood in the dark landing of the stairs, and he felt her eyes on him.

When he turned around to meet her gaze, there wasn’t judgment or anger or disgust. There was something he didn’t feel he deserved.

Sympathy.

Something a real wife would offer to her husband.

And just like in a real family, the lad slept in the same bedchamber with his parents. This would have been his life with Mòrag.

“Come,” Bryanna whispered, her voice insistent. “Let’s talk.”

He owed her that. And if he was going to open up to anyone, it would be to her.

They went downstairs, but when Bryanna turned to enter the great hall, he caught her hand. The touch of her skin, like always, created that burst of sweet energy that invigorated him and gave him strength.

“Nae there,” he said. “I dinna want anyone to interrupt us. If ye want me to talk, I have much to tell ye.”

Without breaking contact, he led her down the stairs, feeling like she’d just given him a second wind. Her hand was smooth and silky in his rough, calloused fingers, and he remembered how smooth and soft her thighs were, and how delicious she tasted against his tongue.

They exited the tower and went across the inner bailey.