“Did ye set the fire, Ailis?” He came closer and she lost the ability to breathe. “Did ye block the door so I couldna escape?” Oh, dear God in Heaven, he was remembering details of it! “Did ye knock me unconscious so there was no chance I would survive?”
“Nay,” she whispered.
He’d spoken of things no one could know unless he had been there. He lifted his bare hand to touch her face and she knew she wouldn’t be able to let him go if he did. She must step back and not allow it to happen.
“Ye lied to me, Ailis.” His words sounded like an endearment rather than an accusation.
He did the most surprising thing. He tugged a few tendrils of her hair free from the braid she wore and let them tumble over her breasts. When he met her gaze, she was certain he remembered it all.
As he’d spoken the words about what happened to him, Lachlan remembered her. He remembered everything about her. Everything they’d done and said and planned and hoped flooded back into his mind. And he knew that she played no part in what had happened in that cottage on that terrible day.
That she felt guilty just eased his pain and warmed his heart and soul. That she was going to buy his freedom with her own bondage told him even more. No matter what happened next, he wanted her at his side. If she would be there …
“Ye promised me, Ailis. All the days of our lives, ye said,” he whispered. “I would be yer wedded husband and ye—”
“I would be yer wedded wife,” she finished the words.
“All the days of our lives.”
Those were words he’d heard countless times in his head during the worst moments of his life. They reminded him of some of the best times. Time spent with Ailis in his arms. Time spent making her his. Time spent loving her until she screamed in pleasure.
She was his and he wouldn’t give her up. Lachlan leaned in to kiss her to remind her of his love. The doors to the hall crashed open and a large group of warriors wearing the colors of the MacLeans poured in. Without thought, he grabbed her and placed her behind him.
“I want my son, MacKinnon!” Dougal MacLean yelled as he and those with him ran between the tables to the front. “Ye willna keep me from my son!”
Lachlan wondered what his father would say when he saw the extent of his injuries. The older man slowed as he reached the steps to the dais. He motioned for the others to remain there. He noticed Artair and nodded to him and his other kin. What they thought, he couldn’t guess. But Lachlan understood that he would have to show himself and pray they saw him in the mangled flesh beneath the hood and mask.
Dougal strode past The MacKinnon who’d not said another word and stopped before Sir Duncan. The two had been old friends. They had fostered with Duncan’s uncle on Barra as boys.
“Duncan, why are ye here?” his father said, offering his hand in greeting.
“I came to marry The MacKinnon’s daughter. But now have the pleasure of wishing her and yer son happy.”
“What?” Lachlan said at the same time his father did. Ailis pushed around him.
“Ye both declared yerselves married before.” He paused and nodded at those in the room, “before witnesses. The old way, but a marriage respected still.”
Lachlan didn’t know whether to laugh or shout at the man’s declaration. He and Ailis had used the words many times to pledge their love but never in front of others. Until just now.
“How do I ken ye are Lachlan?” his father asked. “I would look on ye myself.” His father had never thought being the doubting apostle was a bad part of the church’s teachings. He would want to see with his own eyes before believing the impossible was possible.
But that would mean Ailis would see him, too. And she was truly the only one who mattered to him. Would she find him repulsive or would she react the way her father had? Not many women had seen the injuries The MacKinnon had in his life and his experience, so Lachlan doubted she could be unmoved about his appearance.
“Lachlan,” she whispered, touching his hand. He’d taken off his gloves so he felt her warmth. “Do ye wish to do this here?”
“They matter not to me, Ailis,” he said. “I only care about what ye think when ye see me as I am.”
She released him then and he nodded at his father.
He didn’t draw out the process. They need only see his face and, hopefully, they would recognize him through the damage. Hopefully, she could still see him there.
A burst of cool air rushed over his head when he tugged the hood off. The hair on the right side and some of the front of his head remained almost untouched while the back and the left side had burned. The head wound added to the injury and so the back near his neck was nearly bald. He heard the soft inhalation from Ailis as he reached for the back of the mask and untied it. Lifting it off, he heard gasps from those close enough to see his face. Lachlan stood in silence and waited for Ailis’ reaction.
“I would have kenned ye, Lachlan. If I hadna thought ye dead. If I’d seen yer face,” she said, reaching up to cup the cheek that had sustained the worst of it. The tears slid down her cheeks and he wanted to kiss them away. “I see ye there.”
He kissed her. Without the mask and hood to cover him, he felt the softness of her face against his. There was no hesitation in her kiss. When he dared to open his eyes during that kiss, he found her watching him back.
“How?” his father asked in a voice thick with emotion. “How did ye survive?”
