“She willnae forgive me,” he said quietly. “I’ve hurt her too many times. Asked for too much while givin' too little.”
“Then give her more.” Hamish picked up both practice swords from the wall and slung them over his shoulder. “Ye have a few hours before the ceremony. Use them. Find her. Talk to her. And for the love of God, tell her somethin' true. Somethin' that matters. Before it’s too late and ye lose the only woman who’s ever been brave enough to want all of ye, even the broken parts.”
Murdock nodded slowly, the weight of his decision settling into his bones. He would do it. Would find Leona, would somehow make her understand that he was trying, that he wanted to be better, that maybe…
A commotion at the gate drew his attention. Voices, laughter, the sound of horses and wagons. Visitors, from the sound of it.
“Who invited them?” Murdock frowned, turning toward the noise. “I sent nay invitations.”
Hamish’s expression shifted to something suspiciously close to guilt. “About that…”
“Hamish, what did ye do?”
Before his man-at-arms could answer, two figures came barreling across the courtyard with a speed and enthusiasm that could only mean one thing.
His sisters.
Ailis reached him first, throwing her arms around his neck with enough force to nearly knock him over. She was laughing, her dark hair flying loose around her face, looking exactly as she had when she was a child.
“Murdock! Look at ye, all dressed up for a weddin'!” She pulled back to study his face, her smile bright and genuine. “Though ye look like ye’re preparin' for battle rather than a celebration.”
“Same thing, in me experience,” Kristen said dryly as she approached at a more sedate pace. She was older than Ailis, more reserved, but her eyes held the same warmth. “Congratulations, Brother. We’re dyin' to meet the woman who’s finally convinced ye to marry.”
Murdock looked from his sisters to Hamish, who was suddenly very interested in examining his practice sword.
“Who invited them?” he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
“I did!” Hamish said with forced cheer. “It’s yer weddin', after all. Seemed wrong for yer sisters nae to be here.”
Ailis beamed. “And we brought the whole family. Killian and the bairns are outside with the wagons. Kristen’s husband, too. Though Neil has already disappeared to find the stables. Ye ken how he is with horses.”
“We’ve been travelin' for two days straight,” Kristen added. “We started as soon as Hamish sent word. We might have been here sooner, but the roads were terrible.” She studied Murdock’s face more closely, her expression shifting from joy to concern. “What’s wrong? Are ye nae happy to see us?”
“I’m…” Murdock started, then stopped. “It’s complicated.”
“Weddin's usually are,” Ailis said wisely. Then her face lit up even more, if that was possible. “Now, where is she? Where’s yer bride? We must meet her immediately!”
They started toward the keep before Murdock could stop them, their enthusiasm a force of nature.
Hamish clapped him on the shoulder. “Breathe, me Laird. Yer sisters are here. Yer daughter is excited. And in a few hours, ye’ll be married to a woman who, despite everythin', still chose ye. Try to see it as the blessin' it is rather than the disaster ye’re convinced it’ll be.”
“And if I cannae?” Murdock asked quietly.
“Then ye’ll lose her.” Hamish’s voice was gentle but firm. “And ye’ll spend the rest of yer life wonderin' what might have been if ye’d just been brave enough to try.”
He walked away, leaving Murdock standing alone in the training yard, with the morning sun warming his face and his sisters’ laughter echoing from inside the keep.
“Lose her, eh?”
24
Leona had been staring at the same section of embroidery for the past hour without actually seeing it.
Her needle remained poised above the fabric, thread dangling uselessly, while her mind replayed the scene in Murdock’s study for what must have been the thousandth time.
The feel of his hands on her skin. The devastating pleasure he’d wrung from her body. The way he’d looked at her afterward, vulnerable and raw and still so impossibly closed off.
This is what I can give ye… Why is it nae enough?
