Arran smiled and walked to Eleanor. He removed her wet shawl and hung it on the hook by the door. “Come,” he said, taking her hand, “warm yourself by the fireplace. Your hands are freezing.”
She went to the fire with him and he took both her hands in his, rubbing them until there was heat in her fingers again.
His eyes were gentle as he watched her.
Eleanor smiled at him, amazed at how much she loved being his wife. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For taking such good care of all of us.”
“’Tis my pleasure,leannan.” He moved a tendril of hair off her cheek and hooked it behind her ear. “We’ll have much to decide once Lord Selkirk arrives.”
“Like whether or not we’ll stay?” She watched him closely, wanting to know how he truly felt about remaining in Assiniboia.
He dropped his gaze to their hands. “Aye.”
“Do you want to stay?”
“I want to do what’s best for my family.”
Eleanor put her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “As long as we are together, it matters not where we live. This is our home. These are our people. We belong here.”
“But the hardships—”
“There will be hardships no matter where we live. You and I were not meant for a boring life. We cannot turn our backs on Assiniboia now.”
Arran drew her hands to his lips, hope in his eyes. “Do you really want to stay?”
She nodded. “You have given your heart and soul to this colony. It’s a part of who you are—a part of what I love so much about you. I cannot think of a better way to spend our lives than to do it here.”
He pulled her close and wrapped her in his embrace. “I’ll build you a beautiful house,” he promised, “with a dozen rooms to fill with bairns.”
“Half a dozen should be sufficient,” she said with a laugh.
“Whatever you wish.” He kissed her, slowly at first, and then with a deeper and more intense passion. She was breathless when he was finished.
“I almost forgot.” He left her near the fireplace and walked to the shelf, where he removed a red book. “I found something I thought you might like.”
“My journal.” Her heart started to pound at the sight of her old friend.
Arran handed it to her. “I thought you would be happy to see it again.”
She took it in her hands and pressed it to her chest, already thinking about all the things she would write when she had a chance. “Thank you.”
He stood behind her and pressed a kiss to her neck. “We should get out of these wet clothes before we catch a cold.”
She smiled and allowed him to lead her to bed. The book would have to wait for another time.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It took the better part of a week to resettle the colonists in their homes at Colony Gardens. Arran and the other men worked tirelessly to make the necessary repairs to the buildings, while the women and the de Meuron soldiers harvested the crops that had been planted earlier in the year.
“Will we need to remove to Pembina for the winter?” Eleanor asked Arran one evening when he’d come home for supper.
“I haven’t decided. With the bumper crops and supplies Selkirk sent with us, we might be able to stay in Assiniboia.” Arran had been debating with himself about this very issue. He knew the colonists desired to stay in their homes, but if they grew short on food, they would need the reassurance of buffalo that Pembina had offered in the past.
A knock sounded at their door. Arran rose from the table to answer. It was Archie.
