She squeezed his arm gently. “That has an affect on young men.”
He looked at her then, really looked, and something in his eyes shifted. As if he was confused by the chill in her voice. “Aye, it does. Do ye ken why I am telling ye this now,” he asked.
Her mouth tightened. “Why?”
“Because I nearly lost ye,” he said. “And because I realized that all me rules, all me fear, they did nae protect ye. They hurt ye.”
Her chest ached.
“And because,” he continued, voice barely above a whisper, “I love ye.”
The words landed softly. Not like a blow. Like a hand laid over her heart.
Her breath hitched.
She searched his face for doubt. For retreat.
There was none.
“I love ye,” he repeated, steadier now. “And I am done hiding from it.”
Tears burned at the backs of her eyes.
For a long moment, Ariella could not speak.
The world seemed to tilt, not with dizziness this time, but with possibility.
“Ye… love me,” she said, as if testing the words.
“Aye,” Maxwell replied. “With everything I tried to bury. With everything I tried to control.”
Her voice trembled. “Why now?”
“Because I never want ye to be afraid of me again,” he said. “Because I want us to ken everything about each other. Even the things no one else does.”
Her hand drifted instinctively to her stomach.
“And because,” he added, softer still, “ye are about to give me a blessing I never thought I deserved.”
Her breath stuttered. “Our child.”
Ariella’s face was calm, but still pale, and he worried that this conversation might be wearing on her. He watched as her gaze swept the room once, then landed back on Maxwell.
She did not smile.
She did not look away either.
Maxwell leaned forward but kept a respectful distance.
“Our child,” he repeated quietly.
“Me laird,” she replied.
The title stung.
Maxwell nodded once, accepting it. “I ken ye wish to stay with Mairi. If that is yer desire, then I will ensure the healer visit each day, and I will grant ye this peace and time.”
Ariella’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Ye’ve approved it?”
