Their eyes held, and the smile that spread across her face was one that he would never forget. It was as brilliant as a rare diamond but a thousand times more precious to him.
“I love you,” she said softly.
A powerful warmth spread through his chest, filling him with a sense of contentment he’d never experienced before. He’d done the right thing.
“And I love you,a leanbh.”
A few moments later he was gone, leaving the shadows of the stable—and its opened window—behind.
27
MARGARET’S EMOTIONShad swung from despair and heartbreak to elation and happiness in the matter of a few minutes. Were it not for the danger and the worry that accompanied the revelation, her happiness would have been complete.
For the first time since the early days of their marriage, she had hope for the future. The closeness beyond the bedchamber that she craved seemed possible. She and Eoin had turned an important corner. Her patience had been rewarded, and he had confided in her. Maybe not everything—she knew there was something bigger and more significant that he was not telling her—but it was an important first step.
He trusted her, and she vowed to be worthy of that trust.
Of course, she didn’t expect to have that vow put to the test less than twenty-four hours later.
She’d spent the morning with Lady Rignach and the steward, while Eachann worked with his new tutor. Margaret had been surprised to be included in the meeting, and even more surprised when Lady Rignach asked her opinion on a few purchases. Apparently, she’d learned how Margaret had repaid the nuns at the convent for teaching her to read and write.
Margaret didn’t think the proud lady would relinquish her role as chatelaine anytime soon, but the fact that she was willing to include Margaret at all showed a clear intention on her part to make Margaret feel more a part of the household. And maybe even some day, part of the family.
The person most resistant to that asked to see her after the midday meal. While Lady Rignach took Eachann to the stable to see a new foal, Marjory sat with Margaret in the garden to apologize.
Though Marjory was only a year older than Margaret’s five and twenty, the past years had taken their toll. Few vestiges of girlish prettiness remained behind the lines of disappointment and heartbreak. Whether it was her marriage or her inability to have a child thus far that was responsible, Margaret didn’t know. Perhaps it was both. But the proud, spoiled young beauty was a forlorn shadow.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Marjory said, her hands twisting in her lap. “I just wanted...” Her eyes filled with tears. “You to go away like before.”
“Was it so perfect for you when I was gone?”
Margaret spoke quietly, but Marjory’s eyes widened as if the words were an explosion. She stared at her almost in shock. The first tear slid down her cheek and her lower lip quivered when she shook her head. “Nay. It wasn’t perfect at all. Fin never loved me. I think he married me only to be closer to Eoin. When you left, he blamed me.”
Margaret pursed her mouth. “That’s ridiculous. You know why I left.”
It was a challenge, not a question.
Marjory nodded, the tears rolling full force now. “Aye, I saw everything—except that I didn’t want to believe it. I thought he loved me. I convinced myself that you had to have done something to make him kiss you. But in my heart I knew.”
Margaret sighed deeply, almost feeling sorry for her. “Then why did you marry him?”
The other woman shrugged, her chest heaving from her sobs, and wiped away some of the tears with the back of her hand. “I thought once you were gone, I could make him love me. I thought that when I gave him a son...” Her voice fell off. “Fin says I’m barren, but I know this baby was a sign and next time...”
Margaret’s heart went out to the other woman, but she feared Marjory was pinning all her hopes on the wrong thing. A baby wouldn’t make her husband love her. She wasn’t even sure Fin was capable of that kind of emotion. She wasn’t surprised that he’d put the blame for their lack of a child on his wife either.
Marjory looked up at her. “But then you came back, and he wants you again.”
Margaret shook her head. “He may have once, but that was a long time ago. I think he despises me more than anything else. He doesn’t look at me like that now.”
Now he looked at her as if he couldn’t wait to see her gone. There was something cold in his eyes... She gave an involuntary shudder, but she had no intention of letting him scare her away this time.
Marjory’s tear-streaked face stared back at her. “What if he’s just better at hiding it?”
Margaret shook her head. “I don’t think so.” But whether it was true or in Marjory’s imagination didn’t matter. It never had. “I love your brother, Marjory. I have always loved your brother. There was never anyone else for me from the first moment I saw him.”
The other woman looked into her eyes, perhaps seeing the truth for the first time: Margaret wasn’t a threat. If she wanted someone to blame for her unhappy marriage, she would have to look somewhere else.
Feeling as if she’d turned an important corner with her sister-in-law, Margaret left the garden with an even greater sense of optimism for the future.
