“I invited her, of course.”
“Why?Why, Thomas? Was it to tell her what a terrible husband I’d make? To convince her that she should go back to England?”
Thomas flinched, blinking. He stared up at Callum, a frown forming between his brows.
“I did nae tell ye of this, because I wanted to speak to her privately,” he said at last. “I willnae lie, Callum, I was furious when I learned that ye planned to wed again. And another marriage of convenience, too. I kent that ye were nae in love with my Elsie, but ye did care for each other, and that was all that mattered to me. I was so angry, so…” he broke off, squeezing his eyes closed. “I spoke me mind at that council meetin’. But as it was endin’, I saw her look at ye. I sawyelook at her, and it was…it was somethin’ I hadnae expected. So, I invited Melody here to tell her the truth.”
“The truth? She already kens it. About me brother, about Elsie…”
“Nay, nae that truth,” Thomas interrupted. “I wanted to tell her about ye.”
Callum had not expected this. He flinched, eyeing Thomas warily. “And what does that mean?”
Thomas shrugged. “It means that ye are a worthy man. That ye have suffered, and suffered for too long. For years, I was happy to have a companion in me own grief, but since that English lass arrived, I have been thinking differently. A wee lassie like that, changin’ her own life so drastically in the way she did. It’s impressive,” he added, with a huff of laughter. “Sheis impressive. So I wanted to tell her nae to let go ofye.To persevere with ye and with the clan. She said she would, and she left.”
Callum exhaled raggedly, scraping a hand through his hair.
“That’s nae what I thought ye were goin’ to say.”
“I imagine nae. But that’s the truth. As I said, she left some time ago,” Thomas answered, shrugging. “I ken she didnae get lost, because Angus was takin’ her back.”
Callum paused, an icy dread creeping through his limbs. “Angus?”
“Aye. He accompanied her. I suppose it was for the best. Are English ladies nae meant to be chaperoned all the time?”
Callum swallowed tightly. “Which way did they go?”
“The usual road,” Thomas answered, frowning faintly. “The ground is soft, so ye should be able to track their steps.”
“Thank ye,” Callum answered, turning to hurry back down the path.
“Oh, and Callum?” Thomas called.
Callum glanced back over his shoulder. “Aye?”
“Ye daenae need it, but ye have my blessin’. To wed her, I mean,” Thomas answered, and offered a faint smile.
Despite the pounding of worry at the back of his mind, Callum smiled back.
“Thank ye, Thomas. That means a great deal.”
“Down this way, lass,” Angus ordered briskly.
Melody paused. “Are you sure? I know we did not come this way. We ought to have been able to see the keep by now. We are lost, I think.”
In truth, she’d thought they were lost hours earlier. When Angus insisted they step off the wide pathway and head into the forest, less than half a mile from Thomas’ cottage, she’d known it was the wrong way.
But Angus was so insistent, and it felt rude to complain. Melody had told herself that it was probably a shortcut, but now they had been traveling for at least half an hour. Most recently, the tight, woody pathway had forced them to dismount and walk. Melody glanced back at Faun, who watched her with doleful eyes.
“We arenae lost,” Angus responded tightly. “I ken exactly where I am goin’, lass.”
“I’m not sure you do. Angus, it’s entirely normal to find oneself lost. I used to lose my way in London all the time, even though the streets ought to have been familiar to me. It’s simply one of those things. It must have been years since you left the keep and traveled alone. Perhaps we took a wrong turn? If we retrace our steps…”
Angus dropped the reins and strode back to face her. Melody flinched back, half convinced that he was going to strike her.
“Daenae question me!” he snarled. “Always meddlin’, ye are. Do ye ken, when ye arrived, I thought ye would be the downfall of our clan? A fragile English lady with a head full of foolish ideasand nay idea what it takes to keep a clan goin’. But then the people liked ye, and I started to believe that perhaps we could train ye into bein’ what we needed. I believed inye.”
“Angus, don’t raise your voice,” Melody stammered. “You… you’re scaring me.”
