“Aye.” She cupped his face, pressing a kiss onto his mouth. “We’re safe now. And your brothers. Everything will be all right.”
Bram bowed his head, resting his bloodstained hands on his knees. “I would have died for you, Nairna. Willingly.”
“I didn’t want you to die.” She stepped between his legs, lifting his arms around her waist. Right now, she sensed that he needed her, needed physical comfort. She kept her arms around him, sitting on his lap.
“I don’t regret killing the English. Especially Cairnross.” He tightened his arms around her. “They might hang me for that.”
“The Duc D’Avignois will speak on your behalf,” Nairna reassured him. “I believe he will protect our clan from the English.”
He sobered. “Then we owe him a debt.”
She touched his back. “We’ll ally with Marguerite’s family and offer protection to one another. She was grateful that you rescued her from Lord Cairnross.”
He gave a slight shrug of acknowledgement, but it didn’t appear that he truly believed the danger was over.
“Bram, what is it?” she prompted.
He closed his eyes, as if he didn’t know what to say. Nairna sat beside him, waiting for him to speak. At last, he admitted, “Tonight, I wasn’t afraid of my own death. I was afraid of yours.”
He took her hand and brought it to his face as if drawing strength from her very touch. “When I thought he would harm you—“ He broke off, holding her hand so tightly.
“He didn’t. You kept me safe,” she murmured. She held him tightly, knowing that there was more he hadn’t said.
“You asked me what it was like,” he said quietly. “As a captive.”
She took a breath, not wanting to reopen such raw wounds. “You can tell me about it later, Bram.” She stroked his hair away from his face, leaning down to kiss his mouth.
“No.” He took her hand and touched it to his throat. “You should know everything. And then you can decide if you want to be with me.”
How he could even think she could bear to be parted from him, she didn’t understand. But right now, he needed her to listen, and though she didn’t truly wish to hear it, the confession might ease him. Nairna touched the scar upon his throat, then brought her lips to it.
Bram turned his back to her, showing her the scarred surface. “Six years ago, my brother was beaten until he couldn’t stand. I lost my temper that night and used my chains to strangle the guard.
“It didn’t work. As a punishment, they cut me with their knives. One cut for every day of the year.”
Nairna was sickened by the thought of such torture. “You survived it.”
“I prayed to die, at first. After I healed, I vowed that I would master my temper and bide my time.”
He rested his forearms on his knees, lowering his head. “But when I had the chance to escape, I risked his life. Callum might have died that night.” The bleakness in his voice made her heart ache.
“He didn’t die,” Nairna said softly, “and I don’t think he blames you for leaving him.”
“Did you?” he asked softly. “When I left our wedding, did you blame me for leaving you behind?”
She wanted to say no, that it hadn’t mattered. But it wasn’t the truth. She’d been devastated when he hadn’t returned. Many times, she’d grieved for him, wishing that he hadn’t gone home with his father.
“At the time, I understood why you left,” she admitted. “You needed to go with your family to defend Glen Arrin. But I never expected to be a widow so soon after our wedding.”
“When I escaped from Cairnross, I almost didn’t return to you,” he admitted. “I thought you were better off believing I was dead.”
“Why did you?”
“Because I needed to see you. The image of you, of your smile, had given me a reason to hold on during those years in prison.”
She embraced him, closing her eyes as his strong arms came around her. Though she wished she hadn’t remarried another, she let go of the past years, for she now had the man she loved.
“I don’t deserve you, Nairna. Today, when I almost lost you, I realized how much I need you.” He brought her hand to his heart and she could feel the pulse beneath her palm. “I love you. And though I’m not the man I once was, I want to be a good husband to you.”
