“Aye.”A pear flew past his head.
“How did ye do it?”
He sniffed.“I tricked Fergus into surrenderin’ ere the king laid siege.”
That made sense.But not all of it did.
She picked up her napkin and swabbed at the sticky custard on her cheek.Then she narrowed her eyes.“Why did ye let the king take me prisoner?And put me in shackles?”
“I was tryin’ to keep ye safe, out o’ harm’s way.I knew the king wouldn’t harm ye.”His face took on a sad demeanor then.“And how did ye thank me?By breakin’ free and fleein’ across Scotland, completely out o’ my protection.”
They were at an impasse.
It seemed they’d both meant well.
But how could they get past the deception they’d used on each other?The falsehoods they’d told?How could they forgive the betrayals?
One couldn’t have a relationship built on lies.
She had to take off her mask and tell him the truth.
The food skirmish was coming to a close now.Not because the nuns had come to their senses and realized the childishness of their behavior.And not because the abbess had demanded a ceasefire.But because they were running out of munitions.
Still, as Eve perused the Refectory, she saw breathless, bright-eyed, pink-cheeked nuns who hadn’t had so much fun in months.And that made her realize this really had never been her world.Why else had she spent so much time escaping it?
“This is your doin’, Sister Eve,” the abbess accused, gesturing to the mess of neeps and pears, meat and rolls, custard and cider strewn about the tables and floor.“What do ye have to say for yourself?”
Eve had much to say.But it was meant for Adam.She faced him, placed a hand on his chest, and gazed into his deep, warm, inviting eyes.
“After I met ye, Adam, I decided to give up the veil,” she confessed.
The other nuns whispered in wonder.
She continued, speaking her truth from the heart.“Once I felt what ’twas like to love and be loved, to not be…invisible, I knew I could no longer hide behind convent walls, pretendin’ I had no worldly desires.”The room silenced.“I meant to break the news to my father, come what may, and make a life with the man with whom I’d fallen in love.”
Adam’s eyes melted, and he clasped his hand over hers, against his heart.
“And I planned to make a life with you, Eve, damn my clan’s demands,” he told her.“Once I met you and found a kindred spirit…a woman who brought me joy and life and love…a woman whosawme for the first time—not as a Rivenloch, but as a man—I wasn’t about to let anything stand in the way.”
The nuns gasped at the revelation he was a Rivenloch and then sighed at his romantic words.
She smiled up at him, her eyes watering.“I don’t blame ye for takin’ my virtue.I volunteered it.But ye convinced me ye wanted to marry me.”
He nodded.“I shouldn’t ne’er have trysted with ye.But I did want to marry ye.I still do.”
Her heart was pounding so loudly with the rush of love flowing through her veins, she didn’t realize how deathly quiet the hall had gone.
In the silence, the abbess addressed the nuns, who were shocked speechless by the confession.
“And so ends our Martinmas morality play,” the abbess intoned, giving Eve a stern sideways glance before initiating a round of applause.“So ye see, novitiates, this is why ye must always battle diligently against the Devil and carnal desire.”
Epilogue
Castle Rivenloch
Winter
Adam had told Eve there was nothing like a Rivenloch wedding feast, and he was right.It didn’t matter that it was the dead of winter.The great hall was full of candles and music and merrymaking, crowded with clanfolk, friends, and neighbors.
