“He kenned aboot us. He’s the one who told Edgar. He targeted Jamie on purpose because he kenned he was yer best friend, and he kenned aboot our handfast. That’s what I tried to explain when I found ye that night.”
“How’d he ken aboot us?”
Greer rubbed her hand over her eye and cheek before she sank back against Thor. “Every piece of jewelry I had came from ma mother. When she died, he went through it for Edgar. He took everything of any value and left me with things that had nay value but sentimental, and that was only to me. He noticed ma ring on ma thumb.”
“The one I moved from yer finger to yer thumb after the first time we made love, after we pledged ourselves. Aye. Ye understood, like I did, that ye couldnae wear it on the correct finger.”
Greer reached into the small pocket she’d sewn within the bigger one, her thumb slipping inside. She pulled her hand back and held it up for Thor to see. He took it and brought it to his lips, kissing the ring on her thumb.
“Ye kept it.”
“Of course, I did. The day Mitchell found out, I sewed a tiny pocket inside every larger one in each of ma gowns. I kenned I could never wear it in public again, and I couldnae leave it anywhere someone might find it. But I also couldnae live without having it near me.”
Thor shifted Greer to sit on one knee, so he could reach inside his sporran. When he pulled his hand out, the ring she’d given him was on the finger she’d placed it.
“Ye kept yers.”
“I will never give this up.”
“Even when ye wed someone else?” If Greer didn’t know Thor would never intentionally physically hurt her, she would have run when she saw his reaction.
“If ye think after all of this—all that we’re finally explaining—that I’m marrying someone else, ye are a bluidy bampot. The only person I’m marrying is ye.”
Greer’s mouth dropped open. There was no hint of a question or even a mere suggestion. It was an edict. It was the decision of a man who’d been trained to lead not just a clan but an earldom from the day of his birth. It sent a shiver along her spine. Trepidation and excitement warred with her.
“And if ye arenae the person I wish to marry?”
“Then ye have finally lied to me. Ye wouldnae have kept that ringand shown meif ye planned to marry someone else.”
“Ye were so furious with me that night when I found ye after the battle. Ye drew a dirk on me.”
“Aye, and nay matter how things stood, that is ma greatest regret in life. At least, it had been until now. Nae listening to ye, nae having this conversation that night, is ma greatest regret.”
“Ye believe I intended to kill ye. Ye thought I was a spy, and that since ye hadnae died in battle, I planned to do it then.”
“When ye speak it aloud, it sounds so ridiculous. But it made so much sense that night, and I’ve told maself over and over that it still made sense, even when I questioned maself.”
“I came to see if they hurt ye. I couldnae tell from the distance where I stood. I kenned ye were grieving for Jamie. I saw how ye fell to yer knees and held him, and how yer father and Alexander tried to help him.”
“He was already dead by the time they got to us.”
“I wanted to hold ye and try to ease yer pain.”
Thor looked away. “Instead, I rejected ye and abandoned ye. I threatened to turn ye over to ma grandda if I ever saw ye again. I betrayed ye in the worst way. I didna listen to ye. It was ma fault.”
“I could have tried harder, but I was too hurt. I was also too scared of what yer family would do next since the battle ended in a stalemate. I had to slip ma missive to yer grandda. I prayed he would believe it since it wasna written by the same hand—Rose’s hand—that shared all the previous secrets. I prayed that if he thought that person nay longer reliable, then he might believe the new source was.”
“He did. Ye saved ma life and most of our men’s by sneaking that missive to Grandda. I realized it was ye when I learned what Rose was doing. Once I kenned she’d been the messenger, leaving the missives for Grandda and Da in their saddles, I kenned it had been ye that night. I thought ye’d done it out of guilt, mayhap even to manipulate yer way back into ma good graces. Then I didna see or hear from ye, so I figured ye did it purely for yerself because ye feared us sacking and burning yer home.”
“I feared that. But I did it because ye wouldnae listen to me and let me tell ye what was in the missive. I couldnae keep that information to maself and ken ye’d undoubtedly die if yer grandda and da didna ken.”
“Ye protected me even after I rode away.”
“I understood. I’d already lost ma mother, and I ken Edgar did it. Albert confirmed it, but I kenned all those years ago. I recognized yer grief. But I thought I would have a chance to speak to ye again once the bloodlust wore off. I didna imagine ye would avoid me and ride away without me.”
“I thought ye’d given up on us when I saw ye near the battlefield. I thought ye were spying on us to tell the mon I thought was yer father. I couldnae imagine bringing ye into ma family’s home.”
“We werenae too young to be in love, but we were far too young for the weight of marriage. We were too naïve and too inexperienced to understand how to trust.” Greer looked at her lap. “We were too young to be parents, even if there are plenty of women who are mothers younger than I was. We wouldnae have been the type of parents we wanted to be.”
