“Duncan…” she said, and his name was little more than a breath.
He waited motionless, as though any movement might shatter the moment. Her gaze fell to the ribbon, to the crest worked there, to the history and devotion it represented. Then, it rose again to him. The tears she had fought escaped at last, though her voice, when it came, was wondrously steady.
“I thought ye meant tae hand me from one bargain tae another,” she confessed. “I thought I had been a fool tae believe ye loved me fer meself.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she gave a small shake of her head.
“I was wrong.”
The words seemed to strike him silent.
“I cannae pretend ye didnae hurt me,” she continued, every syllable tender and true. “Ye did. But I ken now ye would never willingly make me yer prisoner. And I ken…” She faltered, then smiled through tears that were no longer wholly sorrowful. “I ken that I love ye too much tae leave if there is still truth between us.”
A change came over his face then, so profound, that she thought she would remember it all her life. It was the mingling ofwonder, relief, gratitude, and love, all at once, as if happiness had overtaken him before he was prepared to receive it.
Very gently, as though she might still withdraw from him, he stepped nearer and placed the ribbon in her hands.
“Keep it,” he whispered.
This time, Elaina did not refuse. Her fingers closed over the silk with reverence, and the gesture felt less like accepting a gift than accepting the future he offered with it.
When she looked up again, Duncan was watching her with such tenderness that the last of her resistance melted entirely away.
“I should still like a proper proposal,” she said, with the faintest tremor of spirit returning beneath her tears.
At that, a breath that was almost a laugh left him, a sound of relief so heartfelt it broke whatever remained of the sorrow between them.
“And ye shall have one,” he promised.
She smiled then and it was all the permission he needed. He gathered her into his arms with a care that was nearly reverent, as though even now, he could scarcely believe she had not slipped from him forever. Elaina went willingly, pressing close against him, feeling the frantic strength of his heartbeat beneath her cheek. When at last he lifted her face and kissed her, itwas with all the tenderness he had denied himself and all the devotion he had finally spoken aloud.
When Duncan at last drew back, Elaina could only look at him. Her breath came unevenly, and the whole world appeared altered by the warmth of his hands still resting at her waist and by the tenderness in his eyes. She had not known a kiss could so thoroughly disorder a person, not merely in pulse and breath, but in thought, in feeling, in every resolution she had so stubbornly formed only an hour before.
The grief, the anger, the dread of having been deceived, all had been shaken by the force of his sincerity, until she could scarcely distinguish what remained except the certainty that she loved him, and that he loved her.
Duncan seemed little better composed.
Elaina could not help but smile, though tears still clung to her lashes. It pleased her beyond reason that a man so steady, so habitually controlled, should be rendered speechless by her.
“We should perhaps,” he spoke through a grin, “make our way tae dinner.”
Elaina blinked, as though the notion of dinner belonged to some other existence entirely.
“Dinner?” she repeated, with the air of one who had forgotten the world contained such common obligations.
“Aye,” he nodded, still smiling. “Unless ye wish me sister tae come storming up here in search of us. And I assure ye, she would.”
That image was vivid enough to restore what little composure she could claim. Elaina drew back at last, though not without reluctance, and looked down at the ribbon still clasped in her hand. The Grant crest caught the last amber light from the windows, and the sight of it sent another sweet ache through her chest.
“I must look a fright,” she murmured, brushing at her cheeks.
Duncan’s gaze softened still further. “Ye look,” he replied, “exactly as I would wish ye tae.”
She proceeded to set the ribbon properly in place, and when she looked at him again, he was offering her his hand. She placed her hand upon it without hesitation.
By the time they reached the dining hall, they were undeniably late.
When Duncan entered the dining hall with Elaina on his arm, he was perfectly aware that they were late. The meal had already begun. Candlelight glimmered over polished cups and silver dishes, over the carved backs of chairs and the long boards laid with more order than ceremony.
