“Nae,” she said. “Ye didnae take advantage. I said ‘aye.’ I wanted ye tae do that tae me, Bryce.”
His eyes shot up to hers. “Aye?” he asked.
“Aye. Ye would never have done what ye did if I had nae said ‘aye.’ Did ye fear that ye had taken me against me will?”
“Nae, nae,” he said, angered at his frustrating inability to speak clearly when he meant to. He had seen battles, wars, and had been the leader in victories and plans, calling many men to arms, and yet in the face of the woman he loved, yes loved, he couldn’t quite seem to string a pair of sensible words together. “It is nae that. I ken that ye were willing. But what am I tae do? I want more from ye, but I ken that Watt is still in yer heart. I,” his voice faltered. “Even though I want ye, lass, I donnae wish tae play second tae him. He is a good man, and I respect him, but as for women, I want mine tae think only of me.”
“Bryce, sit down, please,” she said, pulling him along until they both sat in chairs by her hearth, and she faced him. The fire cast shadows on her face, but he could still tell that the sun had lightly browned her skin that afternoon, making her look healthy and happy. His hands itched to touch her, but now was the moment in which all would be revealed.
Lorna chewed on her lip, not making his decision to try and stay away from her until she explained very easy. “I ken that it sounds like madness, and perhaps ye will think me flighty or unstable, but I have seen a difference between the way I felt about Watt, and the way I feel about ye.”
Bryce couldn’t stop his heart from soaring at the use of the word ‘felt’ when discussing her feelings about Watt. “What do ye mean?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
Lorna’s hands folded and unfolded as she tried to find the words. “I felt what I thought was love for Watt, but now that I ken ye, I can see that it was all just a dream. It was more like an affection or an admiration for an older brother. I never felt with Watt the way that I feel when I am with ye.” Her eyes met his, and the green sparkled. “I feel alive when I am with ye, Bryce. Ye make me feel safe, warm, loved; and ye make me feel like a woman. Watt always made me feel like a nuisance and like a little girl. Ye might have made me feel that way in the past, too, but nae anymore. It is different with ye.”
Her voice lowered in a serious tone. “I ken that it doesnae make much sense, but what I feel for ye is much stronger than what I ever felt about Watt. I want ye.”
Bryce smiled, happiness stretching from his heart to everywhere else in his body. He grabbed her hand. “Ye ken that I made ye feel like that in the past because I was jealous. I wanted so badly for ye tae look at me the way ye looked at Watt. Ye had such love in yer eyes, and I wanted tae get yer attention. Tae turn yer eyes toward me. The way ye are looking at me now.”
“And do ye want me?” she asked breathlessly, with a teasing glint in her eye.
“More than anything I have ever wanted. I…” he hesitated. “I love ye, Lorna. I realize now that I always have. Yers was the face I imagined when out on the battlefield, sometimes afraid that I would lose me life.”
Perhaps it is all in the past? Her love for Watt?
He waited, then, his heart thundering away nervously. Her eyes changed after he spoke. They softened, and she drew him close, her hands clasping around his neck. “Bryce,” she said quietly. “I love ye too.”
Then she drew his head down to hers and kissed him.
