“Nay, buttercup.”
“Nay poison,” she grinned but her chapped lips made her wince.
“Nay.” Kieran’s gaze jumped to his mother, fearing she would take offense, but the relief in her smile made him relax.
“Nay, lass. We didn’t try to kill you. You gave us all a good scare, and it seems just what Abigail and I needed to get our heads out of our arses.” Adeline smiled, but grew somber moments later. “My son loves you more than I’ve ever seen a mon love any woman. I don’t think he’d be long for this world if aught happened to you. I love my son, and I will do any and everything to keep him hale. It was no great struggle to realize aiding in your recovery would keep Kieran well. Your illness gave me pause to acknowledge how selfish I’ve been and what spoiled daughters I’ve raised. It’s also made everyone in the keep recognize how much responsibility and work you’ve shouldered in the short time you’ve been here. To maintain the keep as you’ve made it, the servants had to admit how much work you do once they divided those duties among themselves. I realize these are but words, Lady MacLeod, but I am deeply sorry for how I have wronged you.”
Maude shifted her gaze between Adeline and Kieran, who looked as shocked as she felt. She hurt all over and was nauseous, so she didn’t feel gracious about receiving the apology. She nodded her head and offered a tight smile as Abigail stepped closer. She held something in her closed hand, and Maude’s eyes watered when her sister-by-marriage opened it.
“I don’t know who did this. Honestly, I don’t. It wasn’t me or Mother, but that doesn’t matter. Whoever wanted to hurt you believed they could because of the example Mother and I set. I’m sorry for what I did, and I’m sorry for being responsible for you being so badly hurt by this being broken.”
Abigail handed the carved figurine to Maude. What had been fractured into two pieces was now one. She turned it over in her hand and discovered a thin piece of metal connected the broken parts on the back and the bottom.
“Who mended this?” Maude whispered.
“I spotted it on your table by your comb. I took it to the blacksmith and asked him to show me how to fix it.”
“Show you? You did this?”
Abigail shrugged, but nodded. “It was the least I could do. Mother has been taking care of you while Kieran rested, Agatha has been running the household for you, Eara has been bringing you healing tinctures, and Kieran hasn’t left this chamber since he returned home with you. I wanted to do something for you too.”
Maude’s eyes leaked tears from the corners as she ran her thumb over the smooth patch where her parents were carved side-by-side.
“Thank you.” Maude struggled to sit up, and Kieran assisted her, tucking pillows behind her back and head. “This means more to me than you’ll ever know. This is, besides my wedding ring, my greatest worldly treasure.”
“I know. I didn’t want to admit my regret or guilt at the time because I was too mired in my dislike to show you any kindness. Seeing you like this, how wrong it felt to watch you not be able to shrug this off as you seem to do with aught that challenges you. It scared me.”
Maude tried to absorb what Adeline and Abigail told her. It was the antithesis of everything that had passed between them thus far, but the women’s expressions were contrite and worried. The best she could offer Abigail was the same nod and half-smile she gave Adeline. She turned to gaze at Kieran, who’d been watching her. It shocked her to see how disheveled and browbeaten he looked. She reached out a hand to touch his beard, but she found she was too weak to raise her arm that high. As it dropped, Kieran grasped it and brought it to his face. His eyes closed as her fingers stroked the hair that grew along his jaw.
“Kiss,” she murmured, and Kieran was only too happy to oblige. The kiss was soft and tender, Kieran fearful of overdoing it while Maude was still so weak. When they pulled away, Maude scrunched up her nose. “You’re just as handsome with it, but it’s scratchy and tickles my nose. I don’t think I like it.”
Kieran grinned as he kissed her again, this time with a little more pressure. She opened to him but shrank back a moment later, covering her mouth with her hand.
“I don’t care,” Kieran growled before licking the seam of her lips until she parted them. He swept a languid tongue against hers and did nothing to stifle the groan that escaped as Maude kissed him back. Adeline and Abigail slipped from the chamber as Maude rolled toward Kieran, and he held her in his embrace. When the kiss ended, he tucked her head against his chest as she fell back to sleep. They remained that way through the night and into the next morning when the door burst open.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kieran jerked awake to the sound of someone storming into his chamber. He grabbed his sword, ready to spring from the bed, but Maude’s words made him focus on who entered unannounced.
“Mama! Da!”
Kieran recognized his parents-by-marriage as Amelia entered first, followed by Hamish close on her heels. Amelia stumbled as Hamish pushed past her and cupped Maude’s face before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Amelia ducked under Hamish’s arms to embrace Maude with great care. Kieran watched tears slip down both parents’ cheeks. He felt like an intruder in his own chamber and moved to leave, but Maude’s hand grasped his forearm, her fingers biting into his skin. She shot him a look that warned him not to consider leaving. She turned back to her parents and greeted them with one of her wide, toothy grins. Kieran hadn’t seen one since she awoke, and his heart calmed. While a selfish part of him wished he’d been the first recipient of such a warm greeting, he recalled the kisses they’d shared since she roused from unconsciousness. While they hadn’t shifted their position through the night, they’d woken more than once, both needing the assurance the other was still there. They’d kissed and held hands before drifting back to sleep.
“Ah, ma wee one,” Hamish choked. “We didna ken how we might find ye. It does ma soul good to see ye awake. I feared the worst when we received Kieran’s missive.”
“Kieran wrote to you? How’s it possible that you got here so fast?”
“We left as soon as we read it, and we rode through most of the nights,” Amelia explained. They all turned when the door eased open and Blair and Lachlan peered in. The siblings ran to Maude’s side when they realized she was alive and looking far better than they expected.
“You all came?” Maude wondered aloud.
“Of course,” Lachlan answered.
Maude turned to Kieran, looking defeated for the first time since her injuries. “You worried I would die.” Kieran couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat, so he nodded. “Oh, turtledove, I’m not ready to leave you yet. I have too many more years to spend with you before I’m ready for us to part.”
Blair stepped closer to the bed as Amelia and Hamish made room for their children to see their sister.
“Are you really improving?” Blair whispered.
