They were right, though. She wasnae at home here. She didnae choose to leave, but by now, I reckon she’s beginning to understand that leaving was the right thing for her. This was never her home.
He imagined Skye at Keep MacCrimmon, laughing and joking with her brother, taking care of her mother, and getting reacquainted with her old friends.
She’d probably forgotten him already. It was impossible that she’dwantto remember.
The thought made his chest tighten in misery.
But wasn’t that for the best? Wasn’t it ideal that she should forget him? He didn’t want her to be miserable. He should be pleased that things were going along so easily. Developing naturally, moving on. Her life was going on without him, and that was by far the best outcome.
And if he kept telling himself that, surely he’d believe it sooner or later.
“Is the marriage annulled yet?” Fergus asked abruptly.
Evander flinched. “I havenae gotten round to it yet.”
Fergus pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Ye havenae gotten round to it yet. That’s interesting.”
“How is it interesting?”
“By me calculations, an annulment isnae so easy to get.”
Evander heaved himself to his feet, moving over to the window. The raven was long gone, of course, but he noticed that it had left something on the sill, something that hadn’t been there before.
“We never consummated our marriage,” he responded crisply.
“Aye, but ye were wed for a year. Sure, she was missing for most of it?—”
“Allof it.”
“—but still, it’ll nae be easy.”
Evander said nothing, easing open the window. He still couldn’t quite make out what the raven had left.
“What is yer suggestion, then?” he muttered. “Stay married?”
Fergus stamped across the room, trying and failing to catch Evander’s eye. “I am suggesting that ye go and talk to her.”
“Impossible.”
“Ye keep throwing that word around.Impossible. But none of this is impossible, and I think ye ken that. Evander, ye have been creeping around this castle like a bear with a sore head. Ye are angry, hurt, and restless. Have ye ever stopped to consider why that is?”
Evander whipped around to face his friend. “Of course I ken why it is, ye bloody fool! I miss her! I want her back! She means more to me than I ever could have imagined, and now…” he trailed off, closing his eyes. “Now she’s gone forever. It’s all me fault.”
There was a brief silence. Then Fergus laid a tentative hand on Evander’s shoulder. “Ye are too hard on yerself, me friend.”
Evander closed his eyes. “Often, I think that I am nae hard enough. I let her go. I drove her away. And that’s that. She’s gone, and I have to go on without her. Annulling the marriage is the only way to free us both. It’s what she expects.”
“Are ye sure of that?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Fergus sighed, his hand dropping from Evander’s shoulder. “I’m just afraid that ye might regret what ye are doing.”
“I’m a laird. There are no good choices for me. There’s a choice that will hurt some people, and a choice that will hurt many. I choose for the greater good, and that never includes me own happiness.”
After a moment, Fergus stepped back.
“It’s clear to everyone in this keep, meself included, that ye are miserable,” he stated. “We miss Lady Skye, and so do ye. Ye are moody. Ye snap at everyone. Ye hide in yer study. Ye prowl around the castle like a bear with a sore head. Oh, and when’s the last time ye trimmed yer beard?”
