“She stayed back at Keep Grahame, with Freya and Brendan,” Kyla explained. “Astrid and Kai are back to their Keep, but they sent letters.”
Sister Rosemary nodded, leaning on her shovel. “Then I imagine I’ll see them sooner or later. Go on, now. Get to the convent before night falls. It’s not safe around these parts, not like it was.”
Nodding again, she pulled up her mask and turned back to her silent work, leaving the rest to move on quietly.
The Abbess waitedfor them at the door to the convent.Thathad never happened before, Una was sure of it. Kyla slid down from her saddle first and went running to greet the older woman. The Abbess wrapped an arm around her, holding her tight. Pulling back, she placed her hands on Kyla’s cheeks and smiled down into her face.
“I hear that ye are with child. Take my congratulations and blessings.”
Kyla blinked, momentarily surprised. “How did ye hear?”
The Abbess chuckled. “Never mind that. Go on inside, all of ye. There’s food waiting on the table. It’s not much, but it’s something. Now, I want to talk to Una and Struan.”
Thomas looked as if he would have rather stayed, but there was no arguing with the Abbess, so he ducked his head and followed the others inside. The Abbess took a step forward, arms followed, and chuckled, shaking her head.
“The knight is back on the board,” she murmured. “He chose his queen at last.”
Struan smirked. “I don’t understand what ye are trying to say.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Yer father has a bounty on yer head, lad. Enough coin to tempt even the most loyal men.”
“So be it,” Struan responded, lifting his chin. “I have no regrets.”
The Abbess eyed him thoughtfully for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I believe ye, lad. And as for ye, Una, I am proud of ye. I imagine that ye are proud of yerself, too, which is possibly more important than anything else.”
Una flushed, biting her lip. Praise from the Abbess was rare, not because the woman was unkind or prickly, but because when she gave praise, she truly meant it.
“I think that he is proud of ye, too,” the woman added, almost as an afterthought. Una glanced up to find Struan staring down at her, his expression softer than she’d ever seen before. A flush spread over her cheeks, but before she could say anything, Struan reached out and took her hand.
His fingers were rough in hers, but then, she was building up calluses of her own.
“Without Una, I do not know what would have happened to me,” he murmured, voice cracking. “I am glad ye sent her to me, Abbess.”
“I only gave her a nudge,” the Abbess sniffed. “She did the rest herself. Mind, I hope ye two aren’t thinking of sharing a room while ye stay here. This is a house of God, after all.”
Una went an interesting shade of crimson. She could feel the heat in her face.
“Not at all!” she gasped. “I… We…”
The Abbess only chuckled, shaking her head. “Settle down, lass, settle down. There’s no rush.”
“Should there not be a rush?” Struan said suddenly, frowning. “If another battle is coming and my father has a bounty on my head, I’ve got no time to waste.”
Una glanced up at him. “What are ye proposing?”
He turned to face her, grabbing both of her hands and pressing them against his chest.
“Marry me, Una,” he whispered urgently. “Marry me now. We could do a… a handfasting ceremony to bind me to ye and ye to me. Una, ye are the only woman I have loved. Ye are the only woman I will love. I don’t know how long I’ll have, but I do know that my father wants me dead, and the other clans still do not trust me. I cannot blame them. I have many enemies and not quite enough friends. But if I have ye, Una, it will be enough for me to face death. Of course, if this is not what ye want, tell me now, and I’ll?—”
“Aye,” Una interrupted thickly. She could not have torn her eyes away from Struan’s face if she tried. “Aye, I’ll marry ye.”
Kai had warned them that victory was a long way off, and she believed him with all her heart. There was more danger to come. Laird Dickson had lost his Hammer. He’d lost his son, and he would be feeling the loss keenly. He would beangry.
But have we finally glimpsed the end of all this?
A smile lit up Struan’s face, clear and delighted. “Truly? Ye mean it?”
She chuckled, taking a step closer, and cupped his face in her hands.
