Eleanor flew into his arms, her tears flowing freely.
He embraced her, his arms tight around her shivering body. “Eleanor,” he whispered against her hair. “Thank God.”
She wept, clinging to him, unable to find the words to express her feelings.
He pulled back and placed his cold hands on the sides of her face. Fear, relief, and anguish warred within his brown eyes, but it was the love she saw there that undid her.
He loved her. Had always loved her. And she loved him, more now than ever before. The thought of losing him was the most dreadful thing she’d ever endured.
She rose on her toes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and savoring every blessed moment of this sweet reunion. It was a miracle to be with him again—one she would never take for granted.
He returned the kiss, drawing her closer as they stepped into the room and he used his foot to close the door. The front of her gown became wet, pressed up against his rain-soaked clothing, but she didn’t care. The heat from his kiss warmed her through, banishing the chills that had plagued her all day. Arran was home, alive, and kissing her as she’d never been kissed before.
He pulled back, breathless. “I’m getting you wet.”
“I don’t mind.” She didn’t want to move away from his embrace, but wanted to stay there forever.
Arran looked down at her, moving aside a tendril of hair that had fallen across her forehead. “You’re the bonniest sight I’ve ever beheld.”
He frowned and put his hand on her forehead. “You’re burning with fever, lass. How long have you been ill?”
“I haven’t felt well for most of the day, but I thought it was from the fear and worry.” A thought suddenly made her gaze focus. “Miriam has been running a fever and crying for most of the day.”
“And you dinna ken what ails her?”
Eleanor shook her head. “The fort doctors went with you.”
And had been killed.
“Come warm yourself by the fire,” he said as he took her hand and led her away from the door, stopping to pick up the blanket off the floor.
He pulled the chair closer to the heat, and after she took a seat, he gently placed the blanket around her shoulders. She wiped at her tear-stained cheeks, the ache of grief dimming in light of Arran’s arrival, but not diminishing completely. They had lost so much today, she wondered if she’d ever be truly happy again.
He squatted before her, rubbing her cold hands. “The only thing that kept me going today was the hope that I could return to you,” he said. “Your touch, your voice, your eyes, the curve of your lips—it’s all I could think about.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I was a fool, Eleanor. A prideful, idiotic fool. I placed this colony and my promise to Lord Selkirk above all else, and today, I realized how wrong I have been. As I watched Angus and West die, and I thought about the women and children they had waiting for them back at the fort, I ken in that moment that they had far more to live for than I did. It isna fair that they were taken and I remain.” He stopped and lowered his head as a sob wracked his body.
Eleanor placed her hands on his face, her own tears beginning again at hearing this strong, stubborn man brought to tears at the atrocities he witnessed. “But you do have something to live for,” she said. “You have me and Miriam.”
He looked up at her, tears in his brown eyes. “If it hadna been for you and her, I would have died on that prairie today. I would have foolishly run into battle, even if it meant my life. I would have died for the colony.” He shook his head in disgust. “Nothing on earth is more important than you and Miriam.” He stopped again, this time searching her eyes. “I ken I’ve been a fool, Eleanor. I pushed you away and I’m sorry. If you dinna want me anymore, I—I understand.”
“Don’t want you?” she whispered. “I’ve never stopped wanting you.”
“I dinna deserve a third chance,” he said. “Especially now, with all we’ve lost—and all we have yet to face.”
“Shh.” She put her trembling finger over his lips. “We do not know what tomorrow may bring. Let’s thank God for this moment, while we still have it, and not speak about what we’ve lost.”
Arran wiped one of the tears from her cheek. “You’re right. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The others have agreed to hand the fort over to Grant, and I will be riding out in the morning to sign the terms of surrender.”
“Arran.” She shook her head, her heart breaking for a new reason.
“After today, I dinna think I can ever look at this place the same,” he said quietly. “I thought I would live and die for Assiniboia, but I was wrong. I saw what it looked like to die for her and ‘tis not worth it.” He met Eleanor’s gaze. “I’m ready to leave here for good, and I’d like to take you and Miriam with me. And when we’re free of this place, I’d like to make you my wife, Eleanor.”
She had always thought that grief and joy were opposing emotions, but in that moment, they came together to fill her heart with hope. It was the very thing that brought meaning to life and gave her the strength and energy to keep going. She would mourn William’s loss for years, especially for Miriam’s sake, but if it was God’s will, she and Arran would raise Miriam as their own.
“Will you marry me?” he asked her.
She had no reservations. “Yes.”
He smiled, and for a moment, all the horrors of the day were dismissed from his heavy countenance.
